Vanderbilt basketball lost to Auburn as expected, but it must play better going forward against elite teams if it hopes to make the NCAA tournament.

Mark Byington has earned the right to take a victory lap and dunk on everyone who doubted him and picked Vanderbilt to finish last in the SEC. After all, he's done this before. His first team at James Madison four years ago was picked to finish ninth of 10 teams in the CAA before surging past expectations to share the conference crown.

Vanderbilt basketball was projected in the No. 9-11 seed range in the latest March Madness bracketology after a win over Texas.

Auburn looks to rebound from their loss to Florida as they face Vanderbilt. It’s time to continue our College Basketball odds series with an Auburn-Vanderbilt prediction and pick. Auburn comes into the game at 21-2 on the year,

The Vanderbilt Commodores (17-6, 5-5) have their third top five opponent of the year coming into Memorial Gymnasium on Tuesday as the Auburn Tigers travel to Nashville for an SEC matchup. The Auburn Tigers entered last week ranked No. 1 but lost on Saturday to the No. 6 Florida Gators, suffering their first SEC loss of the year.

Here's what you need to know about Mark Byington, the first-year Vanderbilt basketball coach with wins over Tennessee and Kentucky.

The Vanderbilt Commodores (17-7, 5-6) couldn't find an extra gear on Tuesday as they lost to No. 1 Auburn 80-68 in Memorial Gymnasium. The Commodores battled hard, but were buried in the game's last 14 minutes to fall to below .