Feb. 6, 2017
Vanderbilt Gamenotes 
| Arkansas Gamenotes
The Commodores will hit the road for their first of two games this week when they travel to Fayetteville, Ark, to take on the Arkansas Razorbacks on Tuesday night at Bud Walton Arena. 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 Commodores had a two-game winning streak snapped on Saturday by Ole Miss, who came away with an 81-74 victory over the Commodores on Saturday at Memorial Gym. Vanderbilt junior Jeff Roberson scored a career-high 21 points to lead the Commodores. Senior Luke Kornet scored 18 points and junior Matthew Fisher-Davis added 13 points for Vanderbilt.
Vanderbilt made 14 3-pointers as a team. It was the 10th time this season that the Commodores have made 10 or more 3’s in a game and the team now owns an 8-2 record in those games. The only other loss was to Alabama on Jan. 7.
The Vanderbilt defense held Ole Miss to 1-11 (9%) from 3-point range in the first half, but the Rebels shot 8-11 (73%) from beyond-the-arc in the second half.
Roberson has now scored in double figures in four consecutive games – he is averaging 15.5 points and 8.3 rebounds in those four games. He ranks third in the SEC in rebounding (7.5) in all games and fourth (7.4) in league games only, and is second in the league in defensive rebounding (5.7) in all games and third in league games only (5.6).
This will be the second meeting between the two schools this season. Arkansas won an earlier meeting at Memorial Gym, 71-70, on January 24. The Razorbacks lead the all-time series against the Commodores in Fayetteville, 12-2. Vanderbilt’s only two wins at Bud Walton Arena came in 1996 and in 2010.
Vanderbilt (11-12, 4-6 SEC) vs. Arkansas (17-6, 6-4 SEC)
Fayetteville, Ark. – Bud Walton Arena – 7:30 p.m. CT
TV: SEC Network
TV Talent: Adam Amin (play by play), Jon Sundvold (color), Kris Budden (sidelines)
Radio: Vanderbilt Radio Network from IMG College, vucommodores.com
Radio Talent: Joe Fisher (pxp), Tim Thompson (analyst)
Satellite Radio: XM 136, Sirius 380
Live Stats: vucommodores.com
Twitter Updates: @VandyMBB
Anchor Points
- Vanderbilt leads the SEC in three-point field goal percentage (38.6%), threes made (10.1) and free throw percentage (77.9%) in all games. In league games only, the Commodores are first in free throw percentage (75.7%) and threes made (10.6). The Commodores rank eighth nationally in free-throw percentage and are 11th in 3’s made per game.
- The Commodores have the fourth-toughest schedule in the nation according to the NCAA RPI and Jerry Palm. KenPom.com has Vanderbilt’s schedule ranked 12th. Vanderbilt has played the toughest non-conference schedule in the nation according to the NCAA RPI and Jerry Palm.
- This will be the second meeting between the two schools this season. Arkansas won an earlier meeting at Memorial Gym, 71-70, on January 24.
- The Commodores are 3-2 in league road contests this year.
- In 10 SEC games, the Commodores have three players who are in the top 10 in three-point field goal percentage, with senior center Luke Kornet leading the conference at 46.3%. Junior Riley LaChance is fourth (.426), and junior Matthew Fisher-Davis is 10th (.351). Fisher-Davis is second in league games only in 3’s made (2.6), Kornet fourth (2.5), and LaChance ninth (2.1).
- Making three’s is not a new thing for this year’s Commodore team. Combined in their career, current players have made 780 career threes.
- Riley LaChance is shooting 49.4% from three this season and is two threes shy of the minimum two threes per game to be ranked in the SEC. He is fourth in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.2), seventh in the league in assists (4.2), and 10th in three’s made (1.9) in all games.
- Fisher-Davis is eighth in the SEC in scoring in all games and seventh in SEC games only (15.4). He is second in the league in three’s made (2.6) and fourth in 3FG% (.392) in all games.
- Fisher-Davis now has 212 career threes and is currently ninth on Vanderbilt’s all-time career three’s made list.
- 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 and now have 701 SEC wins.
- Nolan Cressler and Kornet combined for 41 points against Iowa State, the second-most points scored by a senior duo in the SEC this year (South Carolina’s Sindarius Thornwell and Duane Notice’s combined 46 points against Auburn is first).
- Cressler’s 20 points against Iowa State marked a career-best for him in a Commodores uniform. His previous season-best was 11 points on two different occasions, and his previous best as a Commodore was 14 points, which occurred three times in 2015-16.
Series Information
Series Record: Arkansas leads 23-11.
Last Meeting: Arkansas win, 71-70, on Jan. 24, 2017, in Nashville.
Record at Vanderbilt: VU leads 8-7.
Record at Arkansas: Ark. leads 12-2.
Record at Neutral Site: Ark. leads 3-1.
Coach Drew vs. Arkansas: Coach Drew is 0-1 against Arkansas.
About Arkansas
- Arkansas enters the game with a 17-6 overall record and a 6-4 mark in SEC play.
- Dusty Hannahs leads the team in scoring with 14.2 points per game. Daryl Macon (13.3), Moses Kingsley (11.9), and Jaylen Barford (11.6) also average double figures.
- Arkansas leads the series 23-11 overall and have a 12-2 mark against the Commodores in Fayetteville.
- The Razorbacks won an earlier meeting this year between the two teams, 71-70, on Jan. 24 at Memorial Gym.
- Vanderbilt freshman guard Payton Willis hails from Fayetteville, Arkansas, the Commodores’ first player from the state of Arkansas since Ralph Childs (1955-56). Overall, Willis is Vanderbilt’s third player from Arkansas.
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 Ole Miss was the 999th regular season game played at Memorial Gym.
The Commodores have a 779-220 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 179 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 1.54 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).
Kornet NCAA leader in 3’s made by a seven-footer
Kornet is now the NCAA career three-pointers made leader with 136, surpassing Vanderbilt’s own David Przybyszewski, who has 131 career threes. Only two other seven footers have more than 100 – Derek Silvig of Montana (106) and Frank Kaminsky of Wisconsin (103).
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 701-690.
987
Vanderbilt has made a 3-pointer in 987 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.
Cressler goes for 20
Senior Nolan Cressler scored a season-high 20 points in a win against Iowa State on January 28, his most as a Commodore in two seasons of action after transferring from Cornell. Cressler’s previous high was 14 points, which occurred three times in the 2015-16 season.
Fisher-Davis in Top 10 for 3’s
Matthew Fisher-Davis now has 212 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.