SEC Basketball Preview/Prediction: Vanderbilt at Arkansas

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Vanderbilt visits Arkansas on Wednesday in a key SEC basketball matchup. Look inside for a preview of the game along with a prediction of the game’s final score.

By 14Powers Hoops

Team Statistical Comparison

	FG%	3PT%	FT%	ORB	TRB	AST	STL	BLK	TO
Vanderbilt	0.461	0.375	0.673	146	509	203	114	66	198
Vanderbilt OPP	0.454	0.359	0.721	149	521	184	88	37	220
Arkansas	0.443	0.317	0.763	107	498	190	138	71	188
Arkansas OPP	0.393	0.227	0.691	165	573	135	83	38	265

Statistical Leaders

Vanderbilt Scoring Leaders

PLAYER	TEAM	PPG	FGM	FTM	3PTM
Aaron Nesmith	Vanderbilt	23.0	105	52	60
Saben Lee	Vanderbilt	15.7	84	49	19
Scotty Pippen Jr.	Vanderbilt	10.7	44	58	15
Maxwell Evans	Vanderbilt	7.4	39	17	16
Dylan Disu	Vanderbilt	5.7	27	13	19
Ejike Obinna	Vanderbilt	4.1	24	9	0
Jordan Wright	Vanderbilt	4.1	21	16	3
Matthew Moyer	Vanderbilt	2.0	11	5	3

Vanderbilt Rebounding Leaders

PLAYER	TEAM	OR	DR	TR	RPG
Dylan Disu	Vanderbilt	17	64	81	5.4
Aaron Nesmith	Vanderbilt	11	57	68	4.9
Clevon Brown	Vanderbilt	22	32	54	6.0
Saben Lee	Vanderbilt	9	45	54	3.6
Ejike Obinna	Vanderbilt	22	26	48	3.4
Maxwell Evans	Vanderbilt	11	35	46	3.1
Scotty Pippen Jr.	Vanderbilt	9	34	43	2.9
Jordan Wright	Vanderbilt	13	19	32	2.1
Matthew Moyer	Vanderbilt	6	24	30	2.0
Oton Jankovic	Vanderbilt	2	4	6	0.9
Braelee Albert	Vanderbilt	2	1	3	1.0
Jon Jossell	Vanderbilt	0	2	2	0.7

Arkansas Scoring Leaders

PLAYER	TEAM	PPG	FGM	FTM	3PTM
Mason Jones	Arkansas	19.4	79	82	31
Isaiah Joe	Arkansas	18.2	85	44	59
Jimmy Whitt Jr.	Arkansas	13.8	88	31	0
Desi Sills	Arkansas	9.8	54	25	14
Adrio Bailey	Arkansas	6.7	38	20	5
Jalen Harris	Arkansas	4.2	18	20	7
Reggie Chaney	Arkansas	2.8	15	4	0
Jeantal Cylla	Arkansas	1.3	7	2	1

Arkansas Rebounding Leaders

PLAYER	TEAM	OR	DR	TR	RPG
Mason Jones	Arkansas	13	72	85	6.1
Jimmy Whitt Jr.	Arkansas	19	58	77	5.1
Adrio Bailey	Arkansas	19	53	72	4.8
Isaiah Joe	Arkansas	11	57	68	4.5
Desi Sills	Arkansas	9	36	45	3.0
Reggie Chaney	Arkansas	10	28	38	3.2
Jalen Harris	Arkansas	5	32	37	2.5
Jeantal Cylla	Arkansas	5	19	24	1.8
Ethan Henderson	Arkansas	3	9	12	2.0
Emeka Obukwelu	Arkansas	1	2	3	1.5

NCAA RPI

Vanderbilt: 133

Arkansas: 24

Vanderbilt Roster

No.	Name	Pos.	HT	WT	Class	City-State
0	Saben Lee	G	6′-2″	183	JR	Phoenix, AZ
1	Dylan Disu	F	6′-9″	220	FR	Pflugerville, TX
2	Scotty Pippen Jr.	G	6′-1″	170	FR	Los Angeles, CA
3	Maxwell Evans	G	6′-2″	190	JR	Houston, TX
4	Jordan Wright	G	6′-5″	226	FR	Baton Rouge, LA
5	D.J. Harvey	G	6′-6″	235	SO	Bowie, MD
10	Drew Weikert	G	6′-0″	170	SO	Nashville, TN
13	Matthew Moyer	F	6′-8″	229	JR	Gahanna, OH
14	Isaiah Rice	G	5′-11″	195	JR	Indianapolis, IN
15	Clevon Brown	F	6′-8″	232	SR	San Antonio, TX
20	Trace Arbuckle	G	6′-2″	170	JR	Carmel, IN
21	Jon Jossell	G	5′-9″	160	SR	Arcadia, OK
24	Aaron Nesmith	F	6′-6″	213	SO	Charleston, SC
42	Quentin Millora-Brown	F	6′-10″	229	FR	Lorton, VA
50	Ejike Obinna	F	6′-10″	243	SO	Enugu, Nigeria
55	Oton Jankovic	F	6′-10″	212	FR	Napa, CA

