Imagine, for a moment, that instead of taking the Pitt job, Kevin Stallings returned for an 18th year at Vanderbilt. With a team expected to contend for an NCAA Tournament bid, the team gets off to a 6-6 start with an ugly loss to MTSU and close losses to the likes of Bucknell, Minnesota, and Dayton.
Then the team gets into SEC play, and after winning its first two games against LSU and Auburn, the team goes into a funk, dropping four games in a row. An upset win at Florida suggests the team is showing signs of life, but then the team blows a 15-point lead with six minutes to go against Arkansas.