March Madness back at Memorial Gym in Vanderbilt’s latest step toward NCAA success

By Canadian Press on March 20, 2026.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Vanderbilt coach Shea Ralph spent 20 minutes Friday walking around historic Memorial Gym soaking in the atmosphere with March Madness and NCAA Tournament branding everywhere.

Ralph has spent five seasons building towards this moment with the Commodores hosting for the first time since 2012 among the goals.

“It’s almost surreal to be sitting in the building looking at all the signs, going on the court and seeing that we’re hosting the NCAA Tournament in terms of just checking off the next box on our list of things as we continue to strive for championships,” Ralph said.

The No. 2 seeded Commodores (27-4) earned the 30th NCAA Tournament berth in program history, and this is the third straight under Ralph at Vanderbilt, which strung together a streak of 15 straight tournaments between 1999 and 2014. Vanderbilt also has a 1993 Final Four on its resume.

Vanderbilt went undefeated at Memorial on the way to earning the program’s highest seed since 2007. The Commodores start Saturday night hosting No. 15 seed High Point (27-5) in the first round of the Fort Worth Region 1.

The other game in Nashville features seventh-seeded Illinois (21-11) and No. 10 seed Colorado (22-11) on Saturday night.

Ralph said being able to host tournament games in Nashville helps as Vanderbilt works to fill the stands more creating a true home-court advantage.

“Hopefully if we take care of business at home, … then you’re in the Sweet 16,” Ralph said.

Ralph is 1-2 in the tournament with her lone win at a First Four game in 2024. The Commodores lost their NCAA opener last year in overtime to Oregon, a loss that is driving All-American sophomore guard Mikayla Blakes.

“Knowing what it felt like last year losing in the first round and not wanting to feel that again the rest of my career,” said Blakes, also the SEC player of the year and national scoring leader.

Youngest team in the tournament

Illinois coach Shauna Green had to replace four starters giving her the youngest team in the Big Ten this season. The Fighting Illini started 14-3 and moved into The Associated Press Top 25 rankings in January en route to a third NCAA berth in Green’s four seasons.

Now the Fighting Illini are the youngest team in this tournament.

“The good thing about youth is sometimes you don’t know what you don’t know,” Green said. “They just come and they play. I’m really proud of us. A lot people might not have thought we would get here with such a young roster. They continue to be resilient and step up, and they’ll be ready to go.”

Our turn

The High Point Panthers of the Big South Conference paid close attention to what their male counterparts did stunning No. 5 seed Wisconsin on Thursday in the NCAA Tournament. Point guard Aaliyah Collins watched the game on her phone with roommates screaming.

“We were going crazy,” guard Macy Spencer said. “It’s just great that both teams are in the tournament, and they pulled that off. And hopefully, we can get another one.”

Historic and unique

Not only is Memorial a bit different with an elevated court, team benches are on opposite end lines rather than on the sideline separated by a scorers’ table. Luckily, this is nothing new for the Illinois coach.

Green not only played at Memorial at Canisius, she was a Dayton assistant coach for a game on this court. The coaching box has been extended up the sideline closer to half court, making it easier for coaches to talk to their players.

“When I’m yelling at them and they start saying they can’t hear me, I’ve already done that one as a player,” Green said. “You can hear me.”

Not playing around

Vanderbilt has a suitcase filled with coloring books, games and off-brand Lego sets on the floor in the locker room. It’s all by design to help the Commodores connect better with Ralph wanting all her Commodores to stand up and look people in the eyes when being asked questions as part of a lesson beyond basketball.

“We are teaching them what it looks like to be a team that’s going to compete for championships,” Ralph said. “So they don’t get to have their phones in there. As they have people that come in to ask them questions and interview them, we want them to know how important that is.”

___

AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-womens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness

Teresa M. Walker, The Associated Press

30
-29