Vanderbilt ranked 64th in season-opening KenPom ratings

Basketball fans, rejoice! Ken Pomeroy has released his preseason ratings.

Vanderbilt finished the 2016 season ranked 25th in KenPom, so what explains a 39-spot drop to open this season? While I don’t know the specifics (in that I am not Ken Pomeroy), I know some of the factors Pomeroy has said in the past that influence his preseason ratings. So here are some possibilities:

A coaching change. Pomeroy has said in the past that coaching changes have a negative impact on a team’s preseason rating. While you may think that Bryce Drew is a better coach than Kevin Stallings, the mere fact that Kevin Stallings is no longer the coach is exerting a downward pull on Vanderbilt’s rating. (Don’t argue…