Below is each team's NET ranking and quadrant resumes. This is a quadrant 3 game for LSU at Vandy as they are outside the Top 135 (vs. 135-240 away game is Quadrant 3). These results are as of 2/3/20.

Quad 1 = Against #1-30 Home, #1-50 Neutral, #1-75 Away
Quad 2 = Against #31-75 Home, #51-100 Neutral, #76-135 Away
Quad 3 = Against #76-150 Home, #101-200 Neutral, #136-240 Away
Quad 4 = Against #161-353 Home, #201-353 Neutral, #241-353 Away

#22 (17-4, 8-0 SEC) LSU
Quad 1 = 3-2
Quad 2 = 6-2
Quad 3 = 4-0
Quad 4 = 4-0

#168 (8-13, 0-8 SEC) Vanderbilt
Quad 1 = 0-5
Quad 2 = 0-7
Quad 3 = 3-1
Quad 4 = 5-0

LSU as of recent
10 wins in a row now, unbelievable the turnaround to the season going into conference play, 8-0 in the conference looking to start the 1st half of conference play off perfect. Don’t think anybody saw this coming as wade has done a phenomenal job even with his best bench player in Manning out the last several games to find ways to win. We disposed of a struggling Ole Miss team fairly easily last weekend by 10 in a game not as close as the final score indicated. We got out to a 22 point lead in the 1st half and after a very slow 2nd half start, still won by double digits as the game never got in doubt. Smart had one of his best games in an LSU uniform going for 21 points on just 12 shots as well as 3 assists and 2 steals. Taylor had one his best games going for 13 points and 11 boards as well as 2 steals himself being a menace off the bench. Even Graves played some extended minutes of the bench and made a 3.

Vandy as of recent
It’s hard not to feel bad for this program right now. This team hasn’t won an SEC game since 2018, and the injury bug has destroyed them the last 2 seasons. Starting center Clevon Brown went down with a knee injury just 9 games into the season and they hope to have him back this year but still up in air when that will happen. Their best player Aaron Nesmith was lost for the season last month on a foot injury who may go to the NBA now. So Vandy is down 2 starters, yet, 2 of their toughest games the last week they have played extremely tough in Kentucky, who they led most of the game and Florida who they kept sweating the entire game. So despite being totally outmanned recently, they are putting up a heck of a fight.

Vandy projected starters
C (6'10, 243) rSO. Ejike Obinna
PF (6'9, 220) FR. Dylan Disu
SG (6'2, 190) JR. Maxwell Evans
CG (6'2, 183) JR. Saben Lee
PG (6'1, 170) FR. Scottie Pippen Jr.

Ejike Obinna has had to fill in for center Clevon Brown who has been out for almost 2 months now. In conference play the 6’10 big man is averaging 24 minutes, 4 points, 5.4 boards (2.3 offensive) on 48% from the floor. His conference PER is just 7.2. This is not a guy they wanted playing this many extended minutes, but with Brown out there’s not much a choice at the big man spot.

Dylan Disu is a stretch 4 to put it very bluntly as the guy takes way more 3’s than 2’s. In 27 minutes on average in conference play he’s at 7.6 points, 6.1 boards (1 offensive), 1.3 blocks, on 32% from the floor, and just 23% from 3 (shoots 6 a game). They believe in Disu having a bright future there but he offensively has just really struggled to come around in year 1. His conference PER is 11.4 on the season.

Maxwell Evans has been firing upa lot of 3’s in conference play but not really making many of them. In 29.4 minutes per conference game he’s averaging 7.5 points, 3.8 boards on just 32% from the floor and 25% from 3 (shoots 5 a game). His conference PER an abysmal 6.7 on the year.

