Vanderbilt in prime spot as tourney time arrives

Coach Jim Foster has contended all season long that everything Vanderbilt does in practice and games points toward March.

The march to March is now over. The Commodores open the most maddening month of the basketball campaign with their stars aligned as perfectly as life in the SEC allows.

Winners of five of its last six, Vanderbilt (24-6, 10-4) tied for second in the conference, its highest finish since 1995, and earned a bye through the first round of the SEC Tournament, which is being staged just a taxi ride down West End Avenue. And if the favorites don