Exclusive: What Vanderbilt Sees Out of McNeese on Film – Sports Illustrated

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OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. – The week of madness has arrived around the country, including Oklahoma City, where No. 4 seed Vanderbilt will take on No. 12 seed McNeese in Paycom Center for the Round of 64.
While the consensus was Vanderbilt’s draw seeding-wise was under appreciated compared to what many felt like it deserved, the bracket is set and there is no time to waste thinking about which teams should be which seeds. Leading up to this week, every team included in the 32 games of Round of 64 have spent all week preparing and in film study.
For Vanderbilt, it initially did not know much