Jan. 13, 2015
The Commodores return home to the friendly confines of Memorial Gym after their first SEC road trip at Arkansas to take on Georgia on Wednesday night at 8 p.m. CT. The game will be televised on the SEC Network, and can be heard on the Vanderbilt IMG College Radio Network throughout Middle Tennessee.
Vanderbilt dropped to 11-4 overall and 1-1 in the SEC after falling to Arkansas, 82-70, Saturday afternoon at Bud Walton Arena. Sophomore Damian Jones and freshman Matthew Fisher-Davis each scored 14 points apiece to lead the Commodores. Vanderbilt shot 52% from the field against the Razorbacks, but could not overcome 22 turnovers and a 31-9 Arkansas advantage in points off of turnovers. Arkansas out rebounded Vanderbilt, 33-27, including 15-8 on offensive glass. Sophomore Luke Kornet added 11 points, and freshman Riley LaChance chipped in 10 for the Commodores.
Game 16/Vanderbilt (11-4, 1-1 SEC) vs. Georgia (9-5, 0-2 SEC)
Nashville, Tenn. – Memorial Gym – 8 p.m. CT
TV: SEC Network
TV Talent: Dave Baker (pxp), Dane Bradshaw (analyst)
Radio: Vanderbilt Radio Network from IMG College, vucommodores.com
Radio Talent: Joe Fisher (pxp), Tim Thompson (analyst)
Satellite Radio: Sirius 93, XM 190
Live Stats: vucommodores.com
Twitter Updates: @VandyMBB
Series Information
Series Record: Vanderbilt leads, 88-49.
Last Meeting: VU win, 59-54, on 1/29/14 in Athens.
Record at Vanderbilt: VU leads, 54-13.
Record at UGA: UGA leads, 33-29.
Record at Neutral Site: VU leads, 5-3.
Coach Stallings vs. UGA: Coach Stallings is 20-10 vs. Georgia.
About Georgia
Georgia enters the game with a 9-5 overall record and an 0-2 mark in SEC play. The Bulldogs have lost two hard-fought league games – a 79-75 decision to Arkansas at home and an 87-84 double overtime loss at LSU.
Marcus Thornton leads four players in double figures with 13.6 points per game. Charles Mann (12.1), Kenny Gaines (11.8), and Nemanja Djurisic (11.6) also average double figures. The Commodores have won nine straight in the series, dating back to the 2009-10 season. Vanderbilt has won seven consecutive games at home, dating back to the 2005-06 season. Vanderbilt will face Georgia twice this season, with their next meeting with the Bulldogs set for Jan. 27 in Athens. VU will play the Bulldogs, Tennessee, Mississippi State, Florida, and Alabama twice this season.
Stallings wins 300 vs. Penn, now has 303 Vanderbilt wins
Vanderbilt head coach Kevin Stallings won his 300th game at Vanderbilt 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 leads all SEC Freshmen
Freshman Riley LaChance is the leading freshman scorer in the SEC at 12.9 points per game, is second among SEC freshmen in three’s made per contest at 2.0 per game, which is sixth in the conference overall, and is third in the SEC overall in 3-point field goal percentage (.417). He recently won his second SEC Freshman of the Week award after averaging 16.5 points and 6.5 rebounds in wins over St. Louis and Yale. Earlier this year, he poured in a career-high 26 points in Vanderbilt’s win over Purdue on December 13 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).
Freshmen Leaders
Riley LaChance leads all SEC freshmen in scoring at 12.9 ppg, while Shelton Mitchell leads all freshmen in assists with 4.7 per contest. Wade Baldwin IV is third among freshmen in assists with 4.1 per game.
Damian Jones leads Commodores
Sophomore post player Damian Jones is having a stellar sophomore campaign, averaging 16.1 points and 7.1 rebounds per game in the first 15 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 second in the SEC in field goal percentage (.554), fifth in the SEC in scoring, T-6th in rebounding, T-5th in blocks (1.8), and 6th in defensive rebounding (4.7/game).
Vanderbilt among SEC leaders
The Commodores lead the SEC in FG% with 50.1%, and have shot 50% or better in eight games this year. VU is also 1st in 3-Pt FG% (.391) and 4th in assists (15.9). The Commodores are 7th in the country in FG%.
High Conversion Rate
The Commodores are the most efficient team in the league, shooting 50.0% from the field, and are only attempting an average of 49.6 attempts per game, the second-least in the SEC. Arkansas leads the league with 63.6 attempts per game.
Assists Numbers
Vanderbilt has 238 assists against only 216 turnovers in the 2014-15 season, and has two players in the top seven in assists, with Shelton Mitchell fourth at 4.7 apg and Wade Baldwin seventh with 4.1. Vanderbilt is fourth in the league in assists (15.9/game). The Commodores have 238 assists on 373 made baskets, a 63.8% clip, the best in the SEC and the fifth-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.
Double Your Pleasure
The Commodores won a 79-74 double overtime affair against Yale in its last time out, Vanderbilt’s first double overtime game since a 79-73 loss at Kentucky on January 12, 2008. Shelton Mitchell played a career-high 46 minutes Saturday, the most by a Vanderbilt player since that game at Kentucky, when Alex Gordon played 46 minutes and Shan Foster logged 47 minutes.
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.
Young Commodores
According to KenPom.com, Vanderbilt is number 348 out of 351 Division I playing schools in terms of experience at 0.72 years. The average years of experience across the 351 schools is 1.67 years.
Three-Point Streak Still Intact
Vanderbilt has made a 3-pointer in 911 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.
Commodores vs. the SEC
Vanderbilt has a 678-668 against the current members of the SEC.