Cold-shooting Commodores fall in Kansas City
Vanderbilt shot 31.9 percent from the field, trailing wire to wire in a 69-59 loss to Kansas State in Kansas City's Sprint Center.
Forward Matt Ryan's 14 led the Commodores (7-3), who fell behind double-digits midway through the first half and rarely got within single digits.
The Commodores had trouble stringing buckets together all night, but finally caught fire late in the second half. Forward Joe Toye hit back-to-back 3s, then, Ryan hit a pair of foul shots with 6:14 left to get Vandy within eight.
That was the closest VU got. A litany of turnovers and missed shots--several, makable shots--contributed to another field goal drought. Vandy's next field goal came on Saben Lee's lay-up with 1:17 left, which again pulled VU to within 10.
It was too little, too late, as a Toye 3 provided VU's only points the rest of the way.
Toye (11) and Simi Shittu (10) were the only other two VU players to score in double figures. Forward Makel Maiwen led KSU with 15.
Vanderbilt was already down double digits when KSU's Barry Brown Jr. hit a 3 with 9:07 left in the first half, giving the 'Cats a 19-7 advantage. Brown hit a foul shot for the half's last points, as KSU led 30-20 at half.
Kansas State played without forward Dean Wade, the preseason Big 12 Player of the Year. Wade injured his foot in a win over Georgia State last Saturday and missed his second straight contest.
The Commodores return home next Saturday, Dec. 29, to face Tennessee State.
WHAT WENT RIGHT
When the Commodores weren't scoring from the field in the second half, they at least hit their foul shots, going 21 of 27 (77.8 percent).
VU held its own against a good rebounding team, with each team collecting 38 boards.
The Commodores caught a break as KSU hit just 59.7 percent of its 27 foul shots.
WHAT WENT WRONG
Excepting the foul shooting and the late scoring flurry, it was a brutal offensive game. The Commodores didn't get their first field goal of the second half until Shittu banked in a short jumper off an inbounds pass, then hit the and-1.
The first half wasn't much better. VU started 1 of 7 from the field (and 0 of 3 from the line, all Evans misses) and had four turnovers before a second made field goal. The 'Dores just couldn't find an offensive flow, and didn't (by my count) score on consecutive possessions in the first half until Ryan scored off a Shittu pass with 2:11 left in the first half.
It didn't help that Lee was a non-factor offensively until late. The sophomore failed to consistently penetrate and find teammates for scoring opportunities, or score for himself from the field (1 of 5).
The Commodores didn't get a point from freshman Aaron Nesmith (fouled out after going 0 for 6) or Matt Moyer (0 for 2).
And the 3-ball didn't fall for much of anyone (28 percent as a team).
And when the shots weren't falling, Vanderbilt wasn't getting easy points through offensive rebounds, or turnovers to create fast-break opportunities. Vandy turned it over 15 times to Kansas State's seven.
In spite of that, the Commodores might have had a chance had they defended better. Vanderbilt went to zone early in the night, which just led to other issues. Help-side defense and general lack of awareness led to several easy Wildcat buckets, a few of those coming off offensive boards. The 'Cats also got some uncontested 3s because of this also.
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Yanni Wetzell had a second-straight quality night, scoring eight points on six shots, but more importantly, grabbing a game-high nine rebounds. Wetzell wasn't as good as he was in the win over Arizona State, but in an evening where VU lacked consistent play from most of its players, Wetzell provided some.
NOTES
VU started Lee, Ryan, Toye, Moyer and Shittu.
Ryan hit a 3 with 10:45 left in the first half, extending VU's streak of games with a made 3 to 1,041.
Nesmith fouled out for the first time in his career.