Nonconference Finales

Battle Grounds

• This will be the eighth all-time meeting between the Wildcats and Commodores on the hardwood. Vanderbilt holds a 5-2 advantage in the series, including last season’s 76-71 win at Memorial Gym on Dec. 30. The first meeting between these programs went to overtime in Memorial Gymnasium. The Commodores prevailed, 81-79 on Dec. 12, 1967. The teams have split the two games in North Carolina. Vanderbilt lost the first matchup, 101-84, in 1968, but was victorious in the most recent meeting at John M. Belk Arena, 87-83, on Dec. 7, 2011. 
• This will be the third all-time meeting with the Braves and all three have come in in the last four seasons. The Commodores defeated Alcorn State in the two previous meetings in 2017 and 2018. Vanderbilt is 10-0 all-time against the Southwestern Athletic Conference.

Sunday Debriefing

• Fifth-year senior Clevon Brown recorded his 116th career block, and moved into a tie with Julian Terrell for the sixth-most in a Vanderbilt career. A.J. Ogilvy is fifth with 145.
• DJ Harvey and Clevon Brown were available to play for the first time since the opening game on Nov. 27. Each missed two games. Myles Stute missed his third straight game. 
• Tyrin Lawrence, Dylan Disu, Pippen, Maxwell Evans and Quentin Millora-Brown started their third straight game. 

Full Steam Ahead

• Vanderbilt has made at least four 3s in 19 consecutive games. The streak began immediately after the Commodores were held without a 3 against Tennessee on Jan. 25, 2020.
• Vanderbilt has hit the 80-point mark in three of its last six games (3-0), and 11 times in the Coach Stackhouse era with a 9-2 record in those games—the only two losses came in overtime, including 93-92 at Richmond last season.
• To begin the season, Vanderbilt won its fourth straight season opener and its 14th straight home opener.

Worth the Wait

• Vanderbilt’s season-opening date of Nov. 27 was the latest beginning to a season in 31 years. The Commodores began the 1989-90 season by facing Southern Methodist on the same Nov. 27 date. 
• Vanderbilt then had a 16-day wait until its second game of the season after four straight cancellations due to a positive COVID-19 result within the program.
• Following the long breaks, Vanderbilt is now scheduled to play four games in 10 days between Dec. 13-22. 

Super Sophomores 

• Dylan Disu is nearly averaging a double-double with 11.3 points and 9.0 rebounds (second in SEC) through the first four games. He recorded his sixth career double-double Dec. 13 against Mississippi Valley State.
• Scotty Pippen Jr. is leading the team with 21.3 points per game (second in SEC) and 4.8 assists per game (second in SEC), and has scored a career-high 25 points in back-to-back games and three times this season. 
• Pippen Jr., who was named preseason All-SEC second team, was one of three players in the nation to make his first 24 free throws this season. He is 30 for 32 this season and is second in the SEC with a 93.8 free throw percentage. 

Freshmen Five

• Vanderbilt welcomed five true freshmen to the fold for the 2020-21 season: Max Adelman, Lawrence, Akeem Odusipe, Myles Stute and Trey Thomas.
• Thomas and Stute made their collegiate debuts in the season opener. Thomas played six minutes and finished with two points on a pair of free throws while Stute buried a three and hauled in three rebounds in 17 minutes. 
• Lawrence made the start in his first collegiate game and finished with 14 points on 6 of 8 shooting to go along with four assists and four rebounds and just two turnovers in 25 minutes (second-most on team).
• Thomas, a Canadian native, was a late signee in July, while Adelman came to Nashville as a walk-on.

Eligible Transfers

• Three Commodores are now eligible to play for Vandy this season: redshirt junior D.J. Harvey, freshman Issac McBride and junior Quentin Millora-Brown.
• Harvey, who began his career at Notre Dame, and Millora-Brown, who started his college career at Rice, were both with the program in 2019-20.
• McBride came to West End from Kansas in the spring.

NBA and the Lottery 

• Vanderbilt is the only program in the nation with back-to-back NBA lottery picks. Former Vanderbilt guard Darius Garland was drafted fifth overall by Cleveland in the 2019 NBA Draft and guard Aaron Nesmith was selected 14th overall by the Boston Celtics in the 2020 draft. 
• Vanderbilt’s six first round picks since 2012 ranks second in the SEC.
• In the second round of the 2020 draft, Saben Lee was selected 38th overall by the Detroit Pistons. It marked the first time a pair of Vanderbilt players were selected in the NBA Draft since 2016. 
• Nesmith and Lee join Garland, Luke Kornet (Chicago) and Damian Jones (Phoenix) as Commodores in the NBA.

New Recruits 

• Entering his second season on West End, head coach Jerry Stackhouse announced that Peyton Daniels and Gabe Dorsey signed their letters of intent to join the Vanderbilt men’s basketball program on Nov. 11.
• Daniels and Dorsey have each received four-star ratings, and are ranked as the sixth-best recruits in their respective states of Georgia and Pennsylvania. Daniels, a 6-foot-2 guard, was a first-team all-state selection at Tri-Cities (Ga.) last season, while Dorsey, a 6-foot-6 wing, set the career record for made threes at The Hill School as a junior.

Looking Astern

• Vanderbilt made eight 3s on Saturday at Memorial Gymnasium and that proved to be the difference in a 59-50 win over Radford.
• Scotty Pippen Jr. led the way for the Commodores with 25 points and seven assists while Dylan Disu had 12.
• Head Coach Jerry Stackhouse missed the game due to the passing of his father. Vanderbilt’s assistants split the coaching duties with assistant coach Adam Mazarei as the team’s acting head coach during the game.

A Vandy Victory Would…

• … make the Commodores 4-1 for the second straight year.
• … be the second straight road win, including last year’s road finale at Alabama. 
• … mark the second straight over the Wildcats and fifth in the last six meetings. 
• … be the first road nonconference win since a 82-78 victory at USC on Nov. 11, 2018. 

A Vandy Defeat Would…

• … mark the second straight road loss to a nonconference opponent (overtime loss at Richmond last season).
• … be less good than a win.

On Deck

• Vanderbilt added one more nonconference game and will take on Alcorn State on Dec. 27.
• SEC play will begin on national television with an ESPN2 matchup on Dec. 30 against Florida.