Arkansas Roster

No.	Name	Pos.	HT	WT	Class	City-State
0	Jeantal Cylla	F	6′-7″	215	SR	Lake Worth, FL
1	Isaiah Joe	G	6′-5″	180	SO	Fort Smith, AR
2	Adrio Bailey	F	6′-6″	217	SR	Clarence, LA
3	Desi Sills	G	6′-1″	196	SO	Jonesboro, AR
5	Jalen Harris	G	6′-2″	166	JR	Wilson, NC
11	JD Notae	G	6′-2″	185	JR	Covington, GA
12	Ty Stevens	G	6′-2″	180	JR	Republic, MO
13	Emeka Obukwelu	F	6′-8″	222	JR	Plano, TX
15	Mason Jones	G	6′-5″	200	JR	Desoto, TX
22	Abayomi Iyiola	F	6′-9″	210	JR	Atlanta, GA
23	Connor Vanover	F	7′-3″	230	SO	Little Rock, AR
24	Ethan Henderson	F	6′-8″	210	SO	Little Rock, AR
33	Jimmy Whitt Jr.	G	6′-3″	175	SR	Columbia, MO
35	Reggie Chaney	F	6′-8″	222	SO	Tulsa, OK

Scouting Report

Vanderbilt (8-7, 0-2 SEC) fell to Texas A&M on Saturday in Nashville. The Aggies controlled this game from the start and quickly built 28-12 early in the first half. It got much worse after that. The ‘Dores did get it back to only a 16-point deficit but could not keep the momentum. The Commodores trailed 60-29 with just under nine minutes to play. After Texas A&M cleared their benches Vandy was able to make the game a little closer. Andre Gordon had 15 points to lead the Aggies. Vandy was led in scoring by guard Maxwell Evans and center Ejike Obinna with 12 points each. A&M out-shot Vanderbilt 53%-30% from the field and 31%-17% from 3-point range. The Aggies also dominated Vandy on the boards 38-29.

Vanderbilt has lost its leading scorer Aaron Nesmith indefinitely to injury. He is the leading scorer in the SEC. He’s was also the most accurate 3-point shooter in the conference hitting true on 52.2% of his attempts. Saban Lee is the team’s second leading scorer (15.7 ppg).

The Commodores are tied at 12th with Georgia in scoring defense allowing 73.1 points a contest. Although the Commodore struggle at stopping opponents from scoring, they do get steals and are fifth in the SEC in that stat category (7.6 spg). Vandy is fifth in the league in scoring (77.3 ppg). The Commodores shoot both well from the 3-point range (1st, 37.6%) and field goal range (5th, 46.1%). Vandy is 13th in the league in rebounding margin (-0.2) but a better fifth in turnover margin (+1.4) and assist to turnover ratio (5th, 1.0).

Arkansas (13-2, 2-1 SEC) defeated Ole Miss 76-72 on Saturday in Oxford. The Hogs built a 15-8 lead with 11:20 to play in the first half. However, Ole Miss took the lead with six minutes to play in the half on two Devontae Shuler free throws. The Rebels then extended their lead to 33-27 at the half. In the second stanza Ole Miss controlled the game through much of the second half, leading by as many as nine points. Two back-to-back three pointers by Isaiah Joe narrowed the Ole Miss lead to 64-62. Joe’s free throw with 2:33 remaining in the game put the Hogs up 69-68 and the Razorbacks would never relinquish that lead.

For the season, guard Mason Jones (19.4 ppg) is the leader in scoring. Sharp-shooting Isaiah Joe (18.2 ppg) is the second leading scorer. Joe has 59 made threes so far this season. Jones also leads the Hogs in rebounds (6.1 rpg).

Arkansas is scoring an average of 74.6 points per game (7th SEC). Defensively, they are allowing 61.9 points per contest (4th SEC). The Hogs like to shoot threes. They have taken 371 attempts from beyond the arc so far this season. Only Alabama (440), Vandy (381) and Auburn (386) have taken more. The Hogs not only can shoot the three, they can defend it. Arkansas is No. 1 in the conference in 3-point shooting defense allowing just 22.6% of shots to be made. Arkansas also leads the league in steals and average 9.3 of those per game.

Vanderbilt was crushed on Saturday with the pre-game news that their best player for the second straight season would miss the remainder of the season. Vandy will probably play better this game but Arkansas is among the top four teams in the league. It will be very difficult for the ‘Dores to win in Bud Walton Arena. The Hogs should prevail by double digits.

Vanderbilt-Arkansas Prediction

Arkansas 82, Vanderbilt 70

Wednesday‘s game tips off at 8:30 p.m. ET. TV: SEC Network.