*** 2014-2015 BASKETBALL SEASON RECAP *** (part one)
Apr 6, 2015 18:37:26 GMT
Post by Admin on Apr 6, 2015 18:37:26 GMT
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...VANDERBILT BASKETBALL 2014-2015 RECAP...
Part one will be "highs that were lows and lows that were highs" aka the pre-conference schedule
The exhibition games vs. Illinois Springfield and Sewanee.
Dazzling performances by Riley LaChance and Shelton Mitchell (24 and 21 points) divert attention from a lackluster performance from Damian Jones and James Siakam in the Springfield game as the thick-body post player for Springfield seems good enough to play D-1 mid-major ball easily. Speaking of lackluster, the 67-38 win over D-3 Sewanee will very ugly and not entertaining. A 30-11 halftime lead was indicative of how physically overmatched Sewanee was in this yet to be within 19 and lose by less than 30 was a feat of magnanimous proportion and was certainly helped by sloppy apathetic play from Vandy. Josh Henderson getting his shot blocked in the waning seconds by a D-3 guard a foot shorter sent the people home mumbling about a lack of effort.
The semi-official game vs. Trevecca
In a game that "sort-of counted" tiny Trevecca U. from over off Murfreesboro Road. trailed by only three at the half. Vandy did outscore the Trojans 50-26 to avoid one of those early season power-5 losses to a school most people have never heard of. You know the kind of upset that grabs your attention on the bottom of the screen ticker on ESPN that make you blurt out "they lost to WHO??" This embarrassing fate was avoided but certainly a first half that lent concern about playing real competition. It was the first post-injury Fisher-Davis sighting. His rust showed with a 1-7 day from three.
Games vs. Lipscomb/Norfolk St./TSU
DLU and Norfolk's ability to outscore Vandy in the second half and only lose by ten dampened the wins although the Norfolk St. win did send the team off the Brooklyn on a winning note. The high point of this stretch had to be the beating administered to nearby TSU. This was never is doubt. Luke Kornet was outstanding with 24 points, a career high. An 18 point lead swelled to as much as 36 in the second half. It was a win that really felt like a win.
The "Rutgers/LaSalle/Baylor/Purdue" stretch of games
It was the worst of time...it was the best of times. Actually, the loss to Marist a few years back was the worst of the worst and while Rutgers was better than Marist, it was a loss that left everybody shaking their head. Damian Jones busted lose for 23 points but Rutgers outscored the Dores 16-10 down the stretch helped by some untimely VU turnovers. Vanderbilt head coach Kevin Stalling didn't waste any time throwing his young team under the bus after the game with his "We came out of timeouts on four occasions where we made a call and messed it up. That shouldn't be the case. We didn't play well enough to win" comments. The young Dores did get right off the mat for a 13 point win over LaSalle. While LaSalle won't be mistaken for Kentucky or Duke, it still ran the record to 5-1 and showed some mental resilience on the part of the team. This would come in handy in the next two games against a couple of very high quality opponent who would both dance in the post-season, Baylor and Purdue. If Memorial Gym is a good jump shooters gym, Baylor proved it by hitting a sparkling 10 of 18 from deep while the Dores were a dismal 3 of 17, yet were still right in the game and had chances to take it to overtime. Other VU highlights - outscoring a very good defensive Baylor team 38-32 in the second half and Jones going 9-9 at the free throw line. It was also the emergence of James Siakam as he hit double figures in scoring which foreshadowed his late season heroics. The solid performance did carry over to the Purdue game. The Dores held a 22 point lead but had to weather a late Purdue run to win by ten. Keys were LaChance with 25 in a game where the Dores were a deadly 9 of 14 from three. Siakam again scored in double figures, again - this re-emergence of Siakam against quality non-conferece foes was a key to the second half of the season's NIT selection run.
WCU/GeorgiaTech/Penn/St.Louis/Yale
Vandy would go 4-1 through this stretch of games with resounding wins against Western Carolina, Penn, St.Louis... avenging a loss last year in St. Louis but dropping a very winnable game at Georgia Tech while shooting a dismal 3-15 from three and being outrebounded by nine. Tech pulled off the wim by outscoring VU by 13 in the second half. The Yale game may not have been envisioned as a nail-biter when it was scheduled, but who would have thought they would arrive at Memorial with an upset over defending national champs UConn on their resume. Yale did prove to be the real thing as they lead by as much as 13. A Kornet three to start the second OT put the Dores ahead to stay with Fisher-Davis and LaChance free throw sealing it late. The Western Carolina game was interesting for a half as veteran former Ohio coach and NC State associate head coach Larry Hunter had his team playing 20 minutes of tough inspired basketball. After halftime it was a different story as WCU crumbled away, not even looking like the same team. LaChance was a sniper, going 5-8 from deep and 5-5 at the FT line for 26 while Siakam was 12-13 at the line and finished with 20. Vandy outrebounded St. Louis by 13 in a confidence building 15 point road win. Penn might be in the Ivy League with Yale, but unlike Yale, were little match for Vandy. This was one of the the first big games for Wade Baldwin as he was 6 of 9 from the field for 16 points in the 29 point blowout win. This was after holding a pedestrian eleven point lead at the half.
