VANDERBILT NEEDS TO GET UNSTUCK IN THE MIDDLE

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VANDERBILT NEEDS TO GET UNSTUCK IN THE MIDDLE

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By Matt Zemek

Vanderbilt is stuck in a sea of mids -- not midshipmen, but mid-majors.

Vanderbilt played Ohio Valley stalwart and always-pesky irritant (that is meant as a high compliment) Belmont on Monday and felt the force of the Bruins' claws. Belmont's deliberate style, patient offense, and attentive defense in front of a raucous home crowd formed a potent mix Vanderbilt wasn't able to solve. Vanderbilt and Bryce Drew were ambitious -- and generous -- in being willing to play a mid-major on its home floor.

Surely, the Commodores will now take a break and play a true cupcake to ease this roster into the young season, right?

Nope -- that's not how this schedule was designed.

You will notice very few true breathers for Vanderbilt in the non-conference portion of this schedule. Drew wants to consistently challenge his team, and given the way last season unfolded, with a lot of losses failing to prevent the Commodores from making the NCAA Tournament, Drew's approach seems situationally sound. Vanderbilt can take some lumps as long as it grabs quality wins. Littering the slate with good-win opportunities means that Vanderbilt will be on schedule -- if not ahead of schedule -- should it win 40 to 50 percent of its big non-con games. The Dores would need to mop up against the lower tier of the SEC to bolster their overall record, but last season showed their final win-loss numbers don't have to be too glossy if they win enough significant showdowns.

Belmont didn't break the right way? No problem, says Drew. Here are the UNC-Asheville Bulldogs, the preseason favorite in their own mid-major conference, the Big South.

ASHEVILLE OVERVIEW

Asheville was the co-champion in the Big South last season. It came into the Big South Tournament with high hopes of making a three-game run to the NCAA Tournament. The Campbell Fighting Camels were not supposed to stand in their way in the quarterfinals.

Chris Clemons disagreed with that notion. The guard hit 18 of 32 shots, 8 of 14 threes, and 7 of 8 free throws for a 51-point masterclass which was enough to send the Bulldogs packing, 81-79. UNCA enters this season highly motivated to replicate its regular season but change the ending this time around. Most of the team is intact -- the only two regular rotation players from last season's team -- forward Will Weeks and guard David Robertson -- were role players who did not carry the bulk of the scoring load. Weeks was important for his defensive presence.

The four core rotation players back for this season are forward Alec Wnuk and three guards: Macio Teague, Raekwon Miller, and Ahmad Thomas. Guards Drew Rackley and Kevin Vannatta are the new rotation guards -- they both started in UNCA's season-opening loss at Rhode Island last week. One other player played at least 15 minutes against URI. Asheville forward Jonathan Baehre played 21 minutes.

UNCA played an NCAA Division III opponent on Monday, one which should not be worth much in terms of scouting or measuring the statistical output of any Bulldog player. The Rhode Island game -- a road contest against a good team -- is the one in-season glimpse of this team which holds real value heading into Friday's contest in Memorial Gymnasium.

A few statistics are worth mentioning from UNCA's loss to Rhode Island:

First, UNCA coughed up 27 turnovers. The Bulldogs know that's their first priority, so Vanderbilt will need to exploit that particular part of Asheville's game. Perhaps the Bulldogs will clean up their act, but the key for VU is to make Asheville earn points on every possession, instead of making things easy for the visitors. Forcing turnovers doesn't have to be the centerpiece of a good basketball defense -- forcing bad shots is sufficient as long as the defensive rebounding holds up. The important insight to make, however, is that if Asheville does commit far fewer turnovers, it will get more shot opportunities. Making sure VU forces bad shots on non-turnover possessions will be a point of emphasis for Drew. UNCA took 19 fewer shots than Rhode Island (61-42) due to hemorrhaging turnovers. VU doesn't need that disparity on Friday -- though it would be great to have it. Vanderbilt needs to make sure that if UNCA (or any opponent) plays cleanly on offense, it still doesn't get a quality shot after 25 to 30 seconds of ball movement. Expecting an opponent's best shot is always a good approach to take, and turnovers -- while possibly a UNCA weakness -- also show how the Bulldogs can dramatically improve early in the season. If they do, VU has to be ready to adjust.

A second key statistic from UNCA-URI: Asheville missed 14 foul shots in 32 attempts. Asheville knows how to get to the line -- good teams do -- but it couldn't cash in. If Vanderbilt fouls a lot on Friday and UNCA polishes its charity pitches, the visitors could accumulate a lot of free points. No basketball coaching staff should anticipate an opponent missing a large number of foul shots. Vanderbilt will likely be in trouble if it allows 32 free throws on Friday. UNCA probably won't miss 14 again.

Third, UNCA held Rhode Island -- a very talented team considered a primary Atlantic 10 contender and likely NCAA Tournament participant -- to a 3-of-14 shooting line from 3-point range.

Vanderbilt lost to Belmont thanks to a 4-of-23 line from 3-point range. VU lost DESPITE holding the 3-happy Bruins to a 6-of-27 line from long distance. Defending the three will be a major point of focus for both teams. Accordingly, the attempt to make sure that threes are good threes, not panicky hoists, will also be a point of emphasis for each coaching staff.
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Lose to Belmont? No problem. Beating Asheville would give Vanderbilt a win over a high-level mid-major. Being stuck in the middle isn't a problem if Vanderbilt can master one of its two majorly-talented mids this week.


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Don Yates - Publisher, http://www.vandymania.com Fl@g