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Who? The Commodores of Vanderbilt.
What? The school is named after Cornelius Vanderbilt; the teams are named after his nickname, the Commodore.
Where? Nashville, Tennessee, which has a full-scale reproduction of the Parthenon. Maybe I'll reconsider not going to the Final Four...
When? March 22nd, in Toledo, Ohio.
Why? Melanie Balcomb threatened a naval barricade. Either that, or their strength of schedule was enough to carry them through an atrocious record.
How? They were an at-large selection.
Surprise? Predicted to finish fourth in the conference, they emerged in eighth.
RPI: 45
SOS: 15
Record: 18-12 (7-9 SEC)
Good wins: At James Madison, home against Texas A&M.
Bad losses: Auburn at home.
Who's running this show? Melanie Balcomb, since 2002, now the second-longest tenured coach in the SEC.
Extra, Extra! The Tennesseean.
Two seniors command the Commodores. Christina Foggie leads the way with 19.1 points per game, adding 3.1 assists. She's taken over 200 threes on the year, hitting on 80 of them for 39.2%. Jasmine Lister puts up 13.9 points and 4.7 assists. They're not a very big team (though one that's scrapped to a 2.8 rebounding margin) and size can overwhelm them. This is a very different team without freshman sensation Rebekah Dahlman, sidelined by a blood clot, and four straight losses to close the year don't augur well for Vandy.