Jan. 20, 2017
Vanderbilt Gamenotes 
| Florida Gamenotes
Vanderbilt are once again on the road this week to finish off a two-game road swing, with the next stop being Gainesville and the Florida Gators. The game will tip off at 11 a.m. CT and will be televised on CBS, with the action also being heard across the Vanderbilt IMG Radio Network and online at vucommodores.com.
The Commodores dropped to 8-10 overall and 2-4 in SEC play after a 76-68 loss to Georgia in Athens, Ga., on Tuesday. Luke Kornet led the Commodores with 19 points, his sixth consecutive game in double figures. Riley LaChance added 13 points, while Jeff Roberson and Nolan Cressler each tallied 11 points. Cressler’s 11-point performance was his best of the season.
The Commodores finished the game 10-31 from three, the eighth time this season Vanderbilt has made 10 or more threes in a game. Vanderbilt is averaging 10.8 made three’s per game in league play so far this season.
Georgia attempted 34 free throws in the game, while Vanderbilt only attempted six. The 34 free throws attempted was the second-most by an opponent this season (36, Butler). The Commodores outrebounded Georgia, 37-32, and 11-8 on the offensive glass.
Vanderbilt (8-10, 2-4) vs. Florida (14-4, 5-1)
Gainesville, Fla. – Exectach Arena – 11 a.m. CT
TV: CBS
TV Talent: Kevin Harlan (play by play), Jim Spanarkel (color)
Radio: Vanderbilt Radio Network from IMG College, vucommodores.com
Radio Talent: Joe Fisher (pxp), Tim Thompson (analyst)
Satellite Radio: XM 93, Sirius 190
Live Stats: vucommodores.com
Twitter Updates: @VandyMBB
Anchor Points
- Vanderbilt leads the SEC in three-point field goal percentage (39.0%), threes made (9.8) and free throw percentage (76.9%). The Commodores rank 11th nationally in free-throw percentage and are tied for 14th in 3’s made per game.
- VU’s current RPI strength of schedule is 6th, and its non-conference schedule is ranked 4th.
- The meeting with Florida will be the 131st meeting in the series and the 67th meeting played in Gainesville.
- Vanderbilt won their last trip to Florida on Feb. 23, 2016, 87-74. Senior center Josh Henderson made a 75-shot at the halftime buzzer in what has entered Commodore lore as the “Hendo Heave”.
- In SEC play, Kornet is ranked in the top 10 in nine different categories (Scoring, Rebounding, FG%, 3FG%, 3FG Made, Blocks, Off. Rebounding, Def. Rebounding, Minutes Played).
- Riley LaChance leads the SEC in three-point field goal percentage in all games (55.9%) and in SEC games only (50.0%). He is third in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.3) and seventh in the league in assists (4.1). In three’s made, LaChance ranks seventh in all games (2.1) and sixth in SEC games only (2.3).
- Matthew Fisher-Davis leads the team in scoring with 16.3 points per game, while Kornet adds 13.6 points, with Roberson (10.4) and Riley LaChance (10.3) each adding double figure scoring.
- Fisher-Davis is eighth in the SEC in scoring in all games and seventh in SEC games only (17.2), and second in the league in three’s made (2.8) in all games and first in league games only (2.8). He shoots 39.4% from three in all games, which is fifth in the SEC.
- Fisher-Davis recently made his 200th career three against Georgia. He is currently ninth on Vanderbilt’s all-time career three’s made list.
- Roberson ranks third in the SEC in defensive rebounding and is fourth in rebounding (7.3) in all games. In SEC games only, he ranks seventh in rebounding (7.0), fourth in free-throw percentage (83.3%), fourth in defensive rebounding (5.3), and ninth in minutes played (32.0).
- 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 1,020 points in his career after scoring a season-high 11 points against Georgia.
- 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.
- Making three’s is not a new thing for this year’s Commodore team. Combined in their career, current players have made 725 career threes. Fisher-Davis leads the way with 200. Cressler has 154, LaChance 147, Kornet 123, and Roberson 112.
Series Information
Series Record: UF leads, 67-63.
Last Meeting: VU win, 87-74, on Feb. 23, 2016, in Gainesville.
Record at Vanderbilt: VU leads 43-15.
Record at Florida: UF leads 42-22.
Record at Neutral Site: UF leads 6-2.
Coach Drew vs. Florida: Coach Drew has never faced Florida.
About Florida
- Florida enters the game with a 14-4 overall record and a 5-1 mark in SEC play after a 57-53 loss at South Carolina on Wednesday.
- KeVaughn Allen leads the Gators in scoring with 13.2 points per game. Canyon Barry (12.8) and Devin Robinson (11.2) also add double digits.
- The meeting Saturday will be the 131st between the two schools, with the first matchup coming in the 1930-31 season. The Gators lead the all-time series 67-63.
- Florida leads the all-time series in games played in Gainesville, 42-22.
- The Commodores won both meetings between the two schools last season, winning 60-59 on January 26, 2016, at Memorial Gym and 87-74 on February 26 in Gainesville. It was Vanderbilt’s first season sweep of the Gators since the 2010 season.
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 1.57 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 699-688.
982
Vanderbilt has made a 3-pointer in 982 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 200 threes in his Vanderbilt career and is in 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.