Jan. 3, 2017
Vanderbilt Gamenotes 
| Auburn Gamenotes
The Commodores will open the 2017 SEC home portion of their schedule this Wednesday night when Vanderbilt welcomes Auburn to Memorial Gym. The game will tip off at 6 p.m. CT and will be televised on the SEC Network, with the action also being heard across the Vanderbilt IMG Radio Network and online at vucommodores.com.
Vanderbilt improved to 7-6 on the season after defeating LSU in their conference opener, 96-89, on December 29 in Baton Rouge. Riley LaChance scored a season-high 24 points in the win, with Matthew Fisher-Davis adding his second consecutive game with 20 points or more with 23. Luke Kornet added 14 points, Payton Willis 11, and Nolan Cressler 10 in the win.
The win against the Tigers ended a five game losing streak to LSU.
Thursday also marked the first time that Vanderbilt had won its conference road opener since defeating South Carolina, 67-57, on January 10, 2012. The win over LSU on the road was Vanderbilt’s first 1-0 conference start with a road game win since opening SEC play at Alabama on January 3, 1989, with a 68-67 victory over the Crimson Tide.
Vanderbilt (7-6, 1-0) vs. Auburn (10-3, 0-1)
Nashville, Tenn. – Memorial Gym – 6 p.m. CT
TV: SEC Network
TV Talent: Dave Neal (play by play), Chris Spatola (Color)
Radio: Vanderbilt Radio Network from IMG College, vucommodores.com
Radio Talent: Joe Fisher (pxp), Tim Thompson (analyst)
Satellite Radio: XM 119, Sirius 191
Live Stats: vucommodores.com
Twitter Updates: @VandyMBB
Anchor Points
- The 96 points scored was the most by a Vanderbilt team in SEC play since the Commodores scored 102 in a 102-76 win at Ole Miss on February 16, 2012.
- The Commodores made 16 threes (16-32) on the night, the third time this season Vanderbilt has made 15 or more threes in a game (Santa Clara, High Point).
- Combined, the two teams made 33 threes, which set a new SEC record for combined threes in a game.
- The Commodores are in their 84th season of SEC basketball – Vanderbilt is one of the founding members of the Southeastern Conference.
- Wednesday’s meeting will be the 140th all-time in the series and the only meeting between the two schools this season.
- Vanderbilt has won 12 consecutive games in the series, dating back to a 68-65 Auburn win on January 6, 2007 in Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum.
- The last time the two teams played in Nashville, Luke Kornet tallied the program’s second ever triple double when he had 11 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 blocks in a win over the Tigers on January 12, 2016.
- Vanderbilt leads the SEC in three-point field goal percentage (40.2%), in threes made (9.9) and free throw percentage (78.7%).
- Fisher-Davis leads the team in scoring with 16.4 points per game, while Kornet adds 12.8 points, and Roberson 10.5.
- Riley LaChance leads the SEC in three-point field goal percentage (59.6%) and assist-to-turnover ratio (3.4). He is also tied for fifth in the league in assists (4.4) and tied for seventh in three’s made (2.2).
- Fisher-Davis ranks sixth in the SEC in scoring, second in the league in three’s made (2.8), fourth in three-point field goal percentage (.425), and 10th in free throw percentage (.852). Roberson ranks third in the SEC in defensive rebounding and is tied for sixth in rebounding (7.7). Kornet is eighth in the SEC in blocks (1.8) and 8th in free throw percentage (.859).
- Matthew Fisher-Davis has scored in double figures in 11 games, Roberson 10, Luke Kornet eight, and Riley LaChance in six.
- Chattanooga was the Commodores’ fourth non-conference opponent of the season from the state of Tennessee. Vanderbilt has also played Belmont, Tennessee State, and Middle Tennessee and compiled a 3-1 record against the four teams.
- Freshman guard Payton Willis has started in eight consecutive games, beginning with the game against Santa Clara. Against the Broncos, Willis had a career-high eight assists. It was the most by a Commodore since Wade Baldwin IV had eight assists against Tennessee on March 10, 2016.
Series Information
Series Record: VU leads, 88-51.
Last Meeting: VU win, 86-57, 2/13/16, at Auburn.
Record at Vanderbilt: VU leads, 50-16.
Record at Auburn: VU leads, 35-29.
Record at Neutral Site: Auburn leads, 6-3.
Coach Drew vs. Auburn: Coach Drew has never faced Auburn.
About Auburn
- Auburn enters the contest with Vanderbilt Wednesday with a 10-3 overall record and an 0-1 mark in SEC play.
- Freshman Mustapha Heron leads the Tigers in scoring with 16.2 points per game. Danjel Purifoy (14.5) and Jared Harper (12.5) also average double figures.
- The Tigers will start a junior, three freshmen and a redshirt freshmen.
- Wednesday’s meeting will be the 140th all-time in the series and the only meeting between the two schools this season.
- Vanderbilt has won 12 consecutive games in the series, dating back to a 68-65 Auburn win on January 6, 2007 in Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum.
- The Commodores have a 50-17 all-time record against the Tigers in games played in Nashville and have a 37-13 mark against Auburn in games played at Memorial Gym.
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
Memorial Gym close to 1,000
The matchup with Auburn will be the 994th regular season game played at Memorial Gym.
The Commodores have a 777-216 record at the SEC’s oldest facility, a winning percentage of .782.
Dores Drain Threes
Vanderbilt made 19 threes against High Point on December 6, which set a new school record for threes in a game, surpassing an 18-three performance at Tennessee on January 8, 2005.
The Commodores also set a new record for most 3-pointers made at Memorial Gym, passing the old mark of 16 that was set on Jan. 8, 1994 vs. South Carolina and then matched on Feb. 11, 1995 vs. Arkansas. The Commodores hit 12 of their 19 3-pointers in the first half.
VU Makes Gamewinner
The Commodores made their first game-winning basket in almost four years against Chattanooga on December 17, when Luke Kornet made a three with 2.9 seconds remaining to give VU the 76-74 win over the Mocs.
The game-winner was the first since Kevin Bright made a 15-footer from the baseline on February 27, 2013, to defeat Georgia, 63-62, at Memorial Gym.
Neutral Site Dores
Vanderbilt has played in four neutral site games already this season – against Minnesota in Sioux Falls, S.D., the season opener vs. Marquette (Veterans Classic, Annapolis, Md.) and the two games at the Continental Tire Las Vegas Invitational (Butler, Santa Clara).
Commodores vs. SEC
Vanderbilt is in its 84th SEC season and is a charter member of the league. All time against current members of the conference, Vanderbilt is 698-685.
977
Vanderbilt has made a 3-pointer in 977 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.
First Time This Season
With the win over Chattanooga on December 17, Vanderbilt won its first game this season when: trailing at halftime, trailing with five minutes remaining, tied with two minutes remaining, in a game decided by 3 points or less, when outshot by an opponent, when outrebounded by an opponent, and when an opponent scores 70 points or more.
Fisher-Davis in Top 10 for 3’s
Matthew Fisher-Davis now has 187 threes in his Vanderbilt career and is in 10th place in career threes made on the Commodores’ all-time list. Fisher-Davis is 10 short of ninth place Mario Moore, who played from 2003-06.
Commodores make 16 3’s vs LSU
Vanderbilt made 16 of 32 threes in route to a 96-89 win over LSU on December 29, the Commodores third game this season making 15 or more threes.
On December 29, the two teams combined to make 33 three pointers, which set a new SEC record for combined threes in a game.