Coming soon: BASKETBALL RECAP - PART TWO - SEC TIME and beyond
...VANDERBILT BASKETBALL 2014-2015 RECAP...
Part one will be "highs that were lows and lows that were highs" aka the pre-conference schedule
The exhibition games vs. Illinois Springfield and Sewanee.
Dazzling performances by Riley LaChance and Shelton Mitchell (24 and 21 points) divert attention from a lackluster performance from Damian Jones and James Siakam in the Springfield game as the thick-body post player for Springfield seems good enough to play D-1 mid-major ball easily. Speaking of lackluster, the 67-38 win over D-3 Sewanee will very ugly and not entertaining. A 30-11 halftime lead was indicative of how physically overmatched Sewanee was in this yet to be within 19 and lose by less than 30 was a feat of magnanimous proportion and was certainly helped by sloppy apathetic play from Vandy. Josh Henderson getting his shot blocked in the waning seconds by a D-3 guard a foot shorter sent the people home mumbling about a lack of effort.
The semi-official game vs. Trevecca
In a game that "sort-of counted" tiny Trevecca U. from over off Murfreesboro Road. trailed by only three at the half. Vandy did outscore the Trojans 50-26 to avoid one of those early season power-5 losses to a school most people have never heard of. You know the kind of upset that grabs your attention on the bottom of the screen ticker on ESPN that make you blurt out "they lost to WHO??" This embarrassing fate was avoided but certainly a first half that lent concern about playing real competition. It was the first post-injury Fisher-Davis sighting. His rust showed with a 1-7 day from three.
Games vs. Lipscomb/Norfolk St./TSU
DLU and Norfolk's ability to outscore Vandy in the second half and only lose by ten dampened the wins although the Norfolk St. win did send the team off the Brooklyn on a winning note. The high point of this stretch had to be the beating administered to nearby TSU. This was never is doubt. Luke Kornet was outstanding with 24 points, a career high. An 18 point lead swelled to as much as 36 in the second half. It was a win that really felt like a win.
The "Rutgers/LaSalle/Baylor/Purdue" stretch of games
It was the worst of time...it was the best of times. Actually, the loss to Marist a few years back was the worst of the worst and while Rutgers was better than Marist, it was a loss that left everybody shaking their head. Damian Jones busted lose for 23 points but Rutgers outscored the Dores 16-10 down the stretch helped by some untimely VU turnovers. Vanderbilt head coach Kevin Stalling didn't waste any time throwing his young team under the bus after the game with his "We came out of timeouts on four occasions where we made a call and messed it up. That shouldn't be the case. We didn't play well enough to win" comments. The young Dores did get right off the mat for a 13 point win over LaSalle. While LaSalle won't be mistaken for Kentucky or Duke, it still ran the record to 5-1 and showed some mental resilience on the part of the team. This would come in handy in the next two games against a couple of very high quality opponent who would both dance in the post-season, Baylor and Purdue. If Memorial Gym is a good jump shooters gym, Baylor proved it by hitting a sparkling 10 of 18 from deep while the Dores were a dismal 3 of 17, yet were still right in the game and had chances to take it to overtime. Other VU highlights - outscoring a very good defensive Baylor team 38-32 in the second half and Jones going 9-9 at the free throw line. It was also the emergence of James Siakam as he hit double figures in scoring which foreshadowed his late season heroics. The solid performance did carry over to the Purdue game. The Dores held a 22 point lead but had to weather a late Purdue run to win by ten. Keys were LaChance with 25 in a game where the Dores were a deadly 9 of 14 from three. Siakam again scored in double figures, again - this re-emergence of Siakam against quality non-conferece foes was a key to the second half of the season's NIT selection run.
WCU/GeorgiaTech/Penn/St.Louis/Yale
Vandy would go 4-1 through this stretch of games with resounding wins against Western Carolina, Penn, St.Louis... avenging a loss last year in St. Louis but dropping a very winnable game at Georgia Tech while shooting a dismal 3-15 from three and being outrebounded by nine. Tech pulled off the wim by outscoring VU by 13 in the second half. The Yale game may not have been envisioned as a nail-biter when it was scheduled, but who would have thought they would arrive at Memorial with an upset over defending national champs UConn on their resume. Yale did prove to be the real thing as they lead by as much as 13. A Kornet three to start the second OT put the Dores ahead to stay with Fisher-Davis and LaChance free throw sealing it late. The Western Carolina game was interesting for a half as veteran former Ohio coach and NC State associate head coach Larry Hunter had his team playing 20 minutes of tough inspired basketball. After halftime it was a different story as WCU crumbled away, not even looking like the same team. LaChance was a sniper, going 5-8 from deep and 5-5 at the FT line for 26 while Siakam was 12-13 at the line and finished with 20. Vandy outrebounded St. Louis by 13 in a confidence building 15 point road win. Penn might be in the Ivy League with Yale, but unlike Yale, were little match for Vandy. This was one of the the first big games for Wade Baldwin as he was 6 of 9 from the field for 16 points in the 29 point blowout win. This was after holding a pedestrian eleven point lead at the half.
Coming soon: BASKETBALL RECAP - PART TWO - SEC TIME and beyond