FACTS & STATS: Site: Faurot Field (71,004) — Columbia, Missouri.
Television: SEC Network. Home Record: Vanderbilt 2-2, Missouri 2-2. Away
Record: Vanderbilt 0-2, Missouri 3-0. Neutral Record: Vanderbilt 0-1, Missouri
2-1. Conference Record: Vanderbilt 0-4, Missouri 0-0. Series Record: Missouri
leads, 3-2-1.
GAME NOTES: Still in search of their first SEC win of the season, the
Vanderbilt Commodores will head to Faurot Field on Saturday afternoon to
tangle with the Missouri Tigers.
Vanderbilt was able to snap a three-game losing streak on Oct. 11 with a
homecoming victory against FCS opponent Charleston Southern, but just barely,
held on for a 21-20 win. The Commodores used a bye week to assess their
standing as a 2-5 team with an 0-4 mark in the SEC.
Missouri has been a difficult team to figure out this season. It has a pair of
head-scratching home losses, falling to Indiana on Sept. 20 (31-27) and
getting shut out by Georgia on Oct. 11 (34-0), but it has collected two strong
road wins at South Carolina (21-20) and most recently at Florida last weekend
(42-13) to move to 5-2, including 2-1 in the league.
The Tigers hold a 3-2-1 advantage over the Commodores in the all-time series,
which includes a 51-28 win in Nashville last season.
The Commodores’ offense has been lackluster all season long, as they amass
just 17.6 ppg and 270.4 ypg. Even against FCS competition the last time out,
they only managed 11 first downs and picked up less than 300 yards.
The struggles are directly attributed to poor quarterback play. Four
Vanderbilt signal callers have combined to complete less than 50 percent of
passes with four touchdowns to 11 interceptions. Johnny McCrary (10-of-16, 169
yards, TD, INT) and Wade Freebeck (5-of-7, 20 yards) saw time under center
against Charleston Southern.
C.J. Duncan emerged in the latest win out wide with seven catches for 119
yards and a score, leaving him with team highs across the board at receiver
(20 receptions, 322 yards, two TDs).
Ralph Webb is the workhorse tailback with 122 of the team’s 213 carries. He’s
racked up 560 yards and two touchdowns.
Vanderbilt’s defense has not been up to snuff either, allowing 34.0 ppg and
415.9 ypg. The unit has been especially disappointing considering coach Derek
Mason’s previous standing as defensive coordinator for a stout Stanford squad.
Nigel Bowden has registered a team-high 54 tackles. Caleb Azubike is strong
along the defensive line with 6.0 TFL and 4.0 sacks, and Jahmel McInosh (29
tackles) has one of the team’s three interceptions.
The Tigers’ offense has been an anomaly this season, as they score a
respectable 30.7 ppg despite tallying a mere 323.7 ypg. Last week they managed
to score 42 despite an incredibly quiet offensive day (seven first downs, 119
yards) thanks to four return touchdowns.
Maty Mauk has cooled off considerably since a hot start to the season. He’s
accounted for 15 touchdowns this year but only throws for 175.3 ypg with nine
interceptions and has completed a mere 52.5 percent of his passes.
A talented backfield is led by Russell Hansbrough (485 yards, six TDs) and
Marcus Murphy (374 yards, TD). Murphy is one of the nation’s best all-purpose
threats, adding stellar receiving (12 receptions, 109 yards, TD), kick return
(343 yards, two TDs) and punt return (218 yards, TD) numbers.
Bud Sasser is Mauk’s top receiving target with 35 receptions for 477 yards and
four touchdowns, while Jimmie Hunt (19 receptions, 229 yards) has stepped up
in the red zone with five scores.
Missouri’s defense (21.4 ppg, 366.7 ypg) has been excellent, especially in
terms of forcing turnovers (eight interceptions, seven fumble recoveries). In
last week’s win, Markus Golden returned a fumble recovery 21 yards for a
touchdown and Darvin Rulse had a 46-yard pick-six.
Braylon Webb (44 tackles) has been active in the takeaway battle with three
interceptions and a fumble recovery. Shane Ray (42 tackles, 14.0 TFL) ranks
third in the country with 10.0 sacks, Golden (8.0 TFL, 4.0 sacks) has also
been solid on the defensive line, and Michael Scherer has racked up a team-
best 65 tackles.
Although Missouri has been an unpredictable Jekyll- 4 23 5.8
Deron Williams, BRK 5 29 5.8
Kemba Walker, CHA 6 33 5.5
Steals Per Game GP STL AVG
————— — — —
Gordon Hayward, UTA 7 20 2.9
Chris Paul, LAC 5 12 2.4
Marcus Smart, BOS 7 17 2.4
Mario Chalmers, MIA 6 13 2.2
Trevor Ariza, HOU 6 11 1.8
Carlos Boozer, LAL 6 11 1.8
DeMarcus Cousins, SAC 5 9 1.8
Wesley Johnson, LAL 6 11 1.8
Greg Monroe, DET 6 11 1.8
Ronnie Price, LAL 5 9 1.8
Isaiah Thomas, PHO 5 9 1.8
Russell Westbrook, OKC 6 11 1.8
Blocks Per Game GP BLK AVG
————— — — —
Andre Drummond, DET 6 15 2.5
Pau Gasol, CHI 7 15 2.1
Samuel Dalembert, NYK 5 10 2.0
Ed Davis, LAL 5 10 2.0
K.J. McDaniels, PHI 7 14 2.0
Anthony Davis, NOP 6 11 1.8
Rudy Gobert, UTA 7 12 1.7
DeAndre Jordan, LAC 6 10 1.7
Marc Gasol, MEM 5 8 1.6
Marcin Gortat, WAS 7 11 1.6
Roy Hibbert, IND 5 8 1.6
Field Goal Percentage GP FGM FGA PCT
——————— — — — —
DeAndre Jordan, LAC 6 23 31 .742
David Lee, GSW 6 36 50 .720
Steven Adams, OKC 7 39 57 .684
DeMarcus Cousins, SAC 5 30 47 .638
Mason Plumlee, BRK 5 26 41 .634
John Henson, MIL 6 27 43 .628
Anderson Varejao, CLE 5 23 37 .622
Chris Kaman, POR 5 21 34 .618
Greg Monroe, DET 6 38 62 .613
Anthony Davis, NOP 6 38 63 .603
Free Throw Pct. GP FTM FTA PCT
————— — — — —
Carlos Boozer, LAL 6 16 16 1.000
CJ McCollum, POR 5 14 14 1.000
Sebastian Telfair, OKC 5 13 13 1.000
Xavier Silas, WAS 4 11 11 1.000
Ben McLemore, SAC 6 10 10 1.000
Jamal Crawford, LAC 5 19 20 .950
Anthony Morrow, OKC 6 19 20 .950
Kemba Walker, CHA 6 17 18 .944
J.J. Redick, LAC 5 15 16 .938
James Harden, HOU 4 29 31 .935
3-Pt Field Goal Pct. GP 3FG 3FA PCT
——————– — — — —
Kyle O’Quinn, ORL 6 3 4 .750
Darren Collison, SAC 6 8 11 .727
Mo Williams, MIN 4 8 12 .667
John Jenkins, ATL 5 6 9 .667
Pau Gasol, CHI 7 2 3 .667
DeMar DeRozan, TOR 5 5 8 .625
Jamal Crawford, LAC 5 18 30 .600
Andrew Wiggins, MIN 4 3 5 .600
Beno Udrih, MEM 6 4 7 .571
Klay Thompson, GSW 6 18 32 .562
