Scouting Michigan
Michigan enters the game with a record of 2-6 and winners of two straight after home victories over Bowling Green and Charleston Southern. The Wolverines finished last season 11-18 overall and 5-11 in the Big Ten.

Senior wing LaVell Blanchard leads the team in scoring and rebounding with 16.9 points and 6.8 boards per game. Freshman guard Daniel Horton is second on the team in scoring with 13.3 points per game, while junior wing Bernard Robinson Jr. is second on the squad with 5.9 rebounds per contest.

The six-game series between the two schools dates back to the 1920-21 season when Michigan claimed a 21-7 home win. The two schools faced off four times from the 1960-61 to 1976-77 seasons, but haven’t played since the 1988-89 campaign.

Three...Dot...Data vs. High Point
Brian Thornton (22) and Corey Smith’s (19) 41 combined points is the most for a Vanderbilt duo since Matt Freije (29) and Chuck Moore (13) teamed up to score 42 points last season in a 73-67 win over Auburn...This was the first time since the first game of the season that the lineup of Freije, Smith, Thornton, Russell Lakey and Jason Holwerda didn’t start as David Przybyszewski started in place of Smith...Thornton led VU in scoring (22) and rebounding (7), which is the second consecutive game and the fourth time in the past five games that the same player has led Vanderbilt in both scoring and rebounding...The Dores’ 73.7 free-throw percentage is the second best this season after the 84.2 percent versus UConn...Vanderbilt had season lows with five steals and 13 fouls.

Commodores Throw Block Party
With the help of a career-best four blocks from sophomore David Przybyszewski and a career-best two blocks from junior guard Russell Lakey, Vanderbilt recorded nine blocks against High Point. The nine blocks is the most for the Commodores since they recorded nine blocks Nov. 21, 1997 against Memphis.

Smith Still Perfect From the Charity Stripe
Sophomore Corey Smith doesn’t get to the free-throw line a great deal, but he makes it count when he gets there. Smith is a perfect 14- of-14 from the charity stripe this season. Last season, the Houston native was 25-of-40 (.625) on his free throws.

Commodores Find Three-Point Stroke
Vanderbilt finished the High Point game with seven three-pointers, which is the third-best total this season. Making the number look even better was the fact that in three of the previous four games, the Commodores had made just a combined six treys. Vanderbilt went 2-of- 15 versus Connecticut, 3-of-15 against Tulane and 1-of-15 at Indiana.

Vanderbilt Cuts Down on Turnovers
Vanderbilt had just 10 turnovers against High Point, which is a season low. It is the team’s best mark since recording eight turnovers last season versus Houston in the opening round of the NIT and it ties for the second-best mark since the beginning of last season.

Stallings Reaches 100 Games at Vanderbilt
Vanderbilt’s 81-75 victory over High Point was the 100th game for Kevin Stallings as the Commodores’ head coach. Stallings reached the century mark with a 57-43 (.570) record and two trips to the postseason.

No. 35 is No. 1 Against Top Teams
Matt Freije has proven already this season that he will show up for the Commodores in the big games. Against No. 12 Connecticut, Freije scored a team-high 18 points and grabbed a team-high nine rebounds. This past Monday at No. 6 Indiana, Freije once again put the team on back, scoring a team-high 18 points and pulling down a team-high nine rebounds.

These two games illustrate how Freije is becoming a player that has the potential to record a double-double every night. This season, he has one double-double with 14 points and 11 boards versus Tulane and came within one rebound of the double-dip against UConn and Indiana. In his career, Freije has had seven games in which he missed a doubledouble by just one rebound and another two games in which he missed by only two rebounds.

Complete Notes