Feb. 27, 2016
Teams: Vanderbilt (15-13, 4-11) vs. No. 24 Missouri (21-7, 8-7)
Day, Date: Sunday, Feb. 28
Tip-off time: 1 p.m.
Site: Mizzou Arena (Columbia, Missouri)
Radio: 560 AM / 95.9 FM
TV: SEC Network
Vanderbilt’s current streak: Lost eight straight
Vanderbilt’s last five/10 games: 0-5/2-8
Missouri’s current streak: Lost one
Missouri’s last five/10 games: 3-2/6-4
Game Notes: Available soon.
The Vanderbilt women have one more chance to end their February frustrations. The Commodores, who have dropped their past eight games, travel to Missouri on Sunday to face the No. 24/24 Tigers in the regular-season finale for both teams. The game will be Vanderbilt’s sixth consecutive contest against a ranked opponent. Missouri (21-7, 8-7) has been on a late-season roll, winning three of its past four games, and the Tigers will carry an impressive 13-2 home record into the contest. Sunday’s game will be just the fifth all-time meeting — and only the second at Mizzou Arena — between Vanderbilt and Missouri. The Commodores won the first two games, but Missouri has won the past two, including a 54-51 victory last season in Nashville. Here’s a closer look at Sunday’s game:
l What’s on the line for VU and Mizzou: Having gone winless since Jan. 28, Vanderbilt is looking to grab a little momentum for March by earning its first win in February. The losing skid has dropped the Commodores into 11th place in the conference. Although Vanderbilt can not move up in the standings, a win today would enable the Commodores to clinch the No. 11 seed for next week’s SEC tournament, and they would face the No. 14 seed in Wednesday’s play-in round of the tourney. … Missouri, meanwhile, is apart of a logjam in the middle of the conference standings. The Tigers, who are tied with Auburn for seventh place, are one game ahead of ninth-place Tennessee and one game behind the three teams who are tied for fourth.
l The string continues: Today’s game represents Vanderbilt’s sixth consecutive contest against a ranked opponent. The list has included games against No. 25 Tennessee, No. 18 Kentucky, No. 25 Florida, No. 12 Texas A&M, No. 14 Mississippi State and No. 24 Missouri. … Vanderbilt is 1-7 against ranked teams this season, with the victory coming on Jan. 28, when the Commodores downed No. 12 Kentucky 71-69 in Lexington. It was Vanderbilt’s first road win over a ranked opponent since winning at Oklahoma in 2012. … Vanderbilt, which went 1-9 against ranked teams last season, played only one ranked foe this season from Nov. 15 though Jan. 20, but has played eight ranked teams (including today) since that date.
l Marqu’es at her best: For the second season in a row, Marqu’es Webb is putting together a fantastic finish. Over the past six games, she has gone 22-of-33 (66.7 percent) from the floor, and is averaging 10.5 points and 6.3 rebounds per game in that stretch. She had 11 points, including going 9-of-10 from the foul line, and pulled down seven rebounds in Sunday’s loss to Mississippi State. Webb also put together some amazing numbers down the stretch last season, shooting 68.2 percent — going 28-of-41 — during the final six games of the season. She averaged 12.3 points per game during that stretch, and reached double figures in five of the six games.
l What’s trending for VU: Despite the recent rough patch, the Commodores continue to rank among the nation’s best in several significant categories. They are No. 12 in the country in field-goal percentage (46.3 percent) and 27th in 3-point accuracy (35.9 percent) — and they lead the SEC in both categories. On the defensive end, the Commodores are surrendering 56.5 points per game, which ranks 37th in the country and fourth in the SEC. … Vanderbilt held its opponents to less than 50 percent shooting from the floor in 25 of its first 28 games this season. The lone exceptions are South Carolina, Florida and Texas A&M. … The Commodores are limiting opponents to 27.8 rebounds per game, which is easily the best mark in the conference.
l Star Power: Sophomore sharpshooter Christa Reed is averaging a team-high 10.8 points per game and is shooting 41.8 percent from 3-point range. Reed has been leading the SEC and ranked among the NCAA’s top-10 in 3-point accuracy for much of the season but doesn’t currently qualify to be listed among the conference and national leaders. … Point guard Minta Spears is seventh in the SEC in assists (4.3 apg) and seventh in the SEC in minutes played (32.4 mpg). … Junior Marque’s Webb is VU’s top rebounder at 5.6 per game. She is averaging 6.6 rebounds in SEC games. … Spears is No. 2 in the SEC in assist-to-turnover ratio in conference games at 1.8.
l Need one more: The Commodores need to win one more game to surpass their win total from last season, when they finished 15-16 and missed the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1999. Vanderbilt is also one SEC victory away from matching last season’s conference win total, when the Commodores finished 5-11.
l Scouting Missouri: The Tigers, who saw a three-game winning streak end on Sunday with a 69-59 loss at Kentucky, rank 81st in the nation in scoring (69.5 ppg) and 50th in defense (58.0 ppg). They are 20th in the nation in free throw percentage at 75.3 percent and 24th in field-goal defense at 35.5. … Missouri leads the SEC in 3-pointers per game (7.0) and assists per game (15.9). … The Tigers have attempted 604 three-pointers, the second most in the SEC behind Ole Miss’ 653. (Vanderbilt has attempted 423). … Missouri freshman Sophie Cunningham ranks 10th in the SEC in scoring at 13.9 ppg and junior Jordan Frericks ranks 15th at 12.4 ppg.
l Series History: Sunday’s game is only the fifth all-time meeting between the teams, with the series tied at 2-2. … Missouri has won the two most recent matchups, including a 54-51 win last season in Nashville. … Vanderbilt is 0-1 at Mizzou Arena, losing 59-54 during the 2013-14 season. … The teams played the first-ever game in the series during the 2012-13 season, when Vanderbilt posted a 62-46 victory in Nashville. The Commodores also defeated Missouri 53-40 at the SEC Tournament in Duluth, Ga., that same season.
l Last year’s Vanderbilt-Missouri games: The Commodores won the rebounding battle rather handily in last season’s game against Missouri, but it was three rebounds that Vanderbilt didn’t secure that proved costly for the Commodores in a 54-51 loss in Nashville on Feb. 22, 2015. With Missouri nursing a one-point lead in the game’s final minute, the Tigers pulled down three offensive rebounds — two after missed 3-pointers and another after a missed free throw — to extend the possession. The pivotal sequence enabled the Tigers to burn more than 30 seconds off the clock, and they ultimately escaped with the victory over the Commodores when Rebekah Dahlman missed a contested 3-pointer at the buzzer. Missouri’s Jordan Frericks finished with a game-high 15 points and eight rebounds for the Tigers, who went 8-of-25 from 3-point range. Vanderbilt’s Marqu’es Webb finished with 11 points and 11 rebounds, but she was lone player to reach double figures in scoring for the Commodores, who suffered the loss despite winning the rebounding battle, 34-26.
l VU’s most recent game: Continuing a challenging late-season stretch, Vanderbilt fell to No. 16 Mississippi State, 66-61, on Senior Night at Memorial Gym on Thursday night. It was the eighth consecutive loss for the Commodores (15-13, 4-11), who were playing their fifth straight game against a ranked opponent. Mississippi State’s Victoria Vivans, the SEC’s second-leading scorer, finished with 21 points for the Bulldogs (23-6, 10-5). Rachel Bell led Vanderbilt with 14 points and Marqu’es Webb had 11 points and seven rebounds. Vanderbilt trailed by as many as 16 points in the second half, but used a late push to trim the deficit to 58-55 after a 3-pointer by Rebekah Dahlman with 33 seconds remaining in the game. But Mississippi State’s Morgan William made four consecutive free throws to push the Bulldogs’ lead out to 62-55 with 24 seconds left, and the Commodores were unable to get closer than five points from there.