Vanderbilt Commodores
Southeastern Conference (20-11, 10-6)
Seed: #6
East Region
RPI: 47
Big Wins:
1/10 Tennessee (82-81), 1/20 at Kentucky (72-67), 2/17 Florida (83-70)
Bad Losses:
11/21 at Wake Forest (78-88), 11/28 Furman (62-70), 1/6 at Auburn
(65-68)
Last NCAA
Appearance: 2004, Sweet Sixteen loss to Connecticut
Coach:
Kevin Stallings (3-3 in 3 NCAA appearances)
Probable
Starters:
Alex Gordon,
Junior, Guard, 7.7 ppg, 3.4 apg
Dan Cage,
Senior, Guard, 11.2 ppg, 2.1 apg, 3.0 rpg
Derrick Byars,
Senior, Forward, 16.8 ppg, 3.4 apg, 4.9 rpg
Shan Foster,
Junior, Forward, 15.4 ppg, 4.8 rpg
Ross Neltner,
Junior, Forward, 9.7 ppg, 5.8 rpg
Key
Roleplayers:
Jermaine Beal,
Freshman, Guard, 3.9 ppg, 1.8 apg
George Drake,
Freshman, Guard, 2.6 ppg, 1.4 rpg
JeJuan Brown,
Freshman, Forward, 3.3 ppg, 2.6 rpg
Ted Skuchas,
Senior, Center, 4.0 ppg, 2.4 rpg
Why They Can
Surprise:
Vanderbilt has
a pair of dynamic wings that can put up points in a hurry. Derrick Byars
leads the team in scoring and is second in assists and rebounds. He
will do a little bit of everything and is the best defender on the squad.
Shan Foster’s numbers are not far behind those of Byars and the duo can
shoot and slash their way past any team in the nation.
Byars and
Foster, along with fellow starter Dan Cage, are very dangerous from behind
the arc. The long ball is a very important aspect to the Commodores offense
and, if they are falling, Vandy can beat anybody. They drained 15 in their
upset of Alabama, 11 at Kentucky, ten at LSU and ten in the upset of top
ranked Florida.
Why They Can
Disappoint:
However, when
the three point shots are not falling, Vanderbilt is in trouble, like when
they shot 2 for 17 in a loss to Furman. The biggest problem though is in the
frontcourt. Ross Neltner has stepped in after transferring from LSU and
become a decent post scorer and rebounder, but with what is virtually a four
guard line-up, the 6-9 junior can only do so much. Getting outrebounded by
two a game makes it very difficult for a defense that can have a few
lapses as it is.
Who To
Watch:
The Commodores
may give up some rebounds, but they will not give up the ball very much
otherwise. The team ranks third in the conference, committing just 12.6
turnovers per contest. Point guard Alex Gordon dishes out 3.4 assists and
only turns it over 1.5 times per game and the rest of the team sports a nice
ratio as well. The scrappy Gordon is looking more and more comfortable with
each passing game and the sophomore can get to the basket and do some
scoring.
Joel’s
Bracket Says: Sweet Sixteen loss to Georgetown
