Jan. 16, 2017
Vanderbilt Gamenotes 
| Georgia Gamenotes
Vanderbilt hits the road for two games this week, with the Commodores beginning their road swing with a game at Georgia on Tuesday evening at Stegeman Coliseum. The game will tip off at 8 p.m. CT and will be televised on ESPNU, with the action also being heard across the Vanderbilt IMG Radio Network and online at vucommodores.com.
The Commodores dropped to 8-9 overall and 2-3 in SEC play after an 87-75 loss to Tennessee at Memorial Gym on Saturday. Vanderbilt had five players score in double-figures for just the second time this season – Luke Kornet led the way with 18 points, with Jeff Roberson and Matthew Fisher-Davis adding 12 points and Joe Toye and Nolan Cressler each adding 10 points.
Vanderbilt shot 53.1% from the floor, the Commodores’ fifth game this season shooting 50% or better. It was the first time Vanderbilt has lost this season when shooting 50% or better.
Tennessee converted on 58.6% of its shots from the floor, the best by a Commodore opponent this season.
The Commodores attempted a season-low 14 three point attempts against Tennessee.
Vanderbilt (8-9, 2-3) vs. Georgia (11-6, 3-2)
Athens, Ga. – Stegeman Coliseum – 8 p.m. CT
TV: ESPNU
TV Talent: Mike Couzens (play by play), Brooke Weisbrod (color)
Radio: Vanderbilt Radio Network from IMG College, vucommodores.com
Radio Talent: Joe Fisher (pxp), Tim Thompson (analyst)
Satellite Radio: XM 134, Sirius 191
Live Stats: vucommodores.com
Twitter Updates: @VandyMBB
Anchor Points
- Vanderbilt leads the SEC in three-point field goal percentage (39.5%), threes made (9.8) and free throw percentage (77.1%). The Commodores rank 12th nationally in free-throw percentage.
- VU’s current RPI strength of schedule is 6th, and its non-conference schedule is ranked 4th.
- The Commodores have made 10 or more threes in seven games this year. Vanderbilt is averaging 10.8 made three’s per game in league play so far this season (total of 54 made).
- The meeting with Georgia will be the 137th meeting in the series and the 66th meeting played in Athens.
- 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 16.9 points per game, while Kornet adds 13.2 points, with Roberson (10.4) and Riley LaChance (10.1) 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 715 career threes. Fisher-Davis leads the way with 199. Cressler has 153, LaChance 144, and Roberson 112.
- Riley LaChance leads the SEC in three-point field goal percentage (55.6%) and is fourth in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.2). He is also seventh in the league in assists (4.1) and tied for 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 fifth in three-point field goal percentage (.408). In SEC play, Fisher-Davis leads the league in 3’s made (3.2 per game) and is fourth in scoring (18.8).
- Roberson ranks third in the SEC in defensive rebounding and is fifth in rebounding (7.2). Kornet is fifth in the SEC in blocks (2.1) and 10th in free throw percentage (.840).
- In SEC play, Kornet is ranked in the top 10 in eight different categories (Rebounding, FG%, 3FG%, 3FG Made, Blocks, Off. Rebounding, Def. Rebounding, Minutes Played).
- Senior guard Nolan Cressler, who transferred from Cornell after his sophomore season, eclipsed the 1,000 point barrier against Tennessee after scoring 10 points. He now has 1,009 points in his career.
Series Information
Series Record: VU leads, 88-48.
Last Meeting: VU win, 80-67, on Feb. 20, 2016, in Nashville.
Record at Vanderbilt: VU leads 50-17.
Record at Georgia: UGA leads 34-31.
Record at Neutral Site: VU leads 7-4.
Coach Drew vs. Georgia: Coach Drew has never faced Georgia.
About Georgia
- Georgia enters the game with an 11-7 overall record and a 3-2 mark in conference play.
- Bulldog post player Yante Maten leads the Bulldogs in scoring with 19.6 points per game. Guard J.J. Frazier also averages double figures with 16.6 points per contest.
- Vanderbilt leads the all-time series 88-48 heading into Tuesday’s contest. The Bulldogs lead the all-time series in Athens, 34-31, and won the last meeting between the two schools on January 27, 2015 (70-62).
- The first meeting between the two universities came in the 1913-14 season in Athens.
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 was the 996th regular season game played at Memorial Gym.
The Commodores have a 778-218 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 174 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 1.58 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 699-687.
981
Vanderbilt has made a 3-pointer in 981 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 199 threes in his Vanderbilt career and is in ninth place in career threes made on the Commodores’ all-time list.
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.