# 2018–19 Vanderbilt Commodores men's basketball team

The 2018–19 Vanderbilt Commodores men's basketball team represented Vanderbilt University in the 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. They were coached by Bryce Drew in his third season at Vanderbilt. The Commodores played their home games at Memorial Gymnasium in Nashville, Tennessee as members of the Southeastern Conference. They finished the season 9–23, 0–18 to finish in last place in SEC play. They were the first SEC team to go winless in a season since the 1954 Georgia Tech team, and the first team ever in the 18-game conference schedule. They lost in the first round of the SEC tournament to Texas A&M.
On March 22, 2019, the school fired Drew as head coach after three years in Nashville. On April 5, the school hired former NBA player and NBA assistant coach Jerry Stackhouse as head coach.

## Previous season

They finished the season 12–20, 6–12 in SEC play to finish in 13th place. They lost in the first round of the SEC tournament to Georgia.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Larry Austin Jr. | 3 | G | 6'2" | 182 | RS Junior | Springfield, IL | Transferred to Central Michigan |
| Djery Baptiste | 12 | C | 6'10" | 235 | RS Sophomore | Gonaïves, Haiti | Transferred to Massachusetts |
| Matthew Fisher-Davis | 5 | G/F | 6'5" | 186 | Senior | Charlotte, NC | Graduated |
| Riley LaChance | 13 | G | 6'2" | 185 | Senior | Brookfield, WI | Graduated |
| Jeff Roberson | 11 | F | 6'6" | 220 | Senior | Houston, TX | Graduated |
| Payton Willis | 1 | G | 6'4" | 182 | Sophomore | Fayetteville, AR | Transferred to University of Minnesota |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| Matthew Moyer | 13 | F | 6'8" | 220 | Junior | Gahanna, OH | Syracuse University |

### 2018 recruiting class

College recruiting information :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Aaron Nesmith SF | Charleston, SC | Porter-Gaud School | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 190 lb (86 kg) | Sep 19, 2017 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| Darius Garland PG | Nashville, TN | Brentwood Academy | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | 170 lb (77 kg) | Nov 13, 2017 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| Simisola Shittu PF | Burlington, ON | Vermont Academy | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | 220 lb (100 kg) | Nov 22, 2017 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: 12 Rivals: 12 ||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "Vanderbilt 2018 Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. "ESPN". ESPN.com. "2018 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. ||||||

