Vanderbilt Men Return To The Court Tonight, Hosting Davidson
The Vanderbilt Commodore men's basketball team returns to action tonight as they host the Davidson Wildcats in a 7 pm tipoff at Memorial Gym. It will be their first game in nine days after the Christmas holidays meaning the team should be well-rested as they head into the new year.
The Commodores enter the game 7-3 and coming off an 88-73 win over UNC Wilmington in their last outing ten days ago. Davidson brings a 6-5 mark to Nashville, having defeated Loyola Chicago 59-56 eight days ago. It was the third straight win for the Wildcats. Loyola defeated Vanderbilt earlier this season 78-70 in Phoenix.
Among the Wildcats losses, this season is an opening game loss to Auburn 76-66. The Commodores face Auburn Jan. 8 in Auburn.
The Wildcats are led in scoring by 6'5" guard Kellan Grady, who averages 16.1 ppg while shooting 47.6% from the floor in just over 33 minutes per game of action.
Grady leads a balance Wildcat attack that averages 70.2 ppg while allowing just 65.0 ppg for the season. Along with Grady, Jon Axel Gudmundsson (11.6), Carter Collins (10.5), and Luka Brajkovic (10.2) all add to the offensive balance for Davidson.
While Grady, Gudmundsson, and Collins lead from the backcourt, Brajkovic (6'10" 250) is the type of frontcourt player that has proved most difficult for the Commodores to defend this season. A big strong, physical presence who is tough to move when he establishes the inside position, the Austrian averages 9.7 rebounds per game.
Head coach Bob McKillop has a deep bench, with eight players averaging double-figure minutes and a ninth who averages just under ten minutes per contest.
The Commodores will receive a tough test from the WIldcats, and with the SEC schedule awaiting Vanderbilt in the new year, securing their eighth win of the season before the end of December would be big for this team that won just nine games all last season and failed to win a single conference game.
Tipoff is set for 7 pm at Memorial Gym with the game being broadcast on The SEC Network Plus and on the Vanderbilt IMG Radio Network.
