No. 13 Vanderbilt destroys Wake Forest, cements status as early Final Four contender
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Make room for Vanderbilt in Final Four discussions this coming spring.
The Commodores are off to a 12-0 start this season and made perhaps their biggest statement of the year so far on Sunday when they dispatched Wake Forest 98-67 on the road. Vanderbilt has one more nonconference game left before SEC play begins in early January.
While the SEC has been dominated by the likes of Florida, Alabama and Auburn in recent years, it appears Vanderbilt is a top contender in 2025-26.
In addition to a perfect 12-0 record, Vanderbilt’s underlying metrics are also elite. The Commodores are the No. 1 SEC team on KenPom as of Sunday afternoon. After beginning the season just inside the top-20, Vanderbilt is now all the way up at No. 7 nationally — a few spots ahead of the No. 11 Gators.
Vanderbilt, led by coach Mark Byington, boasts the No. 6 offense in the country according to KenPom’s adjusted efficiency metric. The Commodores also rank No. 14 on the defensive end. They are one of six teams in the nation to rank in the top-15 both offensively and defensively.
Vanderbilt National Championship odds
While Vanderbilt’s stock is clearly rising, the Commodores are still a long-shot to win the national title according to prediction markets like Kalshi.
As of this writing, Vanderbilt to win the National Championship is priced at 3 cents per contract on Kalshi. For context, the current leader, Michigan, is priced at 19 cents per contract as of publication.
Here’s a live look at the National Championship market on Kalshi:
If Vanderbilt does make a run anywhere close to the Final Four, it would be historic. The Commodores haven’t made the Sweet 16 since 2007. Their only Elite Eight appearance came back in 1965.
Vanderbilt will wrap up nonconference play against New Haven on Dec. 29.
Spenser is a news editor for Saturday Down South and covers college football across all Saturday Football brands.
