SEC Basketball Preview/Prediction: Vanderbilt at South Carolina

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Vanderbilt visits South Carolina on Saturday 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	0.437	0.338	0.683	171	599	226	134	74	242
Vanderbilt OPP	0.460	0.346	0.716	178	646	229	104	55	270
South Carolina	0.430	0.307	0.606	225	671	250	140	78	245
South Carolina OPP	0.389	0.308	0.731	176	623	209	103	66	276

Statistical Leaders

Vanderbilt Scoring Leaders

PLAYER	TEAM	PPG	FGM	FTM	3PTM
PLAYER	TEAM	PPG	FGM	FTM	3PTM
Aaron Nesmith	Vanderbilt	23.0	105	52	60
Saben Lee	Vanderbilt	15.9	98	70	20
Scotty Pippen Jr.	Vanderbilt	11.0	54	73	17
Maxwell Evans	Vanderbilt	7.2	46	20	18
Dylan Disu	Vanderbilt	6.4	38	17	23
Jordan Wright	Vanderbilt	4.0	25	19	3
Ejike Obinna	Vanderbilt	3.7	27	9	0
Matthew Moyer	Vanderbilt	1.9	12	7	3

Vanderbilt Rebounding Leaders

PLAYER	TEAM	OR	DR	TR	RPG
PLAYER	TEAM	OR	DR	TR	RPG
Dylan Disu	Vanderbilt	19	83	102	5.7
Aaron Nesmith	Vanderbilt	11	57	68	4.9
Maxwell Evans	Vanderbilt	15	48	63	3.5
Ejike Obinna	Vanderbilt	26	34	60	3.5
Saben Lee	Vanderbilt	9	49	58	3.2
Clevon Brown	Vanderbilt	22	32	54	6.0
Scotty Pippen Jr.	Vanderbilt	11	42	53	2.9
Jordan Wright	Vanderbilt	16	25	41	2.3
Matthew Moyer	Vanderbilt	7	25	32	1.8
Oton Jankovic	Vanderbilt	3	6	9	0.9
Braelee Albert	Vanderbilt	4	3	7	1.2
Jon Jossell	Vanderbilt	0	2	2	0.7

South Carolina Scoring Leaders

PLAYER	TEAM	PPG	FGM	FTM	3PTM
PLAYER	TEAM	PPG	FGM	FTM	3PTM
AJ Lawson	South Carolina	13.7	78	59	31
Jermaine Couisnard	South Carolina	10.9	69	26	21
Jair Bolden	South Carolina	9.7	62	15	26
Maik Kotsar	South Carolina	9.6	75	23	0
Justin Minaya	South Carolina	7.8	49	26	16
Alanzo Frink	South Carolina	5.2	35	18	0
Jalyn McCreary	South Carolina	3.3	20	9	0
TJ Moss	South Carolina	2.9	19	5	7
Wildens Leveque	South Carolina	2.2	14	9	0

South Carolina Rebounding Leaders

PLAYER	TEAM	OR	DR	TR	RPG
PLAYER	TEAM	OR	DR	TR	RPG
Maik Kotsar	South Carolina	41	75	116	6.4
Justin Minaya	South Carolina	33	75	108	6.0
Alanzo Frink	South Carolina	32	34	66	3.9
AJ Lawson	South Carolina	7	50	57	3.2
Jair Bolden	South Carolina	5	46	51	3.0
Jermaine Couisnard	South Carolina	14	36	50	2.9
Wildens Leveque	South Carolina	19	25	44	2.6
Jalyn McCreary	South Carolina	13	23	36	2.4
Keyshawn Bryant	South Carolina	12	12	24	2.7
Trae Hannibal	South Carolina	7	17	24	1.8
TJ Moss	South Carolina	2	19	21	1.2
Micaiah Henry	South Carolina	2	4	6	1.2
Nathan Nelson	South Carolina	2	0	2	0.3
Mike Green	South Carolina	0	1	1	0.3

