Feb. 6, 2018
Vanderbilt Gamenotes 
| Georgia Gamenotes
After two consecutive games on the road against ranked opponents, the Commodores return home to the friendly confines of Memorial Gym to take on the Georgia Bulldogs on Wednesday 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 fell to 8-15 overall and 2-8 in SEC play after dropping a 93-81 decision to #11/13 Auburn Saturday night at Auburn Arena. Senior forward Jeff Roberson led Vanderbilt with a career-high 30 points to go along with 10 rebounds, his seventh double-double of the season. Senior Riley LaChance and freshman Maxwell Evans added 13 points and freshman Saben Lee chipped in 10 points.
Roberson on a tear
Roberson’s 30-10 game against Auburn was Vanderbilt’s second this season – Matthew Fisher-Davis scored 31 points and had 11 rebounds earlier this season against USC. He also became first VU player since Rod Odom (vs. Florida, 2/25/14) to play all 40 minutes of a game.
Roberson is averaging 22.8 points per game in the last five games. LaChance has averaged 20.2 points per game in Vanderbilt’s last four games. Roberson is the SEC’s leading scorer in the last five games played, ahead of Daryl Macon of Arkansas (21.8 ppg) and Bryce Brown of Auburn (21.4 ppg).
Roberson is Vanderbilt’s first player to score 20 or more in five straight games since VU’s all-time leading scorer Shan Foster in 2008 (vs. Georgia (29), 2/23/2008; vs. Tennessee (32), 2/26/2008; at Arkansas (22), 3/1/2008; vs. Mississippi State (42), 3/5/2008; at Alabama (21), 3/8/2008).
For the season, the 6’6 senior from Houston is averaging 16.5 points per game to lead Vanderbilt, Vanderbilt’s best average since John Jenkins led the team in 2012 when he averaged 19.9 points per contest. He is also the team’s leading rebounder, averaging 7.2 rebounds per game. Roberson is 3rd in the SEC in double doubles, 6th in SEC in all games in scoring (16.5), 5th in rebounding (7.2), 5th in free throw percentage (.871), and 4th in defensive rebounding (5.3). In league games, he ranks 3rd in scoring, 4th in FG%, 8th in 3FG made, and 9th in defensive rebounding.
Media Information
Vanderbilt (8-15, 2-8) vs. Georgia (13-9, 4-6)
Nashville, Tenn. – Memorial Gym – 7:30 p.m. CT
TV: SEC Network
TV Talent: Dave Neal (pxp), Daymeon Fishback (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, 88-49.
Last Meeting: UGA win, 76-68, on Jan. 17, 2017, in Athens.
Record at Vanderbilt: VU leads 50-17.
Record at Georgia: UGA leads 35-31.
Record at Neutral Site: VU leads 7-4.
Coach Drew vs. Georgia: Coach Drew is 0-1 against Georgia.
LaChance also having a solid senior season
Jeff Roberson is not the only Commodore senior having a great season. Riley LaChance has also stepped up in 2017-18.
LaChance is averaging 12.7 points per game in all games, 12.8 in league games, and has poured in 20.2 points per game in Vanderbilt’s last five games. LaChance is third in all games in the SEC in three-point field goal percentage (.418) and 10th in 3FG made (2.2), and in league games only, he is sixth in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.2), seventh in assists (3.7), and 8th in 3FG made (2.1).
LaChance moved up to 22nd on Vanderbilt’s all-time scoring list (1,318 points) against Auburn.
More on Georgia
- Georgia enters Wednesday’s contest with a 13-9 overall record and a 4-6 mark in SEC games.
- Senior Yante Maten leads the Bulldogs in scoring (19.3 ppg) and rebounding (9.0). He is the only Georgia player averaging double figure points.
- The Commodores lead the all-time series, 88-49, and 50-17 in games played at Vanderbilt. The Commodores won the last meeting between the two teams in Memorial Gym, 80-67, on February 20, 2016. The Bulldogs won last year’s meeting in Athens, 76-68 (Jan. 17, 2017).
- The first meeting between the two universities came in the 1913-14 season in Athens.
A Commodore Win Would…
- Be Vanderbilt’s ninth win of the year and ninth at Memorial Gym.
- Be the Commodores 2nd consecutive at home.
- Move Vanderbilt’s record to 51-17 against the Bulldogs at home.
Jeff Roberson: Mr Double-Double
Jeff Roberson has seven 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 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.
- LaChance, Fisher-Davis, and Roberson are second, third, and fourth, respectively, among current players in SEC in career scoring. Georgia’s Yante Maten is the conference’s current career leader.
- LaChance, who has 391 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 nine 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), Kentucky (#21/#20; #21/#22) and Auburn (#11/#13) 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).
- KenPom.com has Vanderbilt with the number one strength of schedule on February 5.
SEC Strength of Schedule
Here’s a look at KenPom’s strength of schedule among league teams (2/6).
1. Vanderbilt, 1
2. Tennessee , 3
3. Texas A&M, 9
4. Florida, 11
5. Kentucky, 12
6. Alabama, 14
7. Arkansas, 15
8. Missouri, 17
9. Ole Miss, 18
10. Georgia, 21
11. S. Carolina, 30
12. LSU, 42
13. Auburn, 59
14. Miss. St., 109
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 711-701.
1,022
Vanderbilt has made a 3-pointer in 1,022 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.