Tourney Time

Commodores take on Auburn at SEC Tournament on Wednesday

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Vanderbilt Commodores (14-15, 4-12 SEC) vs. Auburn Tigers (10-17, 4-12 SEC)
Wednesday, March 4 • 10 a.m. CT
Bon Secours Wellness Arena (15,951)
Greenville, S.C.
Watch: SEC Network
Listen: TuneIn
Max Herz (play-by-play)
Live Stats: SECSports.com
Bracket/Tickets
Game Notes

Battle Grounds
• A monthly occurrence. This will be the third meeting between Auburn and Vanderbilt this season. The three games played Jan. 2, Feb. 2 and March 4.
• Vanderbilt leads the all-time series with Auburn 29-23, including a 77-55 victory over the Tigers in Nashville on Jan. 2. The 22-point win was Vandy’s second-largest ever over Auburn and the program’s largest SEC win since 2013. It was also Vanderbilt’s first win in the series since 2014. The Tigers won the matchup in Auburn 70-62 on Feb. 2.
• Wednesday will be the sixth meeting between these programs at the SEC Tournament. Vanderbilt has won each of the previous five.
• This is the second time Auburn and Vanderbilt will meet three times in the same season. The only other occurrence was in 2003-04 when the Commodores won all three meetings against the Tigers, including a 76-74 win in the SEC Tournament.
• This series dates back to the 1977-78 season when the Tigers defeated Vandy 82-64 in the Mississippi State Classic in Starkville.

Tournament Time
• Vanderbilt is 48-34 all-time in the SEC Tournament, including 18 semifinal appearances, eight title games and six SEC Tournament championships (1993, 1995, 2002, 2004, 2007, 2009).
• The Commodores are 0-3 under Coach White in the SEC Tournament (0-2 in Greenville, both losses to Alabama).
• Vanderbilt is 1-3 all-time at the SEC Tourney in Greenville, with the only win in the 2005 first round against Arkansas.
• The last time Vanderbilt played a team three times in the same season was in 2011-12 against Tennessee. The Commodores split the season series—lost in Knoxville (87-64), won in Nashville (93-79)—and fell in the SEC Tournament (68-57).

Full Steam Ahead
• Vanderbilt has out-rebounded 20 of its 29 opponents and is winless when being out-rebounded (0-9).
• Vanderbilt has four players averaging double figures this season. Last Vandy team to accomplish that was in 2011-12.
• Vanderbilt is 14-2 when holding opponents under 40 percent from the field (0-13 when not).
• Vandy is 12-6 when shooting better than 40 percent.
• Vandy is 11-0 when scoring more than 70 points this season (3-15 when scoring fewer than 70).
• Vanderbilt is 13-8 against unranked opponents this year and 1-7 against the top 25.
• Vandy matched last season’s win total (7) by Dec. 15 and last season’s SEC win total by Jan. 9.
• Vanderbilt’s third SEC win (Feb. 9) eclipsed last season’s SEC win total (2) with six conference games remaining.
• Vanderbilt’s 10 nonconference wins matched the most in the Coach Stephanie White era (also went 10-3 in 2016-17).
• Vanderbilt’s win at Washington was its first Pac-12 road win since 2012 at USC.

Court Martial
• Sophomore Jordyn Cambridge enters the weekend ranked No. 14 in the nation and first in the SEC in steals. She has 83 steals in 29 games this season after she totaled 20 steals in 24 games as a freshman last year.
• Cambridge’s 83 steals are the most in a season for a Commodore since Jennifer Risper stole 91 in 2007-08.
• Cambridge’s 2.9 steals per game is currently the highest single-season average for a Commodore since Deborah Denton finished with 3.2 per game in 1988-89.
• Cambridge was the first Commodore with seven steals in a game (Nov. 17 vs. Saint Louis) since Risper on Nov. 23, 2008 against Michigan.

On the (Cam) Bridge
• Only one other major conference player fills the box score like Cambridge. She and Veronica Burton (Northwestern) are the only players with 80+ steals, 90+ assists and 100+ rebounds this season (seven players total, nationally).
• Cambridge is the first Vandy player with 100+ assists and 80+ steals in a season since Jade Huntington had 100 and 87 in 1989-90.
• Cambridge is first in the SEC and second among major conference players listed at 5-foot-9 or shorter with 14 blocks this season (Burton has 17).
• Cambridge leads all SEC players at 5-foot-9 or shorter with 155 rebounds and averages 5.3 per game (42 rebounds, 1.8/game last year).

Hall Monitor
• Junior guard Chelsie Hall leads the team with 109 assists this season. Sophomore Jordyn Cambridge has 101 assists.
• The last Commodore pair with 100 assists each was in 2010-11 when Jasmine Lister (103) and Jence Rhoads (140) accomplished the feat.

Home Port
• The Commodores are 10-6 at Memorial Gym this season (had nine wins in two previous seasons combined) with five of those six losses to Top 25 opponents.

Full Honors
• On Dec. 23, Vanderbilt swept the SEC weekly awards. It was the first Commodores sweep since Christina Foggie (player) and Kady Schrann (freshman) on Jan. 23, 2012.
• Vandy  is the only program to sweep the awards this year.
Mariella Fasoula was Vanderbilt’s first SEC Player of the Week since Jasmine Lister in 2014.
Koi Love became the first Vanderbilt player to win back-to-back SEC Freshman of the Week honors.

Plan of Attack
• Coach White’s halftime adjustments have been evident. Vanderbilt has won the third quarter 17 times this year. Excluding top 25 opponents, the Commodores are +99 in the third quarter (424-325).

Sick Bay
• Sophomore Brinae Alexander scored in double figures in all six of her complete games this season and was Vanderbilt’s leading scorer before her season-ending Achilles injury in the first quarter on Thanksgiving Day against Rutgers at the Junkanoo Jam in the Bahamas.
• Between Golden (24), Alexander (22), Pearl (7), Carter (4), Newby (3) and Gordon (3), the Commodores have a combined 63 missed games due to injury this season.

In the Community
• This year’s squad has placed an emphasis on volunteering in the local Nashville community. Each team member must complete 10 hours of community service this season. Those hours do not include team mandated community events.
• Among some of the team volunteering events, the Commodores spent an afternoon at the Habitat for Humanity Restore in Nashville where they helped stock shelves and move furniture. They also volunteered on Halloween at Vanderbilt’s Trick or Treat with the Greeks where they handed out candy and provided Nashville communities and children a fun, safe space for Halloween.
• The Commodores also sponsor Gabee, 14, who suffers from craniostynosis, and are raising money for her and the Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt.

Looking Astern
• Mariella Fasoula poured in 24 points in her final home game and Vanderbilt broke a 29-game losing streak against ranked opponents with a 70-64 win against No. 15 Kentucky on Sunday at Memorial Gymnasium.
• Fasoula gave the Commodores the lead late and helped seal the deal from the line. Vandy last defeated a ranked team Feb. 28, 2016, in a 56-52 victory over No. 24 Missouri.

A Vandy Win Would…
… mark the most wins in a season since posting 18 victories in 2015-16.
… be the first in the SEC Tournament since winning two in 2016 (beat Ole Miss and Georgia).
  be the first time beating an SEC team twice in the same season since sweeping Alabama in 2016.
… be the first back-to-back wins since  a six-game winning streak from Dec. 5-Jan. 2  (last win was vs. Auburn).

A Vandy Loss Would…
… mark the end of the 2019-20 season for the Commodores.
… be the fourth straight in the SEC Tournament.
… be less good than a win.

On Deck
• With a win, Vanderbilt will play fifth-seeded Arkansas in the second game of Thursday’s action. The game will tip off 25 minutes after the conclusion of the first game  which begins at noon.
• With two or more wins at the SEC Tournament, Vanderbilt would be postseason eligible (last postseason game was the first round of the 2014 NCAA Tournament).

#AnchorDown