Five on Five: Vanderbilt trending upward as postseason begins

Vanderbilt Hustler Riley LaChance (13) as Vanderbilt defeated South Carolina 71-62 at Memorial Gym February 18, 2017.
According to many experts, Vanderbilt’s NCAA tournament hopes were on the line Saturday as No. 12 Florida paid a visit to Memorial Gym.
Down by 12 points in the second half and trailing for most of the game, Vanderbilt put together a stunning comeback to clip the Gators 73-71. The Commodores sent Luke Kornet and Nolan Cressler out in style on Senior Day, but they’ll still face pressure to win a game or two in the SEC tournament this coming week as the No. 7 seed.
Where do Vanderbilt’s NCAA tournament prospects stand? And how’d the ‘Dores get here in the first place? Read on for five questions and five answers from five Hustler sports reporters.
1. Where do you think the win over Florida ranks among all-time games in Memorial Gym’s history?
Robbie Weinstein, Sports Editor: Assuming Vanderbilt makes the NCAA tournament, it’s clearly one of the two most significant home wins in my four years here, right up there with last year’s Kentucky game. This win might become underrated as the years go by, due to the impressive comeback, the stakes and how it could serve as a springboard for success under Bryce Drew. It was a tremendous game, and it should be viewed as one of the best Memorial has seen (although obviously not the best).
Elias Ukule, sports reporter: That’s a lot of games we’re talking about. As far as the wins that I have witnessed in my time here as a student, this is right up there. Perhaps the emotional weight is equal to that win against Kentucky last year, when students stormed the court, but this one was way more important, not only because it came at the end of the regular season, giving Vanderbilt momentum heading ...


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