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Preview: Austin Peay at Vanderbilt
With wins in three of their last four games, Vanderbilt looks to keep rolling when it hosts Austin Peay on Tuesday. The Commodores have built some momentum after a 2-2 start but suffered a significant loss in Friday’s win over Marshall when center Josh Henderson was lost for the season after blowing out his left knee. The injury left coach Kevin Stallings evaluating his options, telling the Tennessean, “Do I do something with Luke Kornet at the five? I’ll see what we can come up with.”
Kornet, a freshman who had been playing forward, will likely split time at center with fellow freshman Damian Jones, who was already sharing minutes with Henderson before he went down. At 7-feet and 215 pounds, Kornet is a bit lanky and may struggle against stronger, more seasoned players in the paint, but is looking forward to giving his best effort, saying, “(I will) try to use my feet, just getting around them and not even let them get the ball. I just have to hold my ground and try to use my length.” Austin Peay shook off a pair of losses to right the ship with a win over Liberty last time out.
TV: 9 p.m. ET, ESPN3
ABOUT AUSTIN PEAY (5-5): The Governors were plagued by turnovers, combining for 39 in consecutive losses to East Tennessee State and Samford before cutting that number down to just 12 in Saturday’s win over Liberty. Point guard Damarius Smith still coughed up the ball five times against the Flames but led Austin Peay with a career-high 12 assists. Travis Betran is the Governors’ leading scorer, averaging 13.9 points and Chris Horton adds 13.3 to go with a team-high 10.1 rebounds.
ABOUT VANDERBILT (5-3): Stallings expressed concern for the fallen Henderson, who missed all but eight games as a redshirt freshman in 2011-12 after foot surgery. “It hurts,” said Stallings. “He’s been playing good basketball for us. I’m so sad for him because, unfortunately, bad things happen to good people and he’s a wonderful kid.” Guard Eric McClellan leads the Commodores in scoring, averaging 16.5 points, while forward Rod Odom posts 13 points and 5.1 rebounds per game.
TIP-INS
1. The Commodores are 13-1 all-time against the Governors and have won 10 straight in the series.
2. Austin Peay is 1-3 on the road this season, with its three losses coming by an average of 21 points.
3. Vanderbilt is 3-0 at Memorial Gym this season, averaging 78.3 points per game.
PREDICTION: Vanderbilt 71, Austin Peay 60
