The Vanderbilt Commodores men’s basketball team continues its four-game home stand this Monday evening when they take on the Liberty Flames out of the Atlantic Sun Conference. The game will tip off at 7 p.m. CT and will be televised on SEC Network Plus. Commodore fans can also tune into the game on the Vanderbilt IMG Radio Network with Joe Fisher and Tim Thompson on WLAC 1510 AM and 98.3 FM, and online on vucommodores.com and the vucommodores app.
The Commodores moved to 3-0 on the young season after a 79-54 win over Alcorn State on Friday night. Freshman forward Simisola Shittu led the Vanderbilt with a career-high 20 points on 9-11 shooting, senior Joe Toye scored in double figures for the third consecutive game with 14 points, junior Matt Ryan added 12 points, and sophomore guard Saben Lee chipped in 10 points and six assists in the victory.
Game vs. Liberty is Kids Day
Monday is Vanderbilt Basketball Kids Day, where children under 12 will receive free admission to the game. All kids 12 and under must enter through the practice gym on the southeast entrance to receive their free voucher. Also in the practice gym will be inflatables and a face-painting station, and the first 500 kids in the door will receive a free #18 shirsey.
Vanderbilt Basketball Quick Hitters
- Shittu has now scored in double figures in all three of his collegiate games. He posted double-doubles in his first two games against Winthrop and USC, respectively. He leads the Commodores in scoring and rebounding.
- Shittu is fifth in the SEC in scoring and first in rebounding heading into the game with the Flames. He is also eighth in the SEC in field goal percentage.
- Toye has now scored in double figures in three straight games for the first time of his four-year career. Toye is the team’s lone senior.
- Shittu’s 15 rebounds against USC was the most by a Commodore since Jeff Roberson had 16 rebounds against Minnesota on December 3, 2016 in Sioux Falls, S.D.
- Freshman guard Darius Garland was named the SEC’s Freshman of the Week last week after averaging 21.5 points per game in two Commodore wins over Winthrop and USC.
- 47.0% of the team’s scoring this season has come from Vanderbilt’s freshman class (Garland, Nesmith, Shittu).
- The Commodores last started a season 3-0 in 2015-16 and won their season-opening game on the road. It marked Vanderbilt’s first season-opening road win since a 72-70 win over St. Mary’s on November 20, 2009.
- Garland scored the most points by a Vanderbilt freshman in their collegiate debut (24 points) since Phil Cox scored 30 against Duke in 1981. He also tied Savion Flagg of Texas A&M for the most points scored for an SEC team in their opening game of the season.
- Shittu’s double-double was the first by a Commodore freshman in a season opener since Ted Young tallied 18 points and 11 rebounds against Rice in 1979.
- Garland has been named to the Naismith and Wooden Award Preseason Watch Lists, while Shittu was named to the Karl Malone Award Watch List, given to the nation’s top power forward.
- According to KenPom, the Commodores rank 316th in the nation in terms of experience (1.13 years).
- Head coach Bryce Drew, now in his third 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.
- Redshirt sophomore forward Matthew Moyer, who transferred from Syracuse after the 2017-18 season, was granted immediate eligiblity by the NCAA this season on November 15.
- Vanderbilt returns eight letterwinners and two starters from a year ago, with rising sophomore guard Saben Lee leading the way after averaging 10.6 points per game in 2017-18. Senior Joe Toye, who has played significant minutes in his first three years with the Commodores, averaged 5.7 points per game.
- The Commodores have had five NBA Draft picks since 2012 – Wade Baldwin IV (17th, Memphis Grizzlies), Damian Jones (30th, Golden State Warriors), and John Jenkins (23rd, Atlanta), Festus Ezeli (30th, Golden State), and Jeffery Taylor (31st, Charlotte) in 2012.
- Matthew Fisher-Davis, Riley LaChance and Jeff Roberson each departed Vanderbilt as 1,000-point scorers. Each were four-year players for the Commodores who advanced to the postseason on three different occasions (2015 NIT, 2016 and 2017 NCAA Tournaments). 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 (Windy City Bulls) and Roberson (Maine Red Claws) are now playing in the NBA G League, while LaChance has taken his talents to play professionally in Poland.
About Liberty
- Liberty enters the game with a 3-0 overall record after knocking off Kent State on the road, 77-70, on November 16.
- Senior guard Lovell Cabbil Jr. leads the Flames with 13.6 rebounds per game. Junior forward Scottie James also adds 12.3 points and 10.0 rebounds per game.
- Liberty has never defeated a SEC, with a 0-8 all-time record against current SEC schools.
- The last time Liberty faced a SEC school was in 2007 (Lost 54-80 at Kentucky).
- Commodore Director of Operations Matt Olinger is a Liberty alum (2007), and worked on the Flames basketball staff in various capacities from 2009 to 2016.
- Vanderbilt strength coach Jeremy Anderson is also a Liberty graduate, where he played guard for the Flames from 2007 to 2011, and served as captain in his senior season.
Darius Garland in Rarefied Air
Most Points by Freshman in Debut, SEC Since 2010-11
Tremont Waters, LSU, 27, 11/10/17 vs. Alcorn
Terrence Jones, UK, 25, 11/12/10 vs. EastTn
Darius Garland, VU, 24, 11/6/18 vs. Win
Keldon Johnson, UK, 23, 11/6/18 vs. Duke
Frankie Hughes, Mizzou, 23, 11/13/16 vs. AlaA&M
Julius Randle, UK, 23, 11/8/13 vs. NC-Ash
Anthony Davis, UK, 23, 11/11/11 vs. Marist
Darius Garland is one of five major conference freshmen with 20+ Pts and 2+ Threes Made, Steals & Blocks in collegiate debut in the last 20 years (Since 1998-99).
Player Date, Opp Pts,3’s,Stls,Blocks
Darius Rice, Miami 11/18/00 vs Fla. At., 26,5,3,2
Kevin Durant, Texas 11/9/06 vs. Alcorn, 20,3,3,2
Terrence Jones, UK 11/12/10 vs. ETSU, 25,2,3,2
Ethan Thompson, Ore. St. 11/10/17 vs. So. Utah, 20,2,2,3
Darius Garland, VU 11/6/18 vs. Winthrop, 24,3,2,2
Three Commodores on NBA Rosters
Former Commodores Damian Jones, Luke Kornet, and Wade Baldwin IV are currently on NBA active rosters. Jones is averaging 16.5 minutes and 5.7 points per game with the Golden State Warriors this season and has won two championships with the team in his three seasons in the Bay Area. Kornet is averaging 3.3 minutes per game with the New York Knicks, and Baldwin is averaging 5.0 minutes per game with the Portland Trail Blazers.
NBA Pro Day
The Commodores held the program’s first NBA Pro Day on October 9 at Memorial Gym, with 29 of the NBA’s 30 teams represented and 54 total scouts in attendance.
Ryan, Wetzell return to action
Matt Ryan, who comes to Vanderbilt from Notre Dame, played in two NCAA Tournaments and 72 total games with the Fighting Irish, while Yanni Wetzell averaged 13.6 points per game in two seasons at Division II St. Mary’s in Texas. Ryan has had two games as a Commodore with four threes made (Winthrop, Alcorn State)
Three Point U
The Commodores are one of only three schools (UNLV and Princeton) to have made a three-point basket in every game since the inception of the three-point line in the 1986-87 season.
With a made three against Liberty, Vanderbilt will move to 1,035 consecutive games with a three-pointer.
Commodores in 86th SEC Season
Vanderbilt is now in its 86th SEC season and is a charter member of the league. All time against current members of the conference, Vanderbilt is 715-706.
Against the Big South
The Commodores are 16-0 all time against members of the Big South. Vanderbilt defeated Winthrop in their season opener, and will face one other Big South opponent this season in UNC Asheville.