Jan. 8, 2016
Vanderbilt Gamenotes 
| South Carolina Gamenotes
The Commodores’ men’s basketball team is on the road once again this week when they travel to Columbia, S.C., to take on the undefeated and nationally ranked South Carolina Gamecocks. The game will tip off at 2 p.m. CT and will be televised on ESPNU, with all of the action also available on the Vanderbilt IMG Sports Radio Network.
Vanderbilt and South Carolina will meet for the 55th time on Saturday afternoon, with the Commodores holding a 29-25 advantage in the series. The Gamecocks hold the series lead in games played in Columbia, 13-12.
Vanderbilt dropped to 8-6 overall and 0-2 in SEC play after a 90-85 loss in overtime at Arkansas on Tuesday night. Junior center Damian Jones scored 24 points and 15 rebounds, which tied career highs in both categories. It was also Jones’ third double-double of the season and the 10th of his career. Sophomore guard Matthew Fisher-Davis tallied a career-high 20 points, and junior forward Luke Kornet returned from a five-game absence to score 11 points and eight rebounds in 28 minutes of action. It was his first game since VU’s game at Baylor on December 6.
Game 15/Vanderbilt (8-6, 0-2 SEC) vs. #22/20 South Carolina (14-0, 1-0 SEC)
Columbia, S.C. – Colonial Life Arena – 2 p.m. CT
TV: ESPNU
TV Talent: Mike Morgan (pxp), Chris Spatola (analyst), Kayce Smith (sidelines)
Radio: Vanderbilt Radio Network from IMG College, vucommodores.com
Radio Talent: Joe Fisher (pxp), Tim Thompson (analyst)
Satellite Radio: Sirius 108, XM 190
Live Stats: vucommodores.com
Twitter Updates: @VandyMBB
Series Information
Series Record: VU leads, 29-25.
Last Meeting: VU win, 65-50, on 2/7/15 in Nashville.
Record at Vanderbilt: VU leads, 16-10.
Record at SC: SC leads, 13-12.
Record at Neutral Site: SC leads, 2-1.
Coach Stallings vs. SC: Coach Stallings is 16-14 vs. South Carolina.
Quick Hitters
- Five Commodore players scored in double figures for the third consecutive game against Arkansas.
- Vanderbilt committed a season-high 26 turnovers, which resulted in 29 Arkansas points off of those turnovers.
- The Commodores shot 50% from the floor and 50% from three, their sixth game of the season shooting 50% or better from the floor, and the second time this season VU has converted on 50% or better of their shots from three. The loss to the Razorbacks marked the first time Vanderbilt has lost a game when shooting 50% or better, and only the second time VU has lost when outshooting an opponent.
- Vanderbilt leads the all-time series between the two teams, 29-25, with the Commodores winning the last meeting between the two schools on February 7, 2015, in Nashville. In games played in Columbia, South Carolina leads the overall series, 13-12, with the Gamecocks winning the last meeting at Colonial Life Arena, 65-59, on February 13, 2014.
- Two Commodores are averaging double figures on the season, with Baldwin leading the way with 14.7 ppg. Jones is also averaging 13.4 points per game.
- Seven of the team’s eight wins have come by 20 points or more.
- Ten players have scored in double figures in a game this season – Baldwin, Luke Kornet, Jones, Roberson, LaChance, Matthew Fisher-Davis, Cressler, Camron Justice, Josh Henderson, and Joe Toye.
- Fisher-Davis leads the SEC in 3-Point Field Goal Percentage (.493) and has made 24 three’s in his last eight games.
- Vanderbilt has an overall record of 88-224 in games versus ranked opponents, and a 19-134 record in road games. Vanderbilt’s last win over a ranked opponent came on March 11, 2012, against number one Kentucky to win the SEC Tournament in New Orleans, and the Commodores have lost 11 consecutive games against ranked opponents. VU’s last win on the road came against #13 Marquette on Dec. 29, 2011 (74-57).
- The Commodores have held opponents to only 37.1% from the floor, and 28.3% from three – the field goal percentage defense is second in the SEC and three-point field goal percentage defense leads the SEC. VU’s FG% defense ranks 10th in the nation, and its 3FG% defense ranks 14th in the country.
- 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 321 career wins at Vanderbilt and 444 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.
945
Vanderbilt has made a 3-pointer in 945 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.
Academic Success
Eight members of this year’s team were named to the SEC Academic Honor Roll or the SEC First-Year Academic Honor Roll for 2014-15.
Non-Conference Tough
According to KenPom.com, Vanderbilt has had a difficult non-conference slate. The Commodores’ non-conference schedule is ranked 78th in the nation, but fourth among all Power Five schools. Only Florida (40), UCLA (58), and Wake Forest (66) have had a tougher schedule according to KenPom.
Ranked Opponents
Vanderbilt will be playing their fourth game against a ranked opponent this season Saturday against South Carolina, who checks in at number 22 in the Associated Press poll and 20th in the USA Today/Coaches poll. The four ranked games is the most a Vanderbilt team has faced in a season since the Commodores had 10 games against ranked foes in 2011-12. The most games against a ranked foe in a single season came in the 2002-03 campaign, when the Commodores faced 12 ranked teams.
About South Carolina
- South Carolina enters the game with a perfect 14-0 mark and a 1-0 mark in SEC play. The Gamecocks are one of only two undefeated teams in the nation (SMU).
- Michael Carrera leads five Gamecock players in double figures with 12.4 points per game. Duane Notice (12.1), Sindarius Thornwell (12.1), Mindaugas Kacinas (11.6), and Laimonas Chatkevicius (10.9) also average double digits.
- South Carolina is outrebounding opponents by a margin of +10.3 per game.