Vanderbilt Basketball Quick Hitters: Davidson WIldcats

The Vanderbilt Commodores play host to the Davidson Wildcats tonight at Memorial Gym. Here are some quick-hit facts about tonight's matchup.

The Vanderbilt Commodores play host to the Davidson Wildcats tonight at Memorial Gym. Here are some quick-hit facts about tonight's matchup. 

• The Commodores improved to 7-4 on the season after defeating UNC Wilmington, 88-73, on December 21 at Memorial Gym. Sophomore Aaron Nesmith, the SEC’s leading scorer, tied a career-high with 34 points to lead Vanderbilt. Junior Saben Lee also added 14 points.

• Nesmith was 7-10 from three-point range against UNCW, his third game this year with 7 threes made.

• Nesmith also had 34 points earlier this season at Richmond on Nov. 14. It was the most points by a Vanderbilt player since Shan Foster vs. Miss. State (3/5/08), and the most points by a Vanderbilt player on the road since Billy McCaffrey at Georgia (35, 2/24/93). Nesmith is the first Vanderbilt player since Shan Foster in 2008 to score 30 or more points in multiple games in a season.

• Nesmith currently averages 23.5 points per game this season. Vanderbilt’s all-time single-season record is 23.4 points per game by Tom Hagan in the 1968-69 season.

• The Commodores registered 14 steals against UNC Wilmington, a season high.

• As of Dec. 27, Nesmith is second in the nation in 3’s made per game (4.27), and leads the SEC. He also leads the SEC in scoring (23.5, 5th nationally) and 3-point field goal percentage (.500%, 8th nationally). Nesmith also ranks fourth in the SEC in overall field goal percentage (.515).

• Nesmith (23.5) and Lee (17.0) are the third-highest-scoring duo in the nation behind Hampton’s Jermaine Marrow (24.9) and Ben Stanley (20.3) and Texas-San Antonio’s Jhivvan Jackson (26.8) and Keaton Wallace (15.2).

• Nesmith and Lee have scored in double figures in every game this season. Nesmith has scored 20 or more in eight Vanderbilt games this season, Lee in three games.

• As of Dec. 27, Lee is fifth (17.0) in scoring, fourth in assists per game (5.6), ninth in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.7), ninth in total free throws made (43), eighth in free throws attempted (57), and seventh in field goal percentage (.512) in the SEC.

• Lee claimed SEC Player of the Week honors after his performance against Buffalo, becoming the first Commodore to win the award since Jeff Roberson on Feb. 19, 2018. Lee joins Scotty Pippen Jr. as weekly honorees from the SEC this season. Pippen Jr. was named the SEC Freshman of the Week on Nov. 25 when he averaged 17 points, 5.5 assists and 2.5 rebounds per game in two Commodore wins over Austin Peay and South Carolina State, respectively.

• Scottie Pippen Jr. is also ranked in the top 10 in the SEC in assists/game (9th, 4.6) and assist-to-turnover ratio (6th, 1.9).

• Brown is out indefinitely with a knee injury he suffered against Liberty.

• New head coach Jerry Stackhouse is the 28th men’s basketball coach in the history of Vanderbilt basketball. He is the first African American Commodore men’s basketball head coach and is one of two current African American head coaches in the Southeastern Conference (Cuonzo Martin, Missouri).

• As a team, the Commodores are first in the SEC in 3-point field goal percentage (.376) and second in threes made/game (9.6) and total threes made (106) . Vanderbilt is also third in field goal percentage (.473). Vanderbilt has been to the charity stripe 243 times this season, which ranks second in the SEC behind Auburn.

• A season ago, no Commodore had more than seven assists in a game. This season, it has been done four times by Saben Lee and twice by Scotty Pippen Jr.

• The Commodores are one of only three schools (UNLV and Princeton) to have made a three-point basket since the inception of the three-point line in the 1986-87 season.

With a made three against Davidson, Vanderbilt will move to 1,076 consecutive games with a three-pointer.

• The Commodores have had five first-round NBA Draft picks since 2012, the second-most in the SEC in that time span - Darius Garland (5th, Cleveland Cavaliers), Wade Baldwin IV (17th, Memphis Grizzlies), Damian Jones (30th, Golden State Warriors), and John Jenkins (23rd, Atlanta) and Festus Ezeli (30th, Golden State). Garland, Jones, and former standout Luke Kornet (Chicago Bulls) are all active players in the NBA.

Series Information

Series Record: Vanderbilt leads, 4-2

Last Meeting: Davidson - W, 75-62

Nov. 22, 2012 - Orlando, Fla. (Old Spice Classic)

At Vanderbilt: Vanderbilt leads, 3-0

Jerry Stackhouse vs. Davidson: First meeting