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Vanderbilt basketball faces its first Power Four opponent of the season when Cal comes to Memorial Gymnasium on Wednesday night.
The Golden Bears (2-0) opened their season with wins over Cal Poly and Cal State Bakersfield. Vanderbilt (2-0) had a rout over Maryland Eastern Shore in the opener before an uninspiring win over Southeast Missouri.
When the two meet Wednesday (7 p.m. CT, SEC Network+) it will be with some familiar faces. Adam Mazarei, an assistant under Jerry Stackhouse, is now with Cal. And former Vanderbilt player Lee Dort is with the Golden Bears.
Here’s what you need to know about the matchup:
LIKES AND DISLIKES Everything I liked — and didn’t like — from Vanderbilt basketball’s season-opening win
The return of Lee Dort
Lee Dort’s arrival at Vanderbilt originally came with much fanfare. But the onetime four-star recruit missed much of his freshman season in 2022-23 because of injury, and then he got arrested for aggravated assault and strangulation just one game into his sophomore season. Although Dort went through a pre-trial diversion program that resulted in the charges being dropped, he ultimately was suspended for the remainder of the season and then opted to transfer to Cal.
In two games, Dort is 5-of-6 in field goal shooting and 2-for-5 on free throws while averaging 8.5 rebounds.
Can Vanderbilt’s defense hold up?
Vanderbilt has struggled on defense, allowing Maryland Eastern Shore and Southeast Missouri to shoot 44% from the field. The Commodores have vastly outrebounded both opponents and avoided turnovers, building up extra possessions, but that may not be enough against better opponents.
With Dort, who is 6-foot-10, and the 6-9 Mady Sissoko, Vanderbilt will have to contend with its lack of size in the frontcourt.
3-point shooting concerns
In its first two games, Vanderbilt shot just 18.6% on 3-pointers, a concerning number given that 43% of its shot attempts were from beyond the arc. There are reasons to be concerned about the Commodores’ 3-point…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/vanderbilt-vs-cal-score-prediction-201004360.html
Author : The Tennessean
Publish date : 2024-11-12 20:10:00
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