SPORTS

Vanderbilt men unveil non-conference schedule

Adam Sparks
USA TODAY NETWORK – Tennessee
Vanderbilt forward Luke Kornet and the Commodores will face plenty of NCAA Tournament teams in 2015-16.

Vanderbilt basketball will play at least six teams from last season’s NCAA Tournament in its 2015-16 non-conference schedule, as announced on Wednesday.

The Commodores will tip off their season with three straight home games versus Austin Peay (Nov. 13), Gardner Webb (Nov. 16) and Stony Brook (Nov. 19).

A three-day trip at the Maui Invitational will include games versus St. John’s (Nov. 23), either Indiana or Wake Forest (Nov. 24) and an opponent yet to be determined (Nov. 25).

It will be Vanderbilt’s first meeting with St. John’s since 1977. St. John’s and Indiana both lost in the first round of the NCAA Tournament last season, while Wake Forest did not play in the postseason.

Vanderbilt will host Detroit on Dec. 2 and then play at Baylor Dec. 6. The Bears went 24-10 last season and finished No. 21 in the final USA Today poll.

The Commodores will host Dayton (Dec. 9) and Wofford (Dec. 19), both NCAA Tournament teams last season, and then play at Purdue (Dec. 22), where Vanderbilt coach Kevin Stallings played for a 1980 Final Four team.

Last season, Vanderbilt beat Purdue 81-71 for its first win over a Big Ten team since 2005.

The Commodores will finish their non-conference slate with a home game versus Western Michigan (Dec. 30) and a trip to Texas (Jan. 30) in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge. Shaka Smart is set for his debut season as Longhorns coach, replacing current Tennessee coach Rick Barnes, who was fired after 17 seasons at Texas.

Vanderbilt lost to Texas in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge in 2014.

The Commodores return the bulk of their roster, including four starters, from a 21-14 squad. Their SEC schedule will be released at a later date.

“Our schedule really does have it all -- home-and-home games with NCAA Tournament teams, a trip to Maui for three games against some of college basketball's best teams and home games against teams that had record-breaking seasons a year ago,"  Stallings said in a news release. "Our guys are up to the challenge, and we’re ready for an exciting 2015-16 season.”

Reach Adam Sparks at 615-259-8010 and on Twitter @AdamSparks.

2015-16 VANDERBILT BASKETBALL NON-CONFERENCE SCHEDULE

Nov. 13 vs. Austin Peay

Nov. 16 vs. Gardner Webb

Nov. 19 vs. Stony Brook

Nov. 23 vs. St. John’s*

Nov. 24 vs. Indiana/Wake Forest*

Nov. 25 vs. TBA*

Dec. 2 vs. Detroit

Dec. 6 at Baylor

Dec. 9 vs. Dayton

Dec. 19 vs. Wofford

Dec. 22 at Purdue

Dec. 30 vs. Western Michigan

Jan. 30 at Texas (SEC/Big 12 Challenge)

*Maui Invitational