Vanderbilt and the Most Shell-Shocked Teams After the Season's First Month

The Vanderbilt Commodores have stumbled out of the gate, taking a huge slide down the Top 25 rankings. They are among the most shell-shocked teams in the country, but they are not alone in having their high hopes from the preseason dashed.

These five teams have had rough starts to the season, and are in free-fall. Injuries, suspensions and players moving on are huge obstacles for all teams, and the question is: Can you overcome adversity as a team?

Unfortunately these teams have not done so, and they remain in disbelief at just how far they have fallen.

These teams have given us a taste of March Madness early in the season, and they have fallen victim to their slow starts.

UCLA Bruins

After starting the year ranked No. 17 in the country the UCLA Bruins have fallen apart. They fell out of the Top 25 in the Week 2 poll, and did not even receive a single vote in Week 3.

The Bruins haven't even been close to the Top 25 for a month now, and if the season ended today they would probably miss the NCAA tournament.

There is no one reason for the Bruins starting the season 3-5, but there are quite a few.

Losing Reeves Nelson hurts. Nelson was dismissed from the team, and his 13.9 points per game from last season would have led the team this season.

The Bruins are also struggling to sink their shots, shooting 42.6 percent from the floor. It hurts that leading scorer, Lazeric Jones, is shooting only 38.8 percent. The Bruins are not taking good shots, nor are they taking advantage of their open looks.

The Bruins have some serious problems, and no one thought they would lose to Loyola Marymount and Middle Tennessee. This team barely beat Pennsylvania by four, and they have been absolutely shocked so far this season.

Arizona Wildcats

After being ranked No. 16 in the country to start the season the Arizona Wildcats they are no longer in the Top 25.

They received only five points in the AP Top 25 rankings, which would make them No. 36. The Wildcats are ranked behind about a dozen mid-majors.

After losing Derrick Williams this team lacks a true superstar, with their highest scorer, Solomon Hill, averaging less than 12 points per game. While they could easily rely on their many talented players to step up on alternate nights, that strategy has not been successful.

Along with not having a true star the team has lost freshman Sidiki Johnson, who has left the team due to personal issues.

The Wildcats have not been the success story we wanted them to be, and without Williams they need a star, something they surely have a few of in their 2012 recruiting class. However, they are without one now.

Cincinnati Bearcats

The Cincinnati Bearcats started the season ranked No. 21 in the country, but they fell out of the Top 25 in Week 3. They have not received votes to be in the Top 25 in two weeks, and they would be a bubble-team if the season ended today.

The Bearcats had a cupcake-schedule to start the year but they started the season 3-2. While they beat Alabama State, Jacksonville State and Northwestern State, they lost to Presbyterian and Marshall.

The team also lost to No. 8 Xavier in a game that ended early because the two schools broke out into a huge fight.

With suspensions to Cheikh Mbodj, Octavius Ellis, Ge'Lawn Guyn and Yancy Gates, the team will probably end up losing a few more times. While none of the first three players average even five points per game, Gates is the star of the team, and is second on the team in points (13.5) and first in rebounds (9.5).

Cincinnati is having one of the most disappointing starts to a season in school history, and it hurts to know that they were in the Top 25 to start the season.

Memphis Tigers

The Memphis Tigers were ranked No. 11 in the AP Top 25 to start the season, and No. 9 in the Coaches Poll. Since then, however, they have gone 5-3 and fallen out of the Top 25.

Despite having Will Barton, a superb sophomore who leads this team, the Tigers have struggled to put string two wins together, doing so only once.

Barton is averaging over 20 points per game, yet he is essentially doing it all on his own, with only one other player (Joe Jackson) averaging double-digit points, and talented freshman Adonis Thomas letting fans down.

This team is struggling on defense, which may be the most important reason for their slow start. The Tigers allow over 72 points per game, which is due in large part to the fact that they lack a true big man.

The Tigers do not have a great frontcourt, with Stan Simpson being their only player who is 6-foot-10 or taller, and he does not play enough to make a big impact. They only have four true forwards, three of whom are 6-foot-8 with the other being Simpson.

The Tigers don't have enough height to beat good teams, and their guards are not good enough to overcome that fact.

Vanderbilt Commodores

After being ranked No. 7 in the country the Vanderbilt Commodores came out slowly and paid for it. In just their second game of the season the team hosted Cleveland State.

Most fans would have no idea who Cleveland State is if they didn't pay close attention to the NCAA tournament teams, and the expectation was that Vandy would beat up on this team at home, winning by 20 or more.

Cleveland State didn't roll over, however, and they played suffocating defense, holding Vanderbilt to only 58 points, and beating them by 13 points. The Commodores couldn't find open shots, and they shot only 35.3 percent from the floor. They also turned the ball over 20 times, due to the intense pressure Cleveland State put on their ball-handlers.

After that loss Vanderbilt dropped 11 spots to No. 18 in the country. After a losses to Xavier and Louisville they dropped out of the Top 25 in Week 5, and are currently tied for No. 25 with Creighton.

The problem for the Commodores may have been that they lacked their defensive-stopper and best big man, Festus Ezeli. Ezeli was back for their last game, scoring 15 points and grabbing six boards in 21 minutes, and the team beat Davidson by four.

The Commodores needs Ezeli to come back and mesh with their other talented players, including shooting guard John Jenkins, who is arguably the best scorer in the country.

This team has potential, but through a month and a half of the season they have been absolutely stunned.

Josh Schoch is an aspiring sportswriter dedicated to bringing you everything related to college basketball, college football, the NFL, NBA, MLB and much more. Follow him on Twitter.