Why Vanderbilt has been one of this year's biggest disappointments
When Vanderbilt won eight of its final 10 league games last season to reach the NIT, the Commodores appeared to be trending upward.
They returned nearly every key player from that team this season including 7-foot NBA prospect Damian Jones, rapidly improving point guard Wade Baldwin IV and an array of shooters with which to surround them.
That such a promising nucleus hasn't produced more success so far this season makes Vanderbilt one of the nation's biggest disappointments. The Commodores fell 68-64 at undefeated South Carolina on Saturday, their third loss in a row to start SEC play and their seventh loss in their last 10 games.
Halfway through the season, Vanderbilt (8-7, 0-3) has no noteworthy wins besides a neutral-court victory over a decent Wake Forest team. The Commodores have played the seven best opponents on their non-conference schedule tough, but they've lost each game, all but one by eight or fewer points.
They couldn't hold a 10-point first half lead against Kansas in the Maui Invitational title game and lost by seven. They lost by two on the road at Baylor two weeks later. Even Saturday's loss at South Carolina, Vanderbilt fell only a couple baskets short despite missing 19 of its final 22 shots.
Why hasn't Vanderbilt been able to get over the hump in a few of those games? One problem has been that Jones has not been able to make the strides many projected from him as a junior. His 13.4 points and 6.9 rebounds per game are similar to what he produced last season.
Another factor is the knee injury that sidelined emerging big man Luke Kornet for five games. Vanderbilt went 2-3 in that stretch in part because the Commodores missed his offensive versatility, his rebounding and his ability to protect the rim either alongside Jones or without him.
Rebounding and turnovers also have been season-long issues for the Commodores.
For a team with two 7 footers in its starting five, Vanderbilt is a surprisingly poor rebounding team. The Commodores are 274th nationally in offensive rebounding percentage, 113th nationally in defensive rebounding percentage and they've been bludgeoned on the glass in losses against Dayton, Purdue and LSU.
Vanderbilt also can be susceptible to defensive pressure against opponents with high-major athleticism, as evidenced by their 26 turnovers at Arkansas earlier in the week and their 17 turnovers last Saturday against LSU. Too many self-inflicted mistakes have short-circuited the Commodores in those games.
So is there hope for Vanderbilt? Can the Commodores correct some of those problem areas in time to make a second-half push for an NCAA bid?
It's possible, but they've dug themselves a deep hole.
Vanderbilt is already 0-3 in the SEC and two games apiece against Kentucky, Texas A&M and Florida remain on the schedule. The Commodores will get credit from the NCAA tournament selection committee for playing so many tough games in and out of conference play, but they'll have to start winning some of those for it to truly matter.
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Jeff Eisenberg is the editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at daggerblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
