Gamecocks in Town

Reconnaissance

• This will be the 61st all-time meeting between these programs. Vanderbilt holds a slim 31-29 series lead.  
• South Carolina had won three straight in the series before Vanderbilt won the latest matchup, 83-74, in the 2019-20 regular season finale March 7. 
• Vanderbilt has won six of the last seven matchups at Memorial and is 18-12 all-time at home against South Carolina. The only Gamecocks win in Nashville in the last decade was Jan. 16, 2019 (74-71).

Florida Debrief

• For the first time, Jordan Wright, Ejike Obinna, Scotty Pippen Jr., Dylan Disu and Trey Thomas made the start together. Vanderbilt has had nine different starting lineup combinations in 12 games.
• Obinna, who started for the first time this season, was the 12th different Commodore to start a game in 2020-21. 
• Scotty Pippen Jr. is the only Commodore to start every game this season, and has started the last 26 games. 
• It was the second start for freshman Trey Thomas. Both of his starts have come against Florida. 
• Pippen became the first player in the SEC this season with multiple 30-point games. He has now scored at least 15 points in 10 straight games, the longest streak by a Vanderbilt player since John Jenkins in 2011-12 (19 straight). It is also the longest streak by any SEC player this season.
• “First of all, I just want to say that we fought harder than we played the last couple of games,” Pippen said. “I felt we just competed better, especially late in the game. Going forward, we can’t dig ourselves a hole like that.”

Infirmary

• Dylan Disu returned at Florida after missing Saturday’s game against Arkansas due to contact tracing. He was one rebound shy of a double-double with 18 points in 36 minutes. 
• Drew Weikert and Quentin Millora-Brown were not available Wednesday for the Commodores, while walk-on Braelee Albert missed his sixth straight game due to injury. 
• In all, Vanderbilt has had 11 players miss games this season for a total of 34 missed games: Disu (1), Odusipe (2), Millora-Brown (2), Weikert (2), Wright (2), Harvey (2), McBride (3), Stute (4), Lawrence (4), Brown (6), Albert (6).

Full Steam Ahead

• Vanderbilt has made at least four 3s in 27 consecutive games. The streak began immediately after the Commodores were held without a 3 against Tennessee on Jan. 25, 2020, ending a streak of 1,080 straight games with at least one made three.
• Vanderbilt leads the SEC in defensive rebounding percentage (.753) in conferencee play, and also ranks third in the SEC with 9.1 made 3s per game and second in free throw percentage (.749).
• Vanderbilt has hit the 80-point mark 13 times in the Coach Stackhouse era with a 10-3 record in those games. The only loss in regulation was Jan. 9, 2021 against Mississippi State (84-81). 

Moving Up the Ranks 

• Brown, a fifth-year senior, has 116 career blocks. That is tied with Julian Terrell for the sixth-most in a Vanderbilt career. A.J. Ogilvy is fifth with 145.

Super Sophomores 

• Dylan Disu has recorded three double-doubles this season (eight for his career) and leads the SEC in defensive rebounding with 6.8 per game (second with 8.5 reb/gm).
• Not only is Scotty Pippen Jr. second in the SEC with 21.6 points per game, he is also second in the league with 5.3 assists per game. He is one of just four players in the nation averaging more than 20.0 points and 5.0 assists per game—and one of just two Power 5 players, joining Minnesota’s Marcus Carr (20.9 and 5.2).
• Pippen Jr., who was named preseason All-SEC second team, has scored at least 20+ points six times and 30+ points twice, including a career-high 32 at Florida (Jan. 27).
• He has tied or matched his career-high point total five different times this season and has led the team in scoring nine times in 12 games. 
• Earlier this season against Kentucky and Mississippi State, Pippen became the first Commodore since 2000 with 8 or more assists in back-to-back games, and was the first Commodore since 2005 with 12 assists in a game (Mario Moore). He was also the first Commodore since Wade Baldwin IV in 2015 to record a double-double with points and assists (18 points, 12 assists against the Bulldogs).

Looking Astern

• Florida began Wednesday’s contest on a 9-2 run and never looked back en route to a 78-71 victory over Vanderbilt at Exactech Arena.
• Scotty Pippen Jr. once again led the way in the scoring column for the Commodores with a career-high 32 (he also had six assists and five rebounds). Dylan Disu added 18 to go along with nine rebounds for Vandy.
• Florida led 37-29 at the break and its largest lead of the night was 22. With three minutes remaining, Vanderbilt went all out with a comeback attempt to get as close as 73-69. Two Maxwell Evans 3s, a Disu triple and four from Pippen completed a 13-2 run – but it wasn’t enough as the Gators made their free throws.

NBA and the Lottery 

• Vanderbilt is the only program in the nation with back-to-back NBA lottery picks. Former Vanderbilt guard Darius Garland was drafted fifth overall by Cleveland in the 2019 NBA Draft, and guard Aaron Nesmith was selected 14th overall by the Boston Celtics in the 2020 draft. 
• Vanderbilt’s six first round picks since 2012 ranks second in the SEC.
• In the second round of the 2020 draft, Saben Lee was selected 38th overall by the Detroit Pistons. It marked the first time a pair of Vanderbilt players were selected in the NBA Draft since 2016.
• Nesmith and Lee join Garland, Luke Kornet (Chicago), and Damian Jones (Phoenix) as Commodores in the NBA.

A Vandy Victory Would…

• … be the second in a row over South Carolina (won the 2019-20 season finale at Memorial). 
• … snap a six-game skid.
• … mark head coach Jerry Stackhouse’s fourth SEC win and second over South Carolina.

A Vandy Defeat Would…

• … mark a seven-game losing streak overall. 
• … mark the third straight 0-7 start in SEC play. 
• … be less good than a win.

On Deck

• Vanderbilt plays three of the next four on the road, beginning at Texas A&M at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday.