Norfolk State Men's Basketball
Tuesday, Nov. 25; 8 p.m. EST
NSU at Vanderbilt, Memorial Gym
TV: SEC Network+/Watch ESPN | Live Video
Live Stats | Game Notes

NORFOLK, Va. - The Norfolk State men's basketball team will begin a four-game, eight-day stretch on the road beginning on Tuesday night when the Spartans head to Vanderbilt to take on the Commodores. The game from Memorial Gym will begin at 8 p.m. EST.

Along with last week's game at Virginia, the contest against Vanderbilt will serve as part of the Barclays Center Classic. After Tuesday's matchup, NSU will head up to New Jersey to compete in the classic Friday and Saturday at Saint Peter's.

Media Coverage
Fans can follow the game against Vanderbilt live on the SEC Network+ and Watch ESPN/the Watch ESPN App, with Kevin Ingram and Barry Booker on the call. Live stats will also be available here.

Series History
This will mark the first-ever meeting between NSU and Vanderbilt. It will also mark the fourth time ever the Spartans have faced an SEC team, including games against Florida, Auburn and LSU. Norfolk State dropped all three of those matchups. The victory over Missouri in the 2012 NCAA tournament came before the Tigers officially joined the SEC.

About Vanderbilt
The contest against NSU will mark the fourth straight home game to start the season for Vanderbilt. In those three matchups, the Commodores outscored their opponents by an average of 23 points and also rebounded them by 15.7 boards per game. Damian Jones has led the way with 19.3 points, followed by Luke Kornet (15.0) and Riley LaChance (11.7) in double figures as well. Jones (8.7) and Kornet (6.7) are also the team's leading rebounders, while Wade Baldwin IV has posted 9.3 points, 6.0 assists and 5.0 rebounds per game. Vanderbilt is shooting better than 51 percent from the field while holding teams to under 32 percent. The Commodores also average 7.7 blocks per contest but have committed on average 3.3 more turnovers than the opposition.

Last Time Out
A 19-6 run over a nine-minute span in the second half propelled NSU to a 76-66 win over Texas Southern on Saturday afternoon at Joseph Echols Hall. The Spartans led for most of the game, but the Tigers rallied to tie it up at 49-49 with 13:23 left in the game. From there, NSU went on that extended 19-6 run to put the game away. Malik Thomas scored a career-high 20 points on 7-of-12 shooting with 10 rebounds, while D'Shon Taylor added 19 points on 7-of-11 shooting. RaShid Gaston tallied 14 points and six rebounds, while Jamel Fuentes tied his career high with 11 assists. NSU finished with just nine turnovers and shot 7-of-13 from 3-point range.

Player Tidbits
RaShid Gaston
 • Missed 2 games (UVa., Boston U.) with a bruised knee
 • Ranks 20th in NSU records with a .524 career shooting percentage

Jamel Fuentes
 • Tied career high with 11 assists vs. Texas Southern
 • Third career game with 10+ assists
 • Missed the season opener with a sore ankle
 • Stands 60th in the nation in assist-turnover ratio (4.00) and 63rd in assists (5.3)
 • Ranks 10th in NCAA Division I in career assist-turnover ratio (1.94), 12th in assists (430) and 47th in assist average (4.17)
 • Fifth all-time at NSU in assists with 430 (See table below); Needs 11 more to move into fourth place
 • Stands 17th in career steals (122)

Jeff Short
 • Career-high 28 points vs. Boston U, topping previous career best of 19 points at Virginia
 • Set career highs with four assists and three steals against Pfeiffer
 • 34th in the nation in free-throw percentage (95.0)

Malik Thomas
 • Career-high 20 points vs. Texas Southern; 2nd straight double-double also with 10 rebounds
 • Topped previous career high of 19 points set game before vs. Boston U.; Career-high 12 rebounds that game
 • 1st NSU player with back-to-back double-doubles since Brandon Goode on Feb. 15 and 22, 2014
 • Ranks 13th in the nation with 2 double-doubles

D'Shon Taylor
 • Career-high 19 points vs. Texas Southern

LaTre'e Russell
 • Career high seven points vs. Boston University

Specialty Stats
So far this season, NSU is outscoring opponents by an average of 19.0-10.8 in points off turnovers and 12.0-8.0 in second-chance points. The Spartans also have the slight edge in points in the paint (23.0-21.0) and bench points (20.0-17.2).

After setting the Division I record in 2013-14 for fewest turnovers per game at 13.4, NSU is currently averaging 11.5 giveaways per contest this season. The Spartans also finished with their best free throw percentage in 10 years last year at 69.3, the best mark since the 2003-04 campaign (72.0 percent). So far in 2014-15, NSU is connecting on 67.1 percent of its attempts from the charity stripe.

Nationally Ranked
The Spartans rank in the top 100 in the nation in a pair of categories, including turnover margin (39th, +4.8) and turnovers per game (72nd, 11.5). They also stand 112th in offensive rebounds (12.75), 114th in 3-point field goals per game (7.0), 115th in scoring defense (61.8) and 116th in blocks (4.3).

Ahead at the Half
The Spartans are 56-8 since the start of the 2011-12 season when leading or tied at the half.