Know the Foe: #13 Vanderbilt

After a 26-point loss over the weekend against Louisville, Memphis returns to the Bluff City to host Vanderbilt. The Commodores enter the game as one of seven teams that are still undefeated, and they currently rank No. 13 in the Associated Press poll. 

After a 9-23 record in Jerry Stackhouse’s last year, Mark Byington took over and led the Commodores to a 20-13 campaign in his first year, including a 14-1 start before struggling in conference play. This season, his team is undefeated, with four wins over top-55 KenPom teams. 

While they’ve played well this season, Byington’s team has only played one true road game this season.

Vanderbilt averages 95.4 points per game, and they shoot 51.6 percent from the field, 37.5 percent from deep and 75.8 percent from the free-throw line.

The Commodores rank No. 7 in effective field goal percentage, and they don’t turn the ball over very much. Vanderbilt averages only 9.7 turnovers per game, which ranks No. 24 in the country. 

Four players average 10 or more points, and Oklahoma transfer Duke Miles leads the team with 16.6 points per game. Miles is on his third team in the last three years and fourth team in his collegiate career, but he has found a nice role as one of the go-to guys for Vanderbilt.

Senior Tyler Nickel entered the year as the team’s highest returning scorer, and he is shooting 47.3 percent from three this year on 7.4 attempts per game. Nickel averages 15 points per game, and he’s coming off a 30-point performance against Central Arkansas.

In addition to the scorers, Vanderbilt has a solid point guard in Frankie Collins, who leads the team in assists and steals. Collins averages 4.9 assists and 2.6 steals, but he has struggled to knock down shots, shooting 31.2 percent from the field over the last three games.

In the frontcourt, the Commodores don’t have a ton of size, and their biggest player is 6-foot-10. Forward Devin McGlockton leads the team with seven rebounds per game, while forward Jalen Washington averages 5.2 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game.

As a team, Vanderbilt averages 39.6 rebounds per game and has a plus-7.2 rebounding margin.

Defensively, Byington’s team allows 72.9 points per game, and only one team has scored more than 80 points against the Commodores. Opposing teams shoot 39.7 percent from the field and 30.7 percent from deep.