ABOUT VANDERBILT
Vanderbilt (9-16, 0-12 SEC) is still searching for its first win in conference play. Despite its league record, Bryce Drew's team does boast wins against Arizona State and USC and has given several teams, including the Vols, close calls.
Freshman forward Simisola Shittu was a five-star prospect coming out of high school and has performed like it since arriving on campus. He leads Vanderbilt in rebounding (6.8 rpg) while ranking second in scoring (11.5 ppg), assists (2.1 apg) and blocks (0.7 bpg). He has three 20-point games this season and is shooting 48 percent from the field.
At the beginning of the year, the Commodores had one of the best backcourt duos in the country in five-star freshman Darius Garland and sophomore guard Saben Lee. Unfortunately, Garland, who was averaging 16 points per game, went down with an injury early in the season and withdrew from school. Lee (13.1 ppg, 3.8 apg, 1.0 spg) has stepped up in Garland's absence to pace VU in scoring and assists.
Vanderbilt also has a trio of sharpshooters that can hit from deep in Matt Ryan (55 3-pointers), Aaron Nesmith (46) and Joe Toye (33), accounting for 71 percent of VU's total 3-pointers for the season. If they have the hot hand early, it could open up the paint for Shittu and create options for the Commodores.
Nesmith (11.4 ppg) is a player to keep an eye on in this game. The freshman forward has been playing very well recently, dropping four 20-point games in the last nine contests. Last week, he dropped a career-high 26 points against Florida and then followed that up by scoring 24 points against Auburn.
