Dec. 29, 2015
The Commodores’ men’s basketball team returns to action this Wednesday night when they host Western Michigan from the Mid-American Conference at Memorial Gym. The game will tip off at 8 p.m. CT and will be televised on the SEC Network, with all of the action also available on the Vanderbilt IMG Sports Radio Network.
Vanderbilt and Western Michigan will face off for only the second time, with the only other meeting coming in a 71-58 Commodore win on March 19, 2004, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in Orlando.
Vanderbilt dropped their last time out, a 68-55 decision at #14/13 Purdue, 68-55, on December 22 in West Lafayette,Ind. Sophomore Wade Baldwin IV scored in double figures for the seventh consecutive game and led the Commodores with 13 points, while sophomore forward Jeff Roberson added 12 points.
Vanderbilt limited the Boilermakers to only 36.2% from the floor and 10.5% from three (2-19). Purdue out rebounded Vanderbilt, 43-34, and outscored VU, 13-7 on second-chance points. Purdue also was 24-31 from the free throw line (77.4%), while the Commodores were only 6-11 (54.5%). The game against the Boilermakers marked the first time this season Vanderbilt has shot less than 40% from the floor, and the first time that the Commodores have lost a game when limiting an opponent to under 40%.
Game 12/RV/RV Vanderbilt (7-4) vs. Western Michigan (5-6)
Nashville, Tenn. – Memorial Gym – 8 p.m. CT
TV: SEC Network
TV Talent: Richard Cross (pxp), Sean Farnham (analyst)
Radio: Vanderbilt Radio Network from IMG College, vucommodores.com
Radio Talent: Joe Fisher (pxp), Tim Thompson (analyst)
Satellite Radio: Sirius 83, XM 190
Live Stats: vucommodores.com
Twitter Updates: @VandyMBB
Series Information
Series Record: Vanderbilt leads the series, 1-0.
Last Meeting: Vanderbilt win, 71-58, on 3/19/04 in NCAA Tournament.
Record at Vanderbilt: 0-0.
Record at WMU: 0-0.
Record at Neutral Site: 1-0.
Coach Stallings vs. WMU: Coach Stallings has a 1-0 record all-time against Western Michigan.
Quick Hitters
- Two Commodores are averaging double figures on the season, with Baldwin leading the way with 14.8 ppg. Jones is also averaging 13.2 points per game.
- Ten players have scored in double figures in a game this season – Baldwin, Luke Kornet, Damian Jones, Roberson, Riley LaChance, Matthew Fisher-Davis, Nolan Cressler, Camron Justice, Josh Henderson, and Joe Toye.
- Jones now has 993 points, which is seven points shy of the 1,000-point barrier. Jones would be the 44th player in Vanderbilt history to eclipse 1,000 points.
- Fisher-Davis leads the SEC in 3-Point Field Goal Percentage (.489) and has made 15 three’s in his last five games.
- For the season, Vanderbilt is shooting 47.3% from the floor and 40.7% from three, outrebounding opponents by a +3.2 margin, and have a +1.1 turnover margin.
- The Commodores have held opponents to a 35.7% from the floor, which leads the SEC and is fourth in the nation, and 28.6% from three, which also leads the SEC and is 20th in the country.
- Vanderbilt has 157 assists against only 119 turnovers for the season. Opponents have 131 turnovers and only 93 assists on the year.
- The Commodores have 65 blocks on the year, an average of 5.9 per game, which is tied for 18th in the nation. Opponents have only blocked a combined 27.
- From the field, Vanderbilt has five players that are shooting 50% or better on the season – Baldwin (.505), Jones (.531), Roberson (.531), Justice (.500), and Toye (.563).
- Head Coach Kevin Stallings, the school’s all-time winningest coach, is in his 17th season with the Commodores and 23rd overall as a head coach, and is now the dean of SEC coaches. Stallings has 320 career wins at Vanderbilt and 443 overall as a head coach. He has eight 20-win seasons in the last 12 seasons, with 11 total postseason appearances, six NCAA tournaments, and two Sweet 16’s (2004 and 2007). He is also one of five SEC coaches to win 300 or more games at one institution, joining Kentucky’s Adolph Rupp, Florida’s Billy Donovan, and LSU’s Dale Brown and Harry Rabenhorst, and is now in 6th place all-time on the SEC wins list.
- The Commodores have three players at seven feet or higher in their front court – Josh Henderson (7’0), Damian Jones (7’0), and Luke Kornet (7’1). LSU has two seven footers, and the rest of the league has one or fewer.
- Vanderbilt has an all-time record of 13-1 against current members of the Mid-American Conference. The Commodores’ last dose of MACtion came against Miami (Ohio) on January 2, 2012, in a 69-62 win at Memorial Gym.
Vanderbilt and the SEC
As of December 28, The Commodores lead the SEC in scoring margin (+17.1), and field goal percentage defense (.286), and second in scoring defense (61.9) and three’s made (8.4). Matthew Fisher-Davis leads the SEC in three-point FG% (.469).
942
Vanderbilt has made a 3-pointer in 942 consecutive games, a streak which began at the inception of the 3-point line in 1986-87. The Commodores rank second only to UNLV for the longest streak in Division I basketball. Vanderbilt, UNLV and Princeton are the only three schools in college basketball to have made at least one 3-pointer in every game played since the 3-point line was implemented.
About Western Michigan
- Western Michigan enters the game with a 5-6 overall record after dropping their last time out, 89-86, to IPFW in overtime on Dec. 22.
- Tucker Hammond leads the team in scoring with 17.3 points per game. Thomas Wilder also averages double digits (15.5).
- This will only be the second meeting between the two schools – the first and only meeting came in the first round of the 2004 NCAA Tournament in Orlando, in a game the Commodores won, 71-58.
