PREMIUM
Rogers' Opening Night Coach's Clinic (6:30 ET Tipoff!) >> 6-1 L7 NCAAB!
(NCAAB) Marquette vs. Vanderbilt,
11/11/2016 1:30 PM, Score: 95 - 71
Point Spread: 1.00 | -110.00 Vanderbilt (Home)
Result: Loss
Point Spread: 1.00 | -110.00 Vanderbilt (Home)
Result: Loss
The set-up: Vanderbilt (19-14) of the SEC will face Marquette (20-13) of the Big East in an early Friday evening game at Alumni Hall (Annapolis, Md.) in the Veterans Classic. The Commodores have a new head coach, as after Kevin Stallings departed for Pittsburgh, Vandy hired former Valparaiso coach and NCAA Tournament hero Bryce Drew. Steve Wojciechowski (of Duke fame) begins his third season in Milwaukee and is coming off a 20-13 season, a huge improvement over the 13-19 record he had in his debut season.
Vanderbilt: Drew will not have Vandy's top-two players from last year's team as guard Baldwin (14.1-4.0-5.2) and the 7-0 Damian Jones (13.9-6.9) are gone, with Jones getting drafted in the 1st round by the Warriors. However, despite having only 10 scholarship players, Drew should have a powerful frontcourt thanks to the duo of 7-1 senior Luke Kornet (8.9 & 7.3) and 6-10 redshirt freshman Djery Baptiste, who is set to play after choosing Vanderbilt over the likes of UConn. Also returning are swingman Fisher-Davis (9.7-3.6), the 6-6 Roberson (9.3-5.6) and guard Riley LaChance, although he regressed from 12.3 points per game as a freshman to 6.9 last season after playing 346 fewer minutes.
Marquette: The 6-11 Henry Ellenson was expected to transform Marquette basketball but he's one-and-done, after averaging team-highs of 17.0 points and 9.7 rebounds a game. He was a focal point of the offense and while the team won 20 games, he was not the superstar everyone expected him to be. He did combined with 6-11 center Luke Fischer to give Marquette two rim-protectors but with Ellenson now with the Detroit Pistons, Fischer is back for his senior season, ready to anchor the middle. Fischer (12.1 & 6.2) is getting ready to run more with all the guards on the roster. He'll need to play more than the 28.2 minutes a game that he averaged last season and stay out of foul trouble. Ellenson's NBA potential overshadowed the 6-5 Cheatham's solid freshman campaign last season, as he averaged 11.8-3.4-2.2, while starting all 33 games. A bonus addition is that of 6-6 guard Katin Reinhardt , a graduate transfer from USC (via UNLV), who scored in double figures as a freshman at UNLV and in two seasons at USC.
The pick: The Commodores don't much like to play away from home, where they went 14-2 last season. vanday went 3-9 on the road and 2-3 in neutral settings and often had trouble when facing solid defensive teams. Marquette used to be a "brand-name" defense but that's not quite the case anymore. Still, I like the Eagles as a small underdog over the ‘Dores in this neutral setting. Make Marquette an 8* play.
Vanderbilt: Drew will not have Vandy's top-two players from last year's team as guard Baldwin (14.1-4.0-5.2) and the 7-0 Damian Jones (13.9-6.9) are gone, with Jones getting drafted in the 1st round by the Warriors. However, despite having only 10 scholarship players, Drew should have a powerful frontcourt thanks to the duo of 7-1 senior Luke Kornet (8.9 & 7.3) and 6-10 redshirt freshman Djery Baptiste, who is set to play after choosing Vanderbilt over the likes of UConn. Also returning are swingman Fisher-Davis (9.7-3.6), the 6-6 Roberson (9.3-5.6) and guard Riley LaChance, although he regressed from 12.3 points per game as a freshman to 6.9 last season after playing 346 fewer minutes.
Marquette: The 6-11 Henry Ellenson was expected to transform Marquette basketball but he's one-and-done, after averaging team-highs of 17.0 points and 9.7 rebounds a game. He was a focal point of the offense and while the team won 20 games, he was not the superstar everyone expected him to be. He did combined with 6-11 center Luke Fischer to give Marquette two rim-protectors but with Ellenson now with the Detroit Pistons, Fischer is back for his senior season, ready to anchor the middle. Fischer (12.1 & 6.2) is getting ready to run more with all the guards on the roster. He'll need to play more than the 28.2 minutes a game that he averaged last season and stay out of foul trouble. Ellenson's NBA potential overshadowed the 6-5 Cheatham's solid freshman campaign last season, as he averaged 11.8-3.4-2.2, while starting all 33 games. A bonus addition is that of 6-6 guard Katin Reinhardt , a graduate transfer from USC (via UNLV), who scored in double figures as a freshman at UNLV and in two seasons at USC.
The pick: The Commodores don't much like to play away from home, where they went 14-2 last season. vanday went 3-9 on the road and 2-3 in neutral settings and often had trouble when facing solid defensive teams. Marquette used to be a "brand-name" defense but that's not quite the case anymore. Still, I like the Eagles as a small underdog over the ‘Dores in this neutral setting. Make Marquette an 8* play.