Saben Lee is Vandy’s clear best player now with Nesmith out and in 34 conference minutes per game is averaging 16.3 points, 1.6 boards, 2.9 assists to 3.4 turnovers and 1.4 steals on 43% from the floor and 21% from 3 (takes 3.6 a game). He gets to the line a lot (6.6 per game in conference) and is good there at 76%. His conference PER is 16.6 on the season. They trust him to handle the ball a lot but isn’t necessarily a PG by any shape of the imagination.

Scottie Pippen Jr. is obviously Scottie Pippen’s son and is Vanderbilt’s PG. In 31 conference minutes per game is averaging 11.1 points, 3.1 boards, 2.6 assists to 3.3 turnovers and is shooting 34% from the floor and 29% from 3 (takes 2.6 a game). He is also very good getting to the line (take 5.9 FTs a game) and is solid there at 75%. His conference PER is just 9.5 on the season. He’s a guy who could be a good player down the road that just isn’t ready quite yet.

Vandy top bench players
SF (6’5, 226) FR. Jordan Wright
PF (6’8, 229) rJR. Matthew Moyer
SF (6’5, 220) FR. Braelee Albert

Not a strong bench for Vandy. Wright is out of Baton Rouge who we looked at but didn’t offer. He is averaging 18 minutes in conference play and has 5.6 points, 3 boards and 1.1 steals on just 28% from the floor and is 1 for 19 from 3. Moyer is another stretch 4 for Vandy who in 11 minutes of conference play per game is averaging just 2 points and 2 boards on 28% from the floor. Albert is a swing guy and in 12 minutes of conference play per game is average 1.6 points, 1.4 boards on 18% from the floor. Vandy will play Rice and Jankovic in short spats but neither has done anything to note in conference play.

Vandy as a team
Goodness, looking at the numbers is a struggle to find anything Vandy does well. According to kenpom they are #12 in the SEC in defensive efficiency and dead last in offensive efficiency because their effective FG % is only 40.6% which is pretty bad (by comparison we are 50.1%). They turn the ball over a bit, don’t grab offensive rebounds but in a shade of some light do take a lot of FTs per shots taken, but don’t make many of them at just 69.7% as a team in conference play. The 1 thing they seemingly do well on defense is steal the ball with 7.3 a game in conference play. Strangely, Vandy really relies on 3 point shots (46.4% of conference FGA are 3 pointers) yet shoots them at 23% which is worst in the league, even our team who struggles there is at 30.1% in conference play. Nothing Vandy does is really working for them, hence how a team hasn’t won a game in the league yet.

The Matchup
Vandy doesn’t present a lot of challenges for us, with 2 of their better starters out with injury, they don’t go particularly deep and their starting group has some notable weaknesses in it. Vandy is worst in the league in 2 point FG defense at 56.2% and we are 2nd best in the league from 2 at 52.5%. We are 2nd best in the league grabbing offensive rebounds at nearly 40% of our misses and Vandy allows teams to grab 31% of their misses which is 10th in the league. This right there is what seems like this COULD be a walk in the park for us, but with the way Vandy has been playing, no telling if they make this game or not like the last 2 against UK and UF. I’m sure we will have a plan to slow down Saben Lee as if that’s the guy you can frustrate Vandy simply cant score and keep up. Everyone else is so inefficient from the floor you’ll happily let them take the shots. Kenpom has Vandy getting to 73 points on us and I’m not sure I see it, they’ve been in the 50s and 60s in conference play for a long time now. Weirdly enough., Vandy’s closest SEC games have come against some of the best teams – Auburn, Kentucky and Florida.

Projected LSU Starting 5
PF (6'6, 230) SO. Emmitt Williams - #5
PF (6'6, 240) SO. Darius Days - #0
SF (6'9, 235) FR. Trendon Watford - #2
SG (6'4, 205) SR. Skylar Mays - #4
PG (6'4, 205) SO. Javonte Smart - #1

Main rotational players
SF (6'5, 210) SR. Marlon Taylor - #14
SF (6'5, 225) rFR. Aundre Hyatt - #15

Kenpom's Prediction: LSU 83 Vandy 73