“We sleep in May,” the legendary basketball insider Jon Rothstein tweets almost daily in the month of March.  

Nothing gets me more excited than reading those four words on my X feed as it means one thing: madness. It’s that time of year once again. A period where no team is safe as the season wraps up, and teams either live to see the postseason or die trying to get there.  

Throw out all your preconceived notions of who is good and bad. March is where champions are built and tested, and the excitement is just getting started.  

Vanderbilt has been battle-tested all season long but was put under immense pressure in its final three games, all of which were away. It fell to Kentucky to kick off this road stretch but bounced back with a big overtime win over Ole Miss and a victory over in-state rival Tennessee to finish the regular season March 7 — its first win in Knoxville since 2017. Vanderbilt’s final two wins capped off an incredible season for second-year head coach Mark Byington, who has now led the Commodores to back-to-back 20-win seasons for the first time since 2012.  

Vanderbilt is a lock to be in March Madness later this month and are likely sitting on the 4- or 5-seed line. The Commodores even earned a double-bye in the SEC Tournament this week as the 4-seed, giving them a much easier path to the crown.  

But as all good teams and great coaches know, the postseason is a different beast. This is going to force Byington and Co. to evaluate the end to the regular season and make sure the team is playing its best basketball as tournament play kicks off.  

Let’s evaluate the Commodores’ recent performances as they enter the postseason. To quote Rothstein once again: “This is March” — where the fun really begins. 

The one with the unsung heroes 

Vanderbilt’s backcourt of Tyler Tanner and Duke Miles always gets the attention. To be fair, they do, for the most part, score the vast majority of Vanderbilt’s points in any given game. But other players around them have been equally impactful, albeit with a bit less flair than the star backcourt duo.  

Every team needs players who are sound on the defensive end, churn out consistent offensive production and form the identity of a team. Two players on Vanderbilt’s roster have stuck out the past three games as fitting this mold: AK Okereke and Chandler Bing. 

Both have been staples in Byington’s lineups, and they’ll need to make their presence known if Vanderbilt wants to make it far in the postseason. Fortunately for the Commodores, both have exceeded expectations in their first year on West End.  

Okereke, in particular, has had a stellar last three games against Kentucky, Ole Miss and Tennessee. He’s dropped 12, 16 and 17 points, respectively, in these contests, proving to be an extremely versatile player for Byington. He’s extremely efficient, as noted by his 52% field goal percentage and has the size (6’7 and nearly 250 pounds) to body his way past most power forwards in the league.  

Okereke is the perfect definition of a guy who does what he’s asked. He usually slots nicely into the four spot but can stretch to the three spot — even acting as a ball-handler. His mid-range game has really developed this season, and he’s even learned to shoot the deep ball with considerable success, knocking down 40.5% of his attempts. Not to mention, he’s been a steady rebounder who provides another defensive presence in the paint. 

This versatility makes him the perfect player in Byington’s system. Okereke is an X-factor on this team, and his ability to impact a game might just make or break Vanderbilt’s season. 

Now bring in Bing, another unsung hero on this roster. It’s never easy to be a true freshman in the SEC, but the Atlanta native has done well to provide a strong defensive presence for the Commodores. He’ll never blow you away on the box score, at least not yet, but his ability to lock down opposing guards has been critical to Vanderbilt’s success. His offensive output has improved the last few games, too, as he dropped 6 and 9 points against the Wildcats and Volunteers, respectively. A very critical 3-pointer and a coast-to-coast dunk against Tennessee practically sealed Vanderbilt’s 4-point victory.

“Chandler Bing was phenomenal,” Byington said after the Tennessee game. “You mention the 3 he made, the dunk was great. I thought his defense was really good. He guarded [Ja’Kobi] Gillespie for most of the night.” 

Okereke and Bing are two players that opposing teams must look out for in March. They don’t get the attention they deserve, but they will provide the extra spark for Vanderbilt to win games against good teams in the postseason. 

The return of the Duke 

Duke Miles returning from injury Feb. 21 was one of the biggest moments in Vanderbilt’s season. The Commodores’ offense was predictable and inconsistent with only Tanner in the backcourt for much of SEC play, but now that Miles has had five games to get back up to speed, it seems Vanderbilt’s offense has the potential to be what it once was. 

Byington can now create a more well-rounded offense with multiple primary ball-handlers, helping to evade full court presses and run tempo more smoothly. This opens up the Commodores to create more off-ball movements and sets, setting other players up to find an open lane or jumper. Miles can also flat out score the ball and create his own offense, a glaringly obvious advantage when he’s on the court.  

However, for all the potential that Miles has, he’s been slowly working his way back into game action, and it’s been a bit of a work in progress at times. Vanderbilt’s offense is clearly better when he’s on the court, but he’s shot just 30.6% from the field in his past three games — a full 12 percentage points below his season average. He’s also made just 20.6% of his 3-point looks on 15 attempts in the past three contests — 14 percentage points below his season average. He may just be adjusting to the intensity of SEC play after nearly a month off.  

With Tanner, the guard tandem will be critical to Vanderbilt’s success in postseason play. When they work together and stay out of foul trouble, they form one of the most formidable backcourts in the entire country. Everyone knows what Tyler Tanner can do — after all, he’s averaging 19.2 points per game and is the No. 9 ranked player in KenPom. Now with Miles back in the lineup, the pair will be leading Byington’s squad. Guard play has defined Vanderbilt’s brand of basketball all season, and it will be no different in the postseason. 

Peaking at the right time 

The road ahead for Vanderbilt is a treacherous one, but that’s why March is so great. In the postseason, you’re only going to face great teams, setting up some exciting matchups. Right now, it seems like the Commodores are peaking at the perfect time — perhaps the trait most valuable in March Madness.  

The path begins with the SEC Tournament at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville. Vanderbilt secured the double bye after finishing the SEC slate 11-7 (with some helpful tiebreakers), putting them in the quarterfinals without touching the hardwood. They’ll face the winner of Auburn and Tennessee in this round — two teams who are eager to earn a win over the Commodores. Auburn sits on the bubble and likely needs at least one or two more wins to secure a spot in the Big Dance, while Tennessee wants revenge for its loss to Vanderbilt last weekend. It’s safe to say that both teams will be ready to play on Broadway.  

Now, fast forward to Sunday. More accurately, Selection Sunday.  

Unlike past years where Vanderbilt has sweated it out on the bubble, the Commodores are firmly in the NCAA Tournament field. Vanderbilt fans can take a breath and relax.  

But now comes the tricky part. What seed will the Commodores receive? As it stands now, Vanderbilt is slated to be a 5-seed according to Joe Lunardi’s bracketology, but he is known to not necessarily be the most accurate. Some bracket sites have the Commodores at a 4-seed, such as CBS Sports. A win or two in the SEC Tournament would certainly secure them a 4-seed in the Big Dance, while winning the entire tournament could take them to a 3-seed (depending on how other teams around that seed line perform).  

The last time Vanderbilt secured a top-five seed in March Madness? Fourteen years ago in 2012, and the Commodores made it to the Round of 32. To advance past that stage, they’ll need to get guys like Tyler Nickel going again, who has been on a noticeable slump the last five games, shooting 23.7% from deep. Similarly, getting quality rebounds and production in the post — primarily from Jalen Washington and Devin McGlockton — will be critical to beating bigger teams. One only needs to look at Vanderbilt’s loss to St. Mary’s last year in the NCAA Tournament, where the Commodores were simply beat on the inside. 

Vanderbilt knows it’ll get production from its guards, but can other players step up to ensure the Commodores peak at the right time? That’s the looming question.

So, get your popcorn ready and your brackets filled out. The next two weeks of the season are the best in all of college basketball. Buckle up.