Dec. 21, 2017
Vanderbilt Gamenotes 
| Alcorn State Gamenotes
The Commodores will close their pre-Holiday schedule this Friday evening when they take on Alcorn State out of the Southwestern Athletic Conference at Memorial Gym Tip time is set for 6 p.m. CT, with the game airing live on SEC Network Plus, on the radio with Joe Fisher and Tim Thompson on the Vanderbilt IMG Radio Network, and online on vucommodores.com.
Vanderbilt snapped a three-game losing skid on Wednesday night after knocking off Houston Baptist, 81-48, at Memorial Gym. Matthew Fisher-Davis led four players in double figures with 19 points, while Jeff Roberson added his SEC-leading sixth double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds, Maxwell Evans tallied a career-high 14 points, and Riley LaChance chipped in 11 points in the winning effort.
The Commodores only allowed 17 points in the first half, the lowest total in any half by an opponent this season and their 33-point win was the largest margin of victory for the Dores under Bryce Drew and the largest since a 34-point win over Wofford on Dec. 19, 2015.
Most Ranked Opponents in Non-Conference Play since 1988
The Commodores have already played four ranked opponents this season in USC (#10/#10), Virginia (RV/#25), Seton Hall (#20/#20), and Arizona State (#5/#6). The four ranked non-conference opponents is the most by a Commodore team since 1988, when Vanderbilt also played four (11/22 – # 2 Michigan, L, 66-91; 11/27 – #16 Ohio State, L, 82-97; 11/30 – #13 Louisville, W, 65-62; 12/7 – #8 North Carolina, L, 77-89).
According to KenPom.com, Vanderbilt has the 35th toughest schedule so far in the nation and the second-toughest among Power Five schools (Wisconsin 11th).
Promotions for Friday
- Kids Zone in practice gym prior to the game
- Pee-wee basketball at halftime
- First 500 kids receive a #17 shirsey
Media Information
Vanderbilt (4-7) vs. Alcorn State (4-8)
Nashville, Tenn. – Memorial Gym – 6 p.m. CT
TV: SEC Network +
TV Talent: Kevin Ingram (pxp), Shan Foster (analyst)
Radio: Vanderbilt Radio Network from IMG College, vucommodores.com
Radio Talent: Joe Fisher (pxp), Tim Thompson (analyst)
Live Stats: vucommodores.com
Twitter Updates: @VandyMBB
Series Information
Series Record: First meeting
Last Meeting: First meeting
Record at Vanderbilt: NA
Record at Alcorn State: NA
Record at Neutral Site: NA
Coach Drew vs. Alcorn State: Coach Drew has never faced Alcorn State.
More on Alcorn State
- Alcorn State enters the game with a 4-8 overall record and have won two straight over Fisk University and Blue Mountain College.
- A.J. Mosby leads three Alcorn State players in double figures with 13.3 points per game. Reginal Johnson (12.3) and Dante Sterling (10.5) also average double digits.
- Sophomore Yalen Reed hails from Nashville and attended Station Camp High School, the alma mater of former Commodore great John Jenkins.
A Commodore Win Would…
- Move Vanderbilt’s win streak to two.
- Push the Commodores’ record to 5-3 in games played at Memorial Gym this season.
- Make Vanderbilt’s record against the Southwestern Athletic Conference 9-0.
Jeff Roberson: Mr Double-Double
Jeff Roberson has six double doubles on the season, the most in a season by a Commodore since Damian Jones had seven in the 2015-16 season. Seven is also the most by a Commodore since Will Perdue had 10 in his junior season (1986-87) and 16 in his senior season (1987-88).
Jeff Roberson is the team’s leading scorer and rebounder, averaging 13.8 points and 8.7 rebounds per game. Roberson leads the SEC in double doubles with six, and is second in the SEC in rebounding and first in defensive rebounding.
Vanderbilt Quick Hitters
- This season’s non-conference schedule features eight games against teams who played in the postseason a year ago. Five opponents, USC, Seton Hall, Virginia, Kansas State, and Middle Tennessee, all played in the 2017 NCAA Tournament, with NIT participant Belmont, 2017 NIT Champion TCU, and CollegeInsider.com Tournament team UNC Asheville also on the challenging slate.
- LaChance, who has 346 career assists, is five assists away from cracking Vanderbilt’s all-time top 10 assist list. Al McKinney, who played from 1981-84, is 10th with 351 career assists.
- Commodore head coach Bryce Drew, now in his second season, led the Commodores to the NCAA Tournament in his first season in Nashville, marking the first time in the history of the program a first-year Vanderbilt coach led his team to the tournament. Overall, the Commodores made their 15th appearance in the NCAA Tournament and their first back-to-back appearances since making three consecutive tournaments from 2010-12.
- Vanderbilt has two 1,000-point scorers on their roster – Riley LaChance and Matthew Fisher-Davis, with Jeff Roberson 34 points away from the 1,000-point mark. LaChance is 2nd in the SEC in career returning scorers while Fisher-Davis is third behind Georgia’s Yante Maten. There has been only one other class of Vanderbilt players to have three 1,000-point scorers – the vaunted “F Troop” – Butch Feher, Joe Ford, and Jeff Fosnes in 1976.
SEC Three-Point Leaders
Of the top 20 season 3 pt FG %’s in SEC history, Vanderbilt has 5 of them.
4. Billy McCaffrey (51.2%, 1993)
7. Barry Booker (50.0%, 1987)
T9. Riley LaChance (48.6%)
12. John Jenkins (48.3%, 2010)
16. Shan Foster (46.9%, 2008).
On the top 20 SEC career 3-point % list with at least 300 attempts, Vanderbilt has six guys.
2. Booker 46%
3. McCaffrey 44.6%
8. Scott Draud 43.8%
8. Jenkins 43.8%
14. Dan Cage 42.6%
19. Foster 42.1%
Career and Single-Season Lists
Matthew Fisher-Davis is fifth in 3’s made in a career with 256. Riley LaChance‘s 48.6% from three clip in 2016-17 was Vanderbilt’s 3rd-best all-time.
700th SEC Win
Vanderbilt is in its 85th SEC season and is a charter member of the league. The Commodores won their 700th league game at Florida, and all time against current members of the conference, Vanderbilt is 709-693.
1,010
Vanderbilt has made a 3-pointer in 1,010 consecutive games, a streak which began at the inception of the 3-point line in 1986-87. The Commodores rank third only to UNLV and Kentucky 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.
