No. 11 Vanderbilt ready to close out perfect nonconference slate vs. New Haven

The Vanderbilt Commodores return to the court for the first time in eight days Monday when they host the New Haven Chargers in Nashville. However, the 11th-ranked Commodores will enter their final nonconference game of the regular season without a key playmaker.

Frankie Collins, a reserve guard, recently underwent surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his knee, On3 Sports reported Saturday. The graduate transfer from TCU has played in only nine games for the Commodores (12-0) this season and missed their 98-67 road win over Wake Forest on Dec. 21. Still, he shares the team lead in average assists with Duke Miles and Tyler Tanner at 4.7 per game. The 6-foot-1 Collins also averages 7.8 points and 2.4 steals.

Even without Collins' presence, Vanderbilt will be heavily favored to continue its unbeaten start, the program's best since its record 16-0 start in 2007-08, as it welcomes the Chargers (5-7), a first-year Division I squad that has lost three straight and has not beaten a D-I team since Nov. 15 (Delaware State).

The Commodores feature one of the country's most potent offenses, scoring 94.1 points per game. Miles leads the team, averaging 17.1 points a game, and the 6-foot-2 guard leads the Southeastern Conference in steals (34). It's a balanced attack as eight players average at least 7.8 points per game.

While his Commodores have been one of the top teams so far, second-year coach Mark Byington said after the win at Wake Forest that the early season games are supposed to get players ready for a more challenging second half of the season.

"We know there's tremendous challenges in January, February, March, but that's what we want," he explained. "There'll be some adversity. There'll be some bumps, but at the same time, this is a fun group. I really like coaching them."

As Vanderbilt eyes a deep run in March, the Chargers are simply looking for wins to build confidence. They lost 65-47 at Fordham on Dec. 22, but prior to that, coach Ted Hotaling's team fell 67-63 at Boston College on Dec. 6 and 70-64 at NJIT four days later.

The Chargers have struggled offensively this season as they make the transition to top-tier college basketball. According to KenPom.com, New Haven's 94.7 points per 100 possessions ranks 358 out of 365 teams for adjusted offensive efficiency. Vanderbilt comes in eighth nationally in that statistic, scoring 125.5 points per 100 possessions.

Hotaling said his team needs to get better inside. The Chargers are only shooting 44.2% this season and average 66.7 points per game.

"We're trying to generate more paint touches, trying to generate more layups, and if we're going to do that, we have to really, really be good at converting those layups and those paint touches," Hotaling said after the NJIT loss. "So, yeah, we're getting better. Losses hurt. Losses sting ... (I) like our progress but like wins better."

Jabri Fitzpatrick, a 6-foot-2 junior, leads the Chargers, scoring 12.8 points in his first D-I campaign. He scored 20 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and made five steals, the latter two figures season highs, against NJIT.

--Field Level Media