Feb. 23, 2018
Vanderbilt Gamenotes 
| Texas A&M Gamenotes
Vanderbilt will look to extend their Memorial Gym win streak to six games when Texas A&M comes to Nashville to take on the Commodores on Saturday afternoon. The game begins at 3 p.m. CT airing live on ESPN2, on the radio with Joe Fisher and Tim Thompson on the Vanderbilt IMG Radio Network and online at vucommodores.com.
The Commodores dropped to 11-17 on the season and 5-10 in SEC play after losing to LSU Tuesday in Baton Rouge, 88-78. Senior Riley LaChance scored 26 points, one shy of his career high, to lead Vanderbilt. Senior Jeff Roberson added 20 points, and freshman Saben Lee chipped in 15 points for the Commodores.
Roberson having stellar senior season
Roberson is having quite the season for the Commodores. The senior is fifth in the league in scoring (16.7), fifth in rebounding (7.1), 3rd in free throw percentage (.852), and second in the SEC in 20-point games in SEC games only with eight (Daryl Macon has 10). His eight double-doubles is also third in the SEC.
The 6’6 senior from Houston is definitely worthy of All-SEC First Team consideration – if selected to the first team, he would have a higher rebounding average than any first-team Commodore selection since Will Perdue in 1988 when he averaged 10.1 rebounds per game. Vanderbilt has had 19 first-team All-SEC selections since Perdue. Roberson’s scoring average is the highest by a Commodore player since John Jenkins averaged 19.9 points per game in 2012.
News and Notes
- Roberson is eighth on Vanderbilt’s all-time total rebounding list with 727, with Bill Depp (1959-61) up next in seventh with 747 career rebounds.
- In all, Roberson has scored 20 or more points in 12 games this year and LaChance in six.
- Freshman Saben Lee now has 34 steals for the season, three more than Roberson’s team-best total for the season in 2016-17 (29). Lee is eighth in the SEC in steals (1.3) in league games only.
- LaChance is now 17th on Vanderbilt’s all-time scoring list (1,408 points), while Roberson is 26th on the list with 1,298 points.
- LaChance is fifth in all games in the SEC in three-point field goal percentage (.408), eighth in 3FG made (2.3) and fourth in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.5), and in league games only, he is fifth in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.1), seventh in assists (3.8), 10th in 3FG% (.378) and sixth in 3FG made (2.1).
- The Commodores defeated Texas A&M three times last year and have never lost to the Aggies at Memorial Gym (5-0).
- 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.
- Fisher-Davis is out for the season with a shoulder injury he suffered against Kentucky on January 13.
- LaChance, Roberson and Fisher-Davis 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 411 career assists, is now eighth on Vanderbilt’s all-time assist list after surpassing Drew Maddux against Georgia (394 career assists). Jermaine Beal is seventh on the list with 421 assists.
- The Commodores have already played nine games this season against ranked opponents – 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 are 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 three strength of schedule as of February 22. VU had the strongest schedule in the nation in 2016-17.
Vanderbilt (11-17, 5-10) vs. Texas A&M (17-11, 6-9)
Nashville, Tenn. – Memorial Gym – 3 p.m. CT
TV: ESPN2
TV Talent: Beth Mowins (pxp), Jimmy Dykes (analyst)
Radio: Vanderbilt Radio Network from IMG College, vucommodores.com
Radio Talent: Joe Fisher (pxp), Tim Thompson (analyst)
Satellite Radio: Sirius 138, XM 191
Live Stats: vucommodores.com
Twitter Updates: @VandyMBB
Series Information
Series Record: Vanderbilt leads, 8-2
Last Meeting: VU win, 66-41, on 3/7/17 at SEC Tournament in Nashville
Record at Vanderbilt: VU leads, 5-0
Record at TAMU: Tied at 2
Record at Neutral Site: VU leads, 1-0
Coach Drew vs. TAMU: Coach Drew is 3-0 against Texas A&M
More on Texas A&M
- Texas A&M enters the game with a 17-11 overall record and a 6-9 mark in SEC play. The Aggies lost to Mississippi State in their last time out, 91-83, on Tuesday at Reed Arena.
- Vanderbilt won all three meetings between the two schools last year. The Commodores are 5-0 all-time against the Aggies at Memorial Gym.
- Tyler Davis (14.4) leads the Aggies in scoring, with Admon Gilder (12.1), D.J. Hogg (11.2), and Robert Williams (11.2) each adding double figures for Texas A&M.
- Three Commodores hail from the state of Texas. Jeff Roberson and Maxwell Evans are from Houston, and Clevon Brown is from San Antonio.
Jeff Roberson: Mr. Double-Double
Jeff Roberson has eight double-doubles on the season, the most in a season by a Commodore since Will Perdue had 10 in his junior season (1986-87) and 16 in his senior season (1987-88).
SEC Strength of Schedule
Here’s a look at KenPom’s strength of schedule among league teams (2/22).
1. Vanderbilt, 3
2. Tennessee, 5
3. Texas A&M, 7
4. Kentucky, 8
5. Alabama, 10
6. Florida, 11
7. Georgia, 12
8. Ole Miss, 13
9. South Carolina, 19
10. Missouri, 23
11. Arkansas 35
12. LSU 40
13. Auburn 53
14. Mississippi State 77
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 714-703.
1,027
Vanderbilt has made a 3-pointer in 1,027 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.