OKLAHOMA CITY – What’s the difference in a No. 4 and a No. 5 seed in the Men's NCAA Tournament?
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Oh, it’ll be about 16,000 raucous fans. Maybe more.
That’s just an estimate – and perhaps a stingy one – for Nebraska’s support in the 18,203-seat Paycom Center for the opening first-round session of this year's NCAA Tournament. So much red. So much noise. So much talk on the first day of NCAA Tournament games in Oklahoma City about fan support.
Veteran sportswriters who’ve attended many a Big Dance were calling this was the best first-day NCAA atmosphere they’d experienced. And I'd know. I was one of them. (And I used to cover Kentucky!)
Nebraska is what happens when a massive and passionate fan base that’s been just waiting to cheer for something big latches on to a program that hadn’t previously done much worth cheering about – and then that program gets sent to an NCAA site within driving distance.
The Cornhuskers hadn’t ever won a men’s NCAA Tournament game. They have now. They destroyed poor Troy 76-47 before the rollicking red sea in the seats. Fans stood throughout and thunderously chanted “Go Big Red” afterward, celebrated with players on the court. It was a scene unlike anything I’ve ever witnessed in an NCAA first-round game.
Nebraska chants “Go Big Red” in unison with the crowd as Rienk Mast embraced Kent Pavelka. pic.twitter.com/w6zGodmEvE
— Alex Berry (@aberryy13) March 19, 2026
And that, folks, is what awaits Vanderbilt in Round 2.
“So much for a neutral site,” said Commodores coach Mark Byington after Vanderbilt’s 78-68 first-round victory over 12th-seeded McNeese. Byington estimated “probably 98%” of the crowd will be for Nebraska. “It’s going to be us against the world. We're going to have to overcome a really good Nebraska team, a crowd, an environment, and everything else.”
Vanderbilt survived its opening test against McNeese, so it doesn’t really matter that it didn’t pass with flying colors.
This NCAA victory was still progress for the Commodores, who lost one of these first-round wrestling matches last year to Saint Mary’s and were able to again prove – as they’ve been doing lately – that this team that wants to play pretty basketball can still find a way to win an ugly game with high stakes.
What it also proved about Vanderbilt’s team in 2026 versus 2025, more than anything, was “This team was not just happy to be here,” said Byington.
Nonetheless, the Commodores who played that first round won’t get past the second round.
“We're capable of better,” Byington said, “and we're going to need to be better.”
As a Byington tradition, Vanderbilt’s program does milkshakes after road victories, with the staff scrambling to get them on hand for players and staff members. This would certainly call for that. It’ll probably be the most difficult road environment the Commodores have faced all season.
Vanderbilt isn’t complaining about that, though. The Commodores, too, haven’t complained publicly in Oklahoma City about their seed dealt by the NCAA selection committee.
Despite having more impressive metrics than the No. 4 seeds and being largely projected as a top-four seed after beating Tennessee and Florida in the SEC Tournament, Vanderbilt was a No. 5 anyway.
That difference may seem minor, but it’s not just about the first opponent. It’s about location. The bracket is often tilted to put top-four seeds closer to home. That happens in this tournament, and it has swayed many matchups in the past.
It’s just that if you’re Vanderbilt right now, it’s difficult to not feel slighted. Like this matchup is about to be tilted against you to an extent greater than the difference in the teams’ two seasons would justify.
Because there wasn’t much difference. Nebraska (27-6) and Vanderbilt (27-8) had similar, very good seasons. Both are hot-shooting perimeter teams that didn’t lose a game until January, with Vandy starting 16-0 and Nebraska starting 20-0. Vandy is No. 12 in KenPom. Nebraska is No. 13.
The Nebraska fans didn’t have too much of an impact on Vanderbilt’s victory over McNeese, though they did stick around long enough to boo the Commodores’ players during their entrance and lineup introductions.
“It's going to be an away game next game,” Vanderbilt’s Devin McGlockton said, “but that's fine. We've got our families here. We've got our teammates. That's all we need.”
Or as guard Duke Miles put it, “It ain't nothing the Vanderbilt Commodores can't handle.”
We’re about to find out.
Reach Tennessean sports columnist Gentry Estes at [email protected] and hang out with him on Bluesky @gentryestes.bsky.social
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Vanderbilt basketball must embrace Nebraska's Big Red sea of Nebraska fans