Nov. 17, 2016
After the Commodores’ first win of the season over Belmont on Tuesday night, Vanderbilt returns to action this Friday night when they host Norfolk State from the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. The game will tip off at 7 p.m. and will be televised online on SEC Network Plus, with the action also being heard across the Vanderbilt IMG Radio Network and online at vucommodores.com.
The Commodores handed first-year head coach Bryce Drew his first victory at the helm of the Vanderbilt basketball program in an 80-66 win over Belmont Tuesday at Memorial Gym. Senior Luke Kornet scored a team-high 20 points and made a career-best 12 free throws. Junior Matthew Fisher-Davis added 16, while junior Jeff Roberson and freshman Payton Willis chipped in 10 points. The 10 points was a career high for Willis.
The Commodores limited Belmont to 35.3% shooting on the night and a 9-41 effort from beyond-the-arc (22%). Vanderbilt also outrebounded the Bruins, 41-33.
Media Information
Vanderbilt (1-1) vs. Norfolk State (2-1)
Nashville, Tenn. – Memorial Gym – 7 p.m. CT
TV: SEC Network Plus
TV Talent: Kevin Ingram (play by play), Shan Foster (Color)
Radio: Vanderbilt Radio Network from IMG College, vucommodores.com
Radio Talent: Joe Fisher (pxp), Tim Thompson (analyst)
Live Stats: vucommodores.com
Twitter Updates: @VandyMBB
Anchor Points
- The Commodores dropped a 95-71 decision to Marquette in their season opener on Friday at the Veterans Classic presented by Northwestern Mutual in Annapolis, Md., at the U.S. Naval Academy. Senior center Luke Kornet led the team with 15 points, while junior Matthew Fisher-Davis added 12 points.
- The loss to Marquette snapped a streak of nine consecutive wins on opening day. The Commodores’ last loss before Friday on opening day was against Georgetown on November 15, 2006 (L, 70-86). Ironically, Vanderbilt and Georgetown matched up in the Sweet 16 later that season in New Jersey in a game the Hoyas won, 66-65, on a controversial non-walk call against Georgetown’s Jeff Green.
- The Commodores return nine letterwinners for 2016-17, including three starters, Luke Kornet, Jeff Roberson, Matthew Fisher-Davis, and one other player, Riley LaChance, who has started 55 games in his three-year career. Fisher-Davis is the leading Commodore scorer after averaging 9.7 points per game in 2015-16.
- In 2015-16, the Commodores finished in a tie for third nationally in three-point field goal percentage defense, limiting opponents to only 29.4% from three. Vanderbilt also finished fifth in field goal percentage defense (38.6%) and ninth in blocks per game (5.5). Luke Kornet tied for third nationally in blocks, averaging 3.0 per contest.
- The 11 SEC wins in 2016 was the most since the Commodores registered 12 in 2009-10, and the 15th time in program history a Vanderbilt team has recorded 11 or more league victories.
- Matthew Fisher-Davis led the SEC in three-point field goal percentage in 2015-16, converting on 44.6% of his attempts from beyond-the-arc. Luke Kornet led the conference in blocks with 3.0 per game.
- The Commodores made their 14th appearance in the NCAA Tournament and first appearance since 2012 in the 2016 NCAA Tournament when Vanderbilt advanced to the First Four in Dayton.
- Senior Luke Kornet and junior Matthew Fisher-Davis were each named to the All-SEC Preseason second team by the league’s coaches last week.
Series Information
Series Record: VU leads, 1-0
Last Meeting: Vanderbilt win, 63-53, on Nov. 25, 2014, at Memorial Gym.
Record at Vanderbilt: VU leads, 1-0.
Record at Norfolk State: NA
Record at Neutral Site: NA
Coach Drew vs. Norfolk State: Coach Drew has never faced Norfolk State.
About Norfolk State
- Norfolk State will make their second appearance in three seasons at Memorial Gym this Friday.
- The Commodores won the only other meeting between the two schools on Nov. 25, 2014, 63-53.
- Senior guard Jonathan Wade leads the Spartans in scoring with 22.3 points per game. Junior Zaynah Robinson adds 14.7 points per game, and senior Carrington Ward chips in 10.7.
- Junior guard Micah Goss hails from Knoxville and attended Fulton High School.
Other News and Notes
Notes from Belmont Game
- Vanderbilt has won 10 consecutive home-openers after the win over Belmont. The last time the Commodores fell in the home opener was back in 2006 when they lost to Georgetown.
- The Commodores held Belmont to 9-for-41 (22.0 percent) from behind the arc. Vanderbilt was ranked in a tie for third nationally last season in three-point field goal defense, holding opponents to just 29.4 percent.
- Vanderbilt eclipsed the 80-point plateau for the first time this season. The ‘Dores scored 80 or more points 15 times last season and were 13-2 in those games.
- The Commodores shot 9-for-18 (50.0 percent) from the three-point line against Belmont. The ‘Dores shot 50 percent or better from three five times last year and were 4-1 in those games.
- Vanderbilt shot 25-for-31 from the free throw line. The Commodores shot 30 or more times from the free throw line six times last season and held a 5-1 in those games.
- The Commodores tallied 41 rebounds against the Bruins, a feat they achieved 12 times last season.
- Luke Kornet led the way with a team-high 20 points, his second consecutive double-digit scoring game and 34th of his career.
- Kornet set a career high in free throws made and attempts when he went 12-for-16 from the charity stripe Tuesday night.
- Matthew Fisher-Davis scored in double-figures for the second-consecutive game and the 29th of his career after scoring 18 points against Belmont.
- Fisher-Davis was 3-for-6 (50.0 percent) from behind the arc, his 30th career game with three or more three-pointers made.
- Jeff Roberson was the third of four Commodores to score in double figures against Belmont. He chipped in with 10 points for his 22nd career double-digit scoring game.
- Freshman Payton Willis was the final Commodore to score in double figures. He scored 10 points as well to give him his first career double-digit scoring game.
- Redshirt freshman Djery Baptiste was a spark early off the bench for the Commodores. In just his second career game, Baptiste scored eight points while pulling in three rebounds in 11 minutes of action.
- Joe Toye set a career high in rebounds when he pulled in six against Belmont Tuesday night. His previous high was four, which was set three separate times.
VU Staff Can Score
The Vanderbilt men’s basketball staff has combined to score a total of 5,486 collegiate points, with head coach Bryce Drew leading the way with 2,142 points. Here’s a breakdown of the staff’s scoring totals.
Head Coach Bryce Drew, Valparaiso=2,142
Asst. Coach Casey Shaw, Toledo=1,562
Assoc. Head Coach Roger Powell, Jr., Illinois=1,178
Asst. Coach Jake Diebler, Valparaiso=586
Total=5,468
Kornet Excels in Classroom
Senior center Luke Kornet has been named to the SEC Academic Honor Roll in the three years he has played at Vanderbilt, and also been named a CoSida All-District Academic Selection in his sophomore and junior seasons.
Kornet is double majoring in computer science and mathematics.
Coach Drew’s First Home Game
New head coach Bryce Drew coached his first game at Memorial Gym on Tuesday against Belmont, and was the ninth Vanderbilt basketball coach to open their Commodore career in the facility. A look at career openers at Memorial.
Bob Polk, Dec. 6, 1952 vs. Virginia W, 90-83
Roy Skinner, Dec. 2, 1958 vs. Sewanee W, 71-42
Wayne Dobbs, Dec. 1, 1976 vs. Louisville L, 76-81 (OT)
Richard Schmidt, Nov. 30, 1979 vs. Rice W, 94-75
C.M. Newton, Dec. 14, 1981, vs. N. Alabama W, 116-88
Eddie Fogler, Nov. 29, 1989, vs. Tenn. Tech L, 76-89
Jan van Breda Kolff, Nov. 26, 1993 vs. Penn. St. W, 83-60
Kevin Stallings, Nov. 23, 1999 vs. Belmont W, 72-55
Bryce Drew, Nov. 15, 2016 vs. Belmont W, 80-66
Four with 25+ threes
Four returning Commodores made 25 or more threes a year ago, with Matthew Fisher-Davis leading the way with 79. Riley LaChance (43), Jeff Roberson (30), and Luke Kornet (26) also eclipsed the 25 made three mark.
Returning for VU
57.3% of the team’s scoring returns from a year ago, along with six players who played 28 or more games and four players who made 19 or more starts.
In fact, the projected starting five (Kornet – 95 games), Fisher-Davis (68), LaChance (70), Roberson (67), and Cressler (91) have combined to play in 391 games.
Commodores vs. MEAC
The Commodores have an 8-1 record against the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. Norfolk State will be the only MEAC team the Commodores face in the regular season this year.
966
Vanderbilt has made a 3-pointer in 966 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.
NBA Commodores
Vanderbilt was one of only three schools (Kentucky, Washington) with two first-round selections in the 2016 NBA Draft when Wade Baldwin IV was drafted 17th by the Memphis Grizzlies and Damian Jones was selected 30th by the Golden State Warriors. Baldwin IV and Jones became the sixth and seventh first-round picks, respectively, in the history of the program, joining Will Perdue in 1988 (11th, Chicago), Jeff Turner in 1984 (7th, New Jersey), Clyde Lee in 1966 (3rd, San Francisco), and John Jenkins (23rd, Atlanta), and Festus Ezeli (30th, Golden State) in 2012.
Memorial Gym close to 1,000
The matchup with Norfolk State will be the 989th regular season game played at Memorial Gym.
2015-16 National Statistics
In 2015-16, the Commodores finished in a tie for third nationally in three-point field goal percentage defense, limiting opponents to only 29.4% from three. Vanderbilt also finished fifth in field goal percentage defense (38.6%) and ninth in blocks per game (5.5). Luke Kornet tied for third nationally in blocks, averaging 3.0 per contest.
Commodore Postseason History
The Commodores have been named to 14 NCAA Tournaments and 12 NIT’s. Vanderbilt advanced to the Elite 8 in 1965 (field of 23), and the Sweet 16 in 1988, 1993, 2004, and 2007. The Commodores captured the NIT Championship in 1990 and finished runner-up in 1994.
Vanderbilt Coaching History
Bryce Drew is the ninth Commodore basketball coach of the modern era and the 27th all time.