## Schedule

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| November 6, 2018* 8:30 pm, SECN+ | | Winthrop | W 92–79 | 1–0 | Memorial Gymnasium (8,387) Nashville, TN |
| November 11, 2018* 8:00 pm, P12N | | at USC | W 82–78 | 2–0 | Galen Center (3,804) Los Angeles, CA |
| November 16, 2018* 7:00 pm, SECN+ | | Alcorn State | W 79–54 | 3–0 | Memorial Gymnasium (9,193) Nashville, TN |
| November 19, 2018* 7:00 pm, SECN+ | | Liberty | W 79–70 | 4–0 | Memorial Gymnasium (8,493) Nashville, TN |
| November 23, 2018* 4:00 pm, SECN+ | | Kent State | L 75–77 | 4–1 | Memorial Gymnasium (9,061) Nashville, TN |
| November 27, 2018* 7:00 pm, SECN+ | | Savannah State | W 120–85 | 5–1 | Memorial Gymnasium (8,271) Nashville, TN |
| December 1, 2018* 5:00 pm, ESPN2 | | vs. NC State Hoophall Miami Invitational | L 65–80 | 5–2 | American Airlines Arena Miami, FL |
| December 5, 2018* 6:30 pm, SECN | | Middle Tennessee | W 79–51 | 6–2 | Memorial Gymnasium (8,513) Nashville, TN |
| December 17, 2018* 6:00 pm, SECN | | No. 18 Arizona State | W 81–65 | 7–2 | Memorial Gymnasium (9,271) Nashville, TN |
| December 22, 2018* 6:30 pm, ESPN2 | | vs. Kansas State Wildcat Showcase | L 58–69 | 7–3 | Sprint Center (14,062) Kansas City, MO |
| December 29, 2018* 12:30 pm, SECN+ | | Tennessee State | W 95–76 | 8–3 | Memorial Gymnasium (9,505) Nashville, TN |
| December 31, 2018* 1:00 pm, SECN+ | | UNC Asheville | W 90–59 | 9–3 | Memorial Gymnasium (8,350) Nashville, TN |
| January 5, 2019 7:30 pm, SECN | | Ole Miss | L 71–81 | 9–4 (0–1) | Memorial Gymnasium (10,422) Nashville, TN |
| January 9, 2019 5:30 pm, SECN | | at Georgia | L 63-82 | 9–5 (0–2) | Stegeman Coliseum (9,429) Athens, GA |
| January 12, 2019 7:30 pm, SECN | | at No. 18 Kentucky | L 47–56 | 9–6 (0–3) | Rupp Arena (22,504) Lexington, KY |
| January 16, 2019 6:30 pm, SECN | | South Carolina | L 71–74 | 9–7 (0–4) | Memorial Gymnasium (8,400) Nashville, TN |
| January 19, 2019 7:30 pm, SECN | | No. 24 Mississippi State | L 55–71 | 9–8 (0–5) | Memorial Gymnasium (9,570) Nashville, TN |
| January 23, 2019 6:00 pm, ESPN2 | | No. 1 Tennessee | L 83–88 $^{OT}$ | 9–9 (0–6) | Memorial Gymnasium (14,316) Nashville, TN |
| January 26, 2019* 3:00 pm, ESPN2 | | at Oklahoma Big 12/SEC Challenge | L 55–86 | 9–10 | Lloyd Noble Center (8,848) Norman, OK |
| January 29, 2019 8:00 pm, ESPN | | No. 7 Kentucky | L 52–87 | 9–11 (0–7) | Memorial Gymnasium (12,298) Nashville, TN |
| February 2, 2019 7:30 pm, SECN | | at Missouri | L 67–77 | 9–12 (0–8) | Mizzou Arena (11,091) Columbia, MO |
| February 5, 2019 8:00 pm, SECN | | at Arkansas | L 66–69 | 9–13 (0–9) | Bud Walton Arena (13,587) Fayetteville, AR |
| February 9, 2019 7:30 pm, SECN | | Alabama | L 67–77 | 9–14 (0–10) | Memorial Gymnasium (10,539) Nashville, TN |
| February 13, 2019 8:00 pm, ESPNU | | at Florida | L 57–66 | 9–15 (0–11) | O'Connell Center Gainesville, FL |
| February 16, 2019 11:00 am, ESPNU | | Auburn | L 53–64 | 9–16 (0–12) | Memorial Gymnasium (11,287) Nashville, TN |
| February 19, 2019 6:00 pm, ESPN | | at No. 5 Tennessee | L 46–58 | 9–17 (0–13) | Thompson-Boling Arena (20,523) Knoxville, TN |
| February 23, 2019 5:00 pm, ESPNU | | at Alabama | L 61–68 | 9–18 (0–14) | Coleman Coliseum (11,020) Tuscaloosa, AL |
| February 27, 2019 8:00 pm, SECN | | Florida | L 55–71 | 9–19 (0–15) | Memorial Gymnasium (8,583) Nashville, TN |
| March 2, 2019 5:00 pm, SECN | | at Texas A&M | L 57–64 | 9–20 (0–16) | Reed Arena (7,679) College Station, TX |
| March 6, 2019 7:30 pm, SECN | | Arkansas | L 48–84 | 9–21 (0–17) | Memorial Gymnasium (8,517) Nashville, TN |
| March 9, 2019 7:30 pm, SECN | | at No. 10 LSU | L 59–80 | 9–22 (0–18) | Pete Maravich Assembly Center (13,546) Baton Rouge, LA |
| SEC tournament ||||||
| March 13, 2019 8:30 pm, SECN | (14) | vs. (11) Texas A&M First Round | L 52–69 | 9–23 | Bridgestone Arena (10,849) Nashville, TN |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time. ||||||