It's Rivalry Day As Vanderbilt Hosts Tennessee This Afternoon
The Vanderbilt Commodores (8-8 overall 0-3) conference and head coach Jerry Stackhouse are still struggling to find their way in the absence of star forward Aaron Nesmith who has missed the last two games and will miss the remainder of the season with a stress fracture in his foot.
Nesmith's absence means the Commodores have to replace his 23.0 ppg scoring, something that has proven a challenge in losses to Texas A&M and Arkansas, though Maxwell Evans has stepped forward an increased his scoring in those games. Still, Vanderbilt must find more and soon.
Entering this afternoon's 5 pm tipoff against the Tennessee Volunteers, the Commodores are averaging 75.9 ppg while allowing 73.2 ppg, both numbers have changed for the worse since the injury to Nesmith.
Saben Lee now becomes the leading scorer, averaging 15.8 ppg, down from 16.3 just two games ago while freshman Scottie Pippen Jr. is the only other Commodore in double figures, averaging 10.8 per game.
Maxwell Evans has increased his average the last two games, scoring in double figures with 12 against Texas A&M and 16 Wednesday night at Arkansas, but the Commodores need more and consistently.
On the other hand, the Volunteers enter today's contest 10-6 overall and 2-2 inside the league. They have received a boost in the last two weeks with the addition of two new players who had been sitting out awaiting a determination of eligibility by the NCAA.
Santiago Vescovi and Uros Plavsic have provided added scoring as Vescovi has averaged 12.5 ppg in the four games he has played, scoring in double figures all but once and averaging double-figure minutes for head coach Rick Barnes. Plavsic, who stands 7'0" has played in just one game for the Vols, scoring just five points in 17 minutes, but his inside presence has been a welcome addition inside.
Overall the Volunteers are averaging just 66.1 ppg while allowing 60.6 ppg this season. While their scoring is not that impressive, their defense, tied for 19th in the nation in points allowed per game, has been.
That makes this a tough task for a Commodores squad who has trouble scoring to face a team that doesn't allow much scoring to begin with.
Lamont Turner leads Tennessee in scoring, averaging 12.3 ppg- Vescovi has a higher average but in far fewer games- while Jordan Bowden (11.8), John Fulkerson (11.1) and Yves Pons (10.9) all average double figures.
Bowden leads the Vols in assists with 2.6 per game while Fulkerson leads in steals with 1.6 while Josiah Jordan-James lead in rebounds averaging 5.9 per contest.
Tennessee averages 37.0 rebounds per game compared to Vanderbilt at 33.7 per contest, which could play a huge factor in the outcome today as the Commodores struggle on the boards at times, especially against big bodies inside, which the Volunteers possess.
Depth too could be an issue and Barnes and the Vols have 10 players who average double-digit minutes per contest while the Commodores bench is not as deep.
Tennessee is not spectacular in any way, and they are certainly not the same team as a season ago, but they are solid and improving with the new talent infusion.
The Commodores are looking for answers and desperately need a win. The question is can they find it today.
Both teams enter today's contest off losses on Wednesday night, the Vols having been blown out at Georgia 80-63 while the Commodores received the same treatment against Arkansas, falling 75-55 in Fayetteville.
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