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MBB to face #11/13 Auburn Saturday

Feb. 2, 2018

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The Commodores return to the road to face their second consecutive ranked opponent when they take on Auburn at Auburn Arena on Saturday night. The game begins at 7:30 p.m. CT, with the game airing live on the SEC Network, on the radio with Joe Fisher and Tim Thompson on the Vanderbilt IMG Radio Network, and online on vucommodores.com.

The Commodores dropped a heartbreaking, 83-81 overtime decision at Kentucky on Tuesday night at Rupp Arena. Senior Jeff Roberson tied a career high with 23 points to lead Vanderbilt, his fourth consecutive game with 20 or more points and his fifth in six games. Junior Joe Toye tallied a season-high 16 points, and senior Riley LaChance added 13 points.

LaChance has averaged 22.0 points per game in Vanderbilt’s last four games. Roberson is averaging 21.0 points per game in that span.

Media Information
Vanderbilt (8-14, 2-7) vs. #11/13 Auburn (20-2, 8-1)
Auburn, Ala. – Auburn Arena – 7:30 p.m. CT
TV: SEC Network
TV Talent: Dave Neal (pxp), Jimmy Dykes (analyst)
Radio: Vanderbilt Radio Network from IMG College, vucommodores.com
Radio Talent: Joe Fisher (pxp), Tim Thompson (analyst)
Satellite Radio: Sirius 137, XM 190
Live Stats: vucommodores.com
Twitter Updates: @VandyMBB

Series Information
Series Record: VU leads, 89-51.
Last Meeting: VU win, 80-61, 1/4/17, at Memorial Gym.
Record at Vanderbilt: VU leads, 51-16.
Record at Auburn: VU leads, 35-29.
Record at Neutral Site: Auburn leads, 6-3.
Coach Drew vs. Auburn: Coach Drew is 1-0 against Auburn.

Roberson, LaChance having quite the senior seasons
Roberson is Vanderbilt’s first player to score 20 or more in four straight games since former sharpshooter John Jenkins in 2011 (vs. Monmouth (25), 11/25/11, vs. Xavier (20), 11/28/11, at Louisville (27), 12/2/2011, at Davidson (22), 12/7/2011).

Roberson is averaging 15.9 points per game to lead Vanderbilt, Vanderbilt’s best average since Jeffery Taylor averaged 16.1 points per game. Jenkins led the team in 2012 when he averaged 19.9 points per contest.

Roberson is also the team’s leading rebounder, averaging 7.1 rebounds per game. Roberson is second in the SEC in double doubles, sixth in the SEC in all games in rebounding (7.1), fourth in free throw percentage (.866), seventh in defensive rebounding (5.1), and 9th in scoring (15.9). In league games only, he is fourth in field goal percentage (.510).

Riley LaChance moved up to 25th on Vanderbilt’s all-time scoring list (1,305 points), surpassing Will Perdue (1984-88, 1,281, 26th) and Jeff Turner (1981-84, 1,271, 27th). Roberson is 35th on the list with 1,191 points.

LaChance is fourth in all games in the SEC in three-point field goal percentage (.424), and in league games only, he is sixth in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.1), seventh in threes made (2.2), and 8th in assists (3.4).

Tigers will be Vanderbilt’s ninth against a ranked opponent
The Commodores have already played eight games this season against a ranked opponent – USC (#10/#10), Virginia (RV/#25), Seton Hall (#20/#20), Arizona State (#5/#6), Tennessee (#24/#23; #22/#21), and Kentucky (#21/#20) the most in the SEC. The four ranked non-conference opponents is the most by a Commodore team since 1988, when Vanderbilt also played four (11/22 – # 2 Michigan, L, 66-91; 11/27 – #16 Ohio State, L, 82-97; 11/30 – #13 Louisville, W, 65-62; 12/7 – #8 North Carolina, L, 77-89). The Commodores are looking for their first win over a ranked opponent this season.

More on Auburn

  • Auburn enters the game atop the SEC standings with a 20-2 overall mark and an 8-1 mark in SEC play. The Tigers are also ranked 11th nationally.
  • Bryce Brown leads the Tigers in scoring with 16.6 points per game. Mustapha Heron (15.3), Jared Harper (12.8), and Desean Murray (11.3) also add double digits scoring.
  • Wednesday’s meeting will be the 141st all-time in the series and the only meeting between the two schools this season.
  • Vanderbilt has won 13 consecutive games in the series, dating back to a 68-65 Auburn win on January 6, 2007 in Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum.

A Commodore Win Would…

  • Be Vanderbilt’s ninth win of the year and first on the road.
  • Be the Commodores 14th consecutive win over the Tigers.
  • Be the first win over a ranked opponent in nine tries, and first on the road since defeating #19 Florida, 68-66, in Gainesville on January 21, 2017.

Jeff Roberson: Mr Double-Double
Jeff Roberson has six double doubles on the season, the most in a season by a Commodore since Damian Jones had seven in the 2015-16 season. Seven is also the most by a Commodore since Will Perdue had 10 in his junior season (1986-87) and 16 in his senior season (1987-88).

Vanderbilt Quick Hitters

  • Senior guard Matthew Fisher-Davis will miss the rest of the season because of a shoulder injury he suffered against Kentucky on January 13.
  • Roberson, LaChance and Matthew Fisher-Davis are all members of Vanderbilt’s 1,000-point club. There has been only one other class of Vanderbilt players to have three 1,000-point scorers – the vaunted “F Troop” – Butch Feher, Joe Ford, and Jeff Fosnes in 1976.
  • Vanderbilt is 94-235 all-time against AP Top 25 opponents and 20-140 in road contests.
  • LaChance and Fisher-Davis are second and third among current players in SEC in scoring. Georgia’s Yante Maten is the conference’s current career leader. Roberson is sixth in the SEC in career points.
  • LaChance, who has 385 career assists, is now 9th on Vanderbilt’s all-time assist list after surpassing Al McKinney against Florida (351 career assists). Drew Maddux is eighth on the list with 394 assists.
  • The Commodores have used 11 different starting lineups this season, with their 11th coming against TCU (Lee, LaChance, Evans, Roberson, Obinna).
  • The Commodores have already played eight games this season against a ranked opponent – USC (#10/#10), Virginia (RV/#25), Seton Hall (#20/#20), Arizona State (#5/#6), Tennessee (#24/#23; #22/#21), and Kentucky (#21/#20; #21/#22) the most in the SEC. The four ranked non-conference opponents is the most by a Commodore team since 1988, when Vanderbilt also played four (11/22 – # 2 Michigan, L, 66-91; 11/27 – #16 Ohio State, L, 82-97; 11/30 – #13 Louisville, W, 65-62; 12/7 – #8 North Carolina, L, 77-89). The Commodores are looking for their first win over a ranked opponent this season.
  • KenPom.com has Vanderbilt’s strength of schedule at 2 as of February 1.
  • Commodore head coach Bryce Drew, now in his second season, led the Commodores to the NCAA Tournament in his first season in Nashville, marking the first time in the history of the program a first-year Vanderbilt coach led his team to the tournament. Overall, the Commodores made their 15th appearance in the NCAA Tournament and their first back-to-back appearances since making three consecutive tournaments from 2010-12.

SEC Strength of Schedule
Here’s a look at KenPom’s strength of schedule among league teams (2/1).
1. Vanderbilt, 2
2. Tennessee , 3
3. Texas A&M, 7
4. Florida, 11
5. Kentucky, 14
6. Missouri, 15
7. Alabama, 16
8. Arkansas, 17
9. Georgia, 22
10. Ole Miss, 23
11. S. Carolina, 30
12. LSU, 37
13. Auburn, 52
14. Miss. St., 111

Vanderbilt in 85th SEC Season
Vanderbilt is in its 85th SEC season and is a charter member of the league. All time against current members of the conference, Vanderbilt is 711-700.

1,021
Vanderbilt has made a 3-pointer in 1,021 consecutive games, a streak which began at the inception of the 3-point line in 1986-87. The Commodores rank third only to UNLV and Kentucky 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.