Jan. 13, 2017
Vanderbilt Gamenotes 
| Tennessee Gamenotes
Vanderbilt will welcome their most-played rival to Memorial Gym for the 65th consecutive season, when Tennessee comes to town for their annual visit. The game will tip off at 7:30 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.
The meeting with Tennessee will be the 192nd meeting in the series and the 86th meeting played in Nashville. The Volunteers own a 117-74 advantage in the series, but the Commodores lead the all-time record in games played at Vanderbilt with a 50-35 mark.
The Commodores dropped to 8-8 overall and 2-2 in SEC play after an 87-81 loss to Kentucky at Memorial Gym on January 10. Four Vanderbilt players scored 15 or more points, with a trio of Commodores, Jeff Roberson (19), Matthew Fisher-Davis (19), and Riley LaChance (19) leading the way. Luke Kornet also added 16 points.
The four Vanderbilt players scoring 15 or more points is the first time Vanderbilt has had four or more 15+point scorers since Jeffery Taylor (20), John Jenkins (17), Brad Tinsley (16), Lance Goulbourne (16), and Festus Ezeli (15) accomplished the feat at LSU on 2/26/2011.
Kentucky shot 50.7% from the floor, compared to 43.1% for Vanderbilt, and the Wildcats outrebounded the Commodores, 40-34. VU limited Kentucky to only one three for the game (1-9). Vanderbilt made 8 threes (8-29).
White Out
Saturday night is Vanderbilt’s annual White Out game against Tennessee. Fans are encouraged to wear white to the game.
Tickets Available
Tickets are still available for Saturday’s game by visiting vucommodores.com or by calling or visiting the McGugin Center Ticket Office. The number to call is 615-322-GOLD.
Vanderbilt (8-8, 2-2) vs. Tennessee (8-8, 1-3)
Nashville, Tenn. – Memorial Gym – 7:30 p.m. CT
TV: SEC Network
TV Talent: Dave Neal (play by play), Jon Sundvold (color)
Radio: Vanderbilt Radio Network from IMG College, vucommodores.com
Radio Talent: Joe Fisher (pxp), Tim Thompson (analyst)
Satellite Radio: XM 83, Sirius 190
Live Stats: vucommodores.com
Twitter Updates: @VandyMBB
Anchor Points
- Vanderbilt leads the SEC in three-point field goal percentage (39.4%) and in threes made (10.1) and is second in free throw percentage (76.8%). The Commodores rank 13th nationally in threes made and 15th in free-throw percentage.
- VU’s current RPI strength of schedule is 10th, and its non-conference schedule is ranked 8th.
- The Commodores have made 10 or more threes in seven games this year. Vanderbilt is averaging 12.0 made three’s per game in league play so far this season (total of 48 made).
- The meeting with Tennessee will be the 192nd meeting in the series and the 86th meeting played in Nashville. The Volunteers are the Commodores’ most-played opponent in the program’s history.
- Vanderbilt is 2-1 against Tennessee with Rick Barnes at the helm of the Volunteer program, with all of the games occuring last season. In the three games last year, Vanderbilt made a combined 29 threes and outrebounded the Volunteers by an average of +4.7.
- Matthew Fisher-Davis’ 33 points against Auburn on January 4 was the first time a Commodore scored that many points since March 4, 2009, when A.J. Ogilvy scored 33 points in a win over LSU.
- Fisher-Davis also knocked down seven 3-pointers, a new career-high against the Tigers. He was the first Vanderbilt player to make seven three’s in a game since John Jenkins made seven against Lafayette on December 21, 2011.
- The Commodores are in their 84th season of SEC basketball – Vanderbilt is one of the founding members of the Southeastern Conference. Vanderbilt’s next SEC win will be its 700th all-time league win.
- Fisher-Davis leads the team in scoring with 17.0 points per game, while Kornet adds 12.9 points, with Roberson (10.3) and LaChance (10.2) each adding double figure scoring.
- Making three’s is not a new thing for this year’s Commodore team. Combined in their career, current players have made 709 career threes. Fisher-Davis leads the way with 197. Cressler has 153, LaChance 143, and Roberson 112.
- Riley LaChance leads the SEC in three-point field goal percentage (55.7%) and is fourth in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.3). He is also seventh in the league in assists (4.2) and eighth in three’s made (2.1).
- Fisher-Davis is sixth in the SEC in scoring in all games, second in the league in three’s made (2.9), and seventh in three-point field goal percentage (.421). Roberson ranks third in the SEC in defensive rebounding and is fourth in rebounding (7.3). Kornet is fourth in the SEC in blocks (2.0) and 9th in free throw percentage (.836).
- In SEC play, Kornet is ranked in the top 10 in seven different categories (Rebounding, 3FG%, 3FG Made, Blocks, Off. Rebounding, Def. Rebounding, Minutes Played).
- Senior guard Nolan Cressler, who transferred from Cornell after his sophomore season, is now only one point away from 1,000 in his career.
Series Information
Series Record: Tenn. leads, 117-74.
Last Meeting: Tenn. win, 67-65, on 3/10/16 in SEC Tournament.
Record at Vanderbilt: VU leads 50-35.
Record at Tennessee: UT leads 73-23.
Record at Neutral Site: UT leads 9-1.
Coach Drew vs. Tennessee: Coach Drew has never faced Tennessee.
About Tennessee
- Tennessee enters the game Saturday with an 8-8 overall record and a 1-3 mark in SEC play.
- Guard Robert Hubbs III leads the Volunteers with 14.6 points per game. Grant Williams adds 10.8 points per contest.
- The Volunteers feature one player from Nashville – freshman Jordan Bone, who attended The Ensworth School.
- The Commodores won two of three meetings last season, including an 86-69 win at Memorial Gym on March 1, 2016. Vanderbilt leads the series in games played at Vanderbilt, 50-35.
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 Tennessee will be the 996th regular season game played at Memorial Gym.
The Commodores have a 778-217 record at the SEC’s oldest facility, a winning percentage of .782.
Kornet Moving Up Blocks List
Senior Luke Kornet is now second on the Vanderbilt all-time block list with 171 career blocks and only trails Festus Ezeli on the list. Ezeli, who currently is on the Portland Trail Blazers roster, is the all-time blocks leader with 204 career blocks. Kornet is also third on the blocks per game list with 1.57 in his career. Kornet trails Ezeli and Damian Jones, who currently plays for the Golden State Warriors, on the list (each at 1.69 per game).
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 699-686.
980
Vanderbilt has made a 3-pointer in 980 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 197 threes in his Vanderbilt career and is tied for ninth place in career threes made on the Commodores’ all-time list with 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.