Commodores Look To Break Two-Game Skid, Host UNC Wilmington

The Vanderbilt men's basketball team has lost their last two-game, and the thing both teams that defeated them had in common were big, strong, physical inside players that the Commodores couldn't match, or contain.

Liberty defeated the Commodores last Friday at home and Loyola-Chicago bested them on the road in Phoenix this past Wednesday.

Tonight the COmmdores look to snap the two-game skid and send themselves into the holidays on a positive note as they play host to the UNC Wilmington Seahawks at Memorial Gym.

Currently 5-7, the Seahawks are a good matchup for the Commodores as they too are a guard-oriented team. Leading scorer Jaylen Sims averages 14.4 ppg while playing 28.7 minutes per contest.

Fellow guard Ty Gadsden is the second leading scorer, netting 11.0 ppg, but has played in only one game to this point. Forward Marten Linssen contributes 10.4 ppg for the Hawks.

Of the eleven players averaging double-digit minutes per game, nine are guards. Linssen, a 6'8" 255 sophomore from Dusseldorf, Germany has the size to give the Commodores problems inside as we've seen in the last two games, but he is not as skilled at this point as either Myo Baxter Bell of Liberty or Cameron Krutwig of Loyola-Chicago.

Still, the Commodores must defend Linssen and not allow him to control the game in the paint.

The Seahawks average 72.9 ppg compared to the Commodores at 78.ppg through their 6-4 start to the season.

Defensively the Commodores allow 70.8 ppg compared to the Seahawks at 71.1 through 12 contests.

Aaron Nesmith (22.4 ppg) once again should be the best player on the court. Saben Lee (17.3 ppg) has been a consistent scoring presence as well along with Scottie Pippen Jr. (10.5 ppg), but those three will need help from the rest of the Commodores if they are to get the win and end the two-game losing streak.

The biggest question for the Commodores tonight will be the status of Clevon Brown. The 6'8" senior missed Wednesday's game. His presence inside would be a big help against Linssen and Imajae Doo (6'6" 255 freshmen) who along with John Bowen (6'7" 200 sophomore) provide the inside game for the Seahawks.

Ejike Obbina got most of the minutes against Loyola in Brown's absence and performed adequately, scoring 7 points and 7 rebounds in 28 minutes, but his 33% free throw shooting is an issue.

Should Brown miss again tonight, Dylan Disu and Matthew Moyer must find a way to add some production inside. Against Loyola on Wednesday, the tandem combined for just 5 points and 9 rebounds (Disu with 7 rebounds) in a combined 40 minutes of action as the Commodores were manhandled in the paint, being outscored 46-32 by the Ramblers.

It's way too early to say this is a must-win, but with Auburn and the SEC schedule waiting on the other side of the new year, this is certainly a critical game for the Commodores to snap the skid and gain their seventh win of the season before conference play begins Jan.7 at Auburn.