Jan. 27, 2017
Vanderbilt Gamenotes 
| Iowa State Gamenotes
The Commodores will step away from Southeastern Conference play this Saturday afternoon when they take part in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge at Memorial Gym when they host Iowa State. The game will tip off at 3 p.m. CT and will be televised on ESPN2, with the action also being heard across the Vanderbilt IMG Radio Network and online at vucommodores.com.
Vanderbilt will participate in their fourth SEC/Big 12 Challenge game and their second at home. The Commodores are 0-3 all-time in the event, with losses coming at Texas (70-64, 12/2/13), vs. Baylor (66-63, 12/4/14), and at Texas (72-58, 1/30/16).
The Commodores dropped to 9-11 and 3-5 in SEC play in heartbreaking fashion on Tuesday against Arkansas, dropping a 71-70 decision to the Razorbacks at Memorial Gym. Junior Riley LaChance led the team with 16 points, including a career-best 8-for-8 from the charity stripe, junior Jeff Roberson added his eighth career double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds, and sophomore Joe Toye chipped in a career-high 13 points.
The Commodores held a six point lead with a minute remaining in the game, but Arkansas finished the game on a 7-0 run to come away with the victory.
Soles4Souls
Vanderbilt’s will be collecting shoes for Soles4Souls, a not for profit global social enterprise committed to fighting poverty through the collection and distribution of shoes and clothing, at Memorial Gym Saturday against Iowa State. Bring some shoes to the game for a worthy cause.
Tickets Available
There are single game tickets available for the game for $15 by calling the Vanderbilt Ticket Office at 615-322-GOLD or purchasing online on vucommodores.com. Fans may also purchase tickets at the McGugin Center Ticket Office Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and beginning at 1:30 p.m. at Memorial Gym on Saturday.
Vanderbilt (9-11) vs. Iowa State (13-6)
Nashville, Tenn. – Memorial Gym – 3 p.m. CT
TV: ESPN2
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 145, Sirius 190
Live Stats: vucommodores.com
Twitter Updates: @VandyMBB
Anchor Points
- Vanderbilt leads the SEC in three-point field goal percentage (38.8%), threes made (9.8) and free throw percentage (77.7%) in all games. In league games only, the Commodores are first in free throw percentage (75.5%) and threes made (10.4). The Commodores rank ninth nationally in free-throw percentage and are 15th in 3’s made per game.
- The Commodores have the toughest schedule in the nation according to the NCAA RPI and the second-ranked schedule according to Jerry Palm. KenPom.com has Vanderbilt’s schedule ranked eighth.
- Saturday’s meeting will be the eighth between the two schools. Iowa State holds a 4-3 advantage in the series.
- Battle of the Magic: Iowa State plays at the Hilton Coliseum and claims Hilton Magic in their building. The Commodores claim Memorial Magic at Memorial Gym.
- The Commodores are 0-3 in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge, with losses coming at Texas (70-64, 12/2/13), vs. Baylor (66-63, 12/4/14), and at Texas (72-58, 1/30/16).
- Riley LaChance leads the SEC in three-point field goal percentage in all games (53.8%) and in SEC games only (47.5%). He is fourth in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.3) and seventh in the league in assists (4.2) in all games. In three’s made, LaChance ranks fourth in all games (2.3) and sixth in SEC games only (2.4), while also ranking 7th in free throw percentage in league games only (84.0%).
- Matthew Fisher-Davis leads the team in scoring with 16.0 points per game, while Luke Kornet adds 13.2 points, with LaChance (10.6) and Roberson (10.4) each adding double figure scoring.
- Fisher-Davis is seventh in the SEC in scoring in all games and sixth in SEC games only (16.1), and second in the league in three’s made (2.7) in all games and league games only (2.6). He shoots 38.8% from three in all games, which is sixth in the SEC.
- Fisher-Davis now has 204 career threes and 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 (7.5) in all games. In SEC games only, he ranks fourth in rebounding (7.6), and third in defensive rebounding (5.8).
- 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 1,032 points in his career. Cressler has scored in double figures in six of his last nine games, and has started the last three contests.
- The Commodores are in their 84th season of SEC basketball – Vanderbilt is one of the founding members of the Southeastern Conference. Vanderbilt recently won their 700th league game at Florida.
- Making three’s is not a new thing for this year’s Commodore team. Combined in their career, current players have made 744 career threes.
- In SEC play, Vanderbilt has three players in the top 10 in minutes played – Luke Kornet (5th, 33.4), Jeff Roberson (6th, 33.2), and Riley LaChance (T-8th, 32.4).
Series Information
Series Record: Iowa State leads 4-3.
Last Meeting: ISU win, 80-79, on Dec. 28, 1985, in Nashville at the Music City Invitational.
Record at Vanderbilt: Tied at 2.
Record at Iowa St.: ISU leads 2-1
Record at Neutral Site: NA
Coach Drew vs. Iowa State: Coach Drew has never faced Iowa State.
About Iowa State
- Iowa State enters the game with a 13-6 overall record and a 5-3 mark in the Big 12.
- Monte Morris and Naz Mitrou-Long lead four players in double figures with 15.9 points per game, respectively. Deonte Burton (13.7) and Matt Thomas (11.7) also average double figures.
- Saturday will be the eighth meeting between the two schools, with Iowa State holding a 4-3 advantage in the series. The series is tied at 2 in games played at Memorial Gym, with the Cyclones holding a 2-1 advantage in games played in Ames.
- The last meeting came in the Music City Invitational on Decmeber 28, 1985, at Memorial Gym. Iowa State won that meeting, 80-79. The first meeting between the two schools came in Nashville in the 1935-36 campaign.
- The Cylcones have five players from the state of Wisconsin on their team this season. Vanderbilt junior guard Riley LaChance hails from Brookfield, Wisc.
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 Iowa State will be the 998th regular season game played at Memorial Gym.
The Commodores have a 778-219 record at the SEC’s oldest facility, a winning percentage of .780.
Kornet Moving Up Blocks List
Senior Luke Kornet is now second on the Vanderbilt all-time block list with 175 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 1.55 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).
700th SEC Win
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 700-689.
984
Vanderbilt has made a 3-pointer in 984 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 204 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.