Dec. 30, 2014
Vanderbilt Gamenotes 
| Saint Louis Gamenotes
The Commodores hit the road for their final non-conference road trip of the season this Wednesday afternoon when they take on Saint Louis at 1 p.m. at Chaifetz Arena. The game will be televised locally in St. Louis on FSN Midwest, and can be heard on the Vanderbilt IMG College Radio Network throughout Middle Tennessee.
Vanderbilt returns to the floor from the holiday break after knocking off Penn, 79-50, in their last time out. Senior forward James Siakam led all scorers with 17 points in his first start of the season, freshman Wade Baldwin IV chipped in a career-high 16 points, and sophomore Damian Jones added 15 points in the Commodore victory. Head coach Kevin Stallings also won his 300th game with the Commodores, becoming only the fifth coach in SEC history 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. The Commodores improved on their SEC-lead in field-goal percentage against the Quakers, converting on 57.1% of their shots from the floor, their sixth game this season shooting 50% or better from the field. Vanderbilt outrebounded Penn 38-24, and outscored the Quakers 15-6 in second-chance points, points in the paint (40-20), points off of turnovers (23-12), fast break points (8-2), and bench points (29-9).
TV Details
The game will air locally in St. Louis on Fox Sports Midwest, and will also be airing on Fox Sports North, Fox College Sports Atlantic, and will be streaming online on Fox Sports Go for anyone who receives Fox College Sports.​
Game 12/Vanderbilt (8-3) vs. Saint Louis (8-4)
St. Louis, Mo. – Chaifetz Arena – 1 p.m. CT
TV: FSN Midwest
TV Talent: Pat Parris (pxp), Scott Highmark (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: Vanderbilt leads series, 5-4.
Last Meeting: SLU win, 57-49, on 12/30/13 at Memorial Gym.
Record at Vanderbilt: VU leads, 3-1.
Record at SLU: SLU leads, 3-1.
Record at Neutral Site: VU leads, 1-0.
Coach Stallings vs. SLU: Coach Stallings is 0-1 vs. Saint Louis.
Stallings Heading Home
Head coach Kevin Stallings will be returning to the area where he grew up – St. Louis is 20 miles away from his hometown of Collinsville, Ill.
About Saint Louis
Saint Louis is 8-4 on the season and have won their last three contests, all at home. Austin McBroom is the only Billiken averaging double figures with 10.9 points per game. This year’s meeting is the back end of a home-and-home series between the two schools – Saint Louis won last year’s meeting in Nashville, 57-49, on December 30, 2013. Vanderbilt has played four other times at Saint Louis, and have a 1-3 record in those games. The Commodores’ last game at Saint Louis was on December 3, 1997, a game SLU won, 78-74. VU’s only win at Saint Louis came in the 1926-27 season in a 40-21 victory.
Stallings wins 300 vs. Penn
Vanderbilt head coach Kevin Stallings won his 300th game against Penn, becoming 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.
LaChance remains hot from the field
Freshman Riley LaChance poured in a career-high 26 points in Vanderbilt’s win over Purdue on December 13 and claimed SEC Freshman of the Week honors for his performance, and then followed with another 26-point game against Western Carolina. It was the most points scored by a Commodore freshman since A.J. Ogilvy scored 27 points on March 13, 2008, in a first-round game of the SEC Tournament in Atlanta, and the first time a Commodore has scored 25 or more points in consecutive games since John Jenkins scored 26 at Ole Miss (2/16/12) and 28 at Georgia (2/19/12). LaChance is the leading freshman scorer in the SEC at 12.5 points per game and leads all SEC freshmen in three’s made per contest at 2.0 per game, which is fourth in the conference overall.
Damian Jones leads Commodores
Sophomore post player Damian Jones is off to a great start to his sophomore campaign, averaging 16.5 points and 7.1 rebounds per game in 11 early contests. Jones, a preseason All-SEC First Team selection by the league’s coaches, has scored 20+ points in four games this year and is first in the SEC in field goal percentage (.583), fourth in the SEC in scoring, 6th in rebounding, 5th in blocks (1.7), and 6th in defensive rebounding (4.6/game).
Vanderbilt among SEC leaders
The Commodores lead the SEC in FG% with 51.1%, and have shot 50% or better in six games this year. VU is also 3rd in assists (16.6) and 2nd in 3-Pt FG% (.393).
Assists Numbers
Vanderbilt has 183 assists against only 149 turnovers early in the 2014-15 season, and has two players tied for third in the SEC in assists, with Wade Baldwin IV and Shelton Mitchell each averaging 4.8 assists per game. Vanderbilt is third in the league in assists (16.7/game). The Commodores have 183 assists on 279 made baskets, a 66.1% clip, the best in the SEC and the 6th-best in the nation.
Assist to Turnovers
The Commodores are on track to post their first positive assist-to-turnover ratio in a season since the 2010-11 season (454 assists, 441 turnovers that year).
Free Throws Galore
The Commodores made 38 of 43 free throws against Western Carolina, and was 22-22 at the charity stripe in the second half. It was the most made free throws in a game since Vanderbilt tied a school record with 40 against Kentucky on February 20, 1991.
Baldwin Off To Fast Start
Guard Wade Baldwin IV won his first SEC Freshman of the Week honor for his performance in wins over Lipscomb and Tenn. State. The 6’3 guard from Belle Mead, N.J., averaged 9.5 points, 7.5 assists, 6.0 rebounds, and 1.5 steals in the two Vanderbilt wins. He also posted 10 assists in the win over TSU. Baldwin is 3rd in the SEC in assists (4.8) and 4th in A/TO ratio (2.8).
SEC’s Youngest Backcourt
The Commodores’ freshman backcourt is the youngest in the SEC. In fact, Vanderbilt is the only school in the league to start three freshmen at the three guard spots.
Luke Kornet: En Fuego
7’0 sophomore forward Luke Kornet had a career-high vs. Lipscomb, posting a career-high 24 points on 10-11 shooting from the floor, and is shooting 46.9% (15-32) from three on the year.
Siakam Coming On
Senior forward James Siakam has started to come on as of late, averaging 12.6 points and 5.6 rebounds in the last eight games coming off the bench. For the season, the Douala, Cameroon, native is averaging 10.4 points and 5.3 rebounds per game, and is converting on 68.5% of his shots from the floor. He scored a season-high 20 points earlier this month against Western Carolina.
Three-Point Streak Still Intact
Vanderbilt has made a 3-pointer in 907 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.
Frontcourt Height
Vanderbilt’s starting frontline of 7-0, 6-10 & 6-6 is the second tallest in the SEC in terms of average height. Kentucky – 82.3 inches; Vanderbilt – 81.3 inches; LSU – 81.3 inches.
High Conversion Rate
Vanderbilt has seven players making 50% or more of their shots from the floor, with Siakam leading the way at 68.5%. Luke Kornet (.597), Damian Jones (.583), Josh Henderson (.579), Shelby Moats (.571), Jeff Roberson (.529), and Wade Baldwin IV (.518) are also shooting above 50%.
Commodores vs. the A-10
Vanderbilt has a 24-10 all-time record against teams from the Atlantic 10.