NCAA RPI

Vanderbilt: 145

South Carolina: 101

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

South Carolina Roster

No.	Name	Pos.	HT	WT	Class	City-State
0	A.J. Lawson	G	6′-6″	178	SO	Toronto, ON
1	T.J. Moss	G	6′-4″	195	FR	Memphis, TN
2	Trey Anderson	F	6′-6″	203	FR	San Diego, CA
4	Jalyn McCreary	F	6′-7″	225	FR	Marietta, GA
5	Jermaine Couisnard	G	6′-4″	211	FR	East Chicago, IN
10	Justin Minaya	F	6′-6″	215	SO	Harrington Park, NJ
12	Trae Hannibal	G	6′-2″	217	FR	Hartsville, SC
13	Micaiah Henry	F	6′-9″	235	SR	Decatur, GA
14	Nathan Nelson	F	6′-6″	189	SO	Murfreesboro, TN
15	Wildens Leveque	F	6′-11″	230	FR	Brockton, MA
20	Alanzo Frink	F	6′-7″	260	SO	Jersey City, NJ
21	Maik Kotsar	F	6′-11″	270	SR	Tallinn, Estonia
23	Mike Green	G	6′-1″	188	FR	Myrtle Beach, SC
24	Keyshawn Bryant	F	6′-5″	197	SO	Winter Haven, FL
25	Seventh Woods	G	6′-2″	189	SR	Columbia, SC
52	Jair Bolden	G	6′-3″	215	JR	Brooklyn, NY

Scouting Report

Vanderbilt (8-10, 0-5 SEC) fell to Alabama 77-62 on Wednesday night in Nashville. In that game the Tide jumped out to a 28-17 lead with 7:00 to go in the first half. Vandy battled back and cut the lead to 37-31 at the half. Alabama opened the second half with an 18-6 run that gave the Crimson Tide a 57-37 lead with 10:19 remaining in the game. Alabama would cruise on to victory. John Petty Jr. led Alabama in scoring with 23 points. Petty hit 5 of 10 from 3-point range. All five of his 3-point makes were made in the first half. Freshman forward Dylan Disu led the Commodores with 21 points. Alabama out-shot Vandy 46%-31% from the field and 34.5%-19% from 3-point range. Aaron Nesmith (23 ppg) is the Commodore’s and SEC’s leading scorer, however, he is out for the season with an injury. In his absence Saben Lee (15.9 ppg) has taken over that role. Freshman forward Dylan Disu leads Vandy in rebounding 5.7 rpg. For the season Vandy is shooting 43.7% from the field, 33.8% from 3-point range and 68.3% from the free throw line.

South Carolina (10-8, 2-3 SEC) most recently lost at Auburn 80-67 on Wednesday in Auburn. In that game the Gamecocks led most of the first half before Auburn pulled ahead 18-17 with 7:45 remaining in the first half. The Tigers held a 39-31 lead at the half. In the second half the Gamecocks narrowed the lead to 48-47 with 14:45 remaining but could never re-take the lead. Freshman guard Devan Cambridge led the Tigers in scoring with 26 points. Cambridge made 6 of 9 three pointers in 21 minutes of play time. Jermaine Couisnard, another freshman guard, was South Carolina’s leading scorer with 16 points. Freshman guard Devan Cambridge led the Tigers in scoring with 26 points. Cambridge made 6 of 9 three pointers in 21 minutes of play time. Jermaine Couisnard, another freshman guard, was South Carolina’s leading scorer with 16 points. Auburn out-shot the Gamecocks from 3-point range 37% to 28% and made four more threes than USC. The Gamecocks took only nine free throws during the game, making three. Meanwhile, Auburn was 18 of 21 from the line.

AJ Lawson leads the Gamecocks in scoring averaging 13.7 points per game. Maik Kotsar pulls down a team leading 6.4 rebounds a game. South Carolina as a team averages 69.7 points per game while allowing opponents 66.9 point per contest. For the season, Carolina is making 43% from the field, 30.7% from the line and 60.6% from the line.

South Carolina should the the clear favorite here. This Vanderbilt team is one of the worst teams in SEC basketball history. Even with Nesmith they were likely to win no more than 2 or 3 games in the SEC. Now without him they are looking at a possible zero wins in the league, for the second straight season, which is sad for this once proud program.

Vanderbilt-South Carolina Prediction

South Carolina 77, Vanderbilt 64

Saturday’s game tips off at 8:00 p.m. ET (7 p.m. CT). TV: SEC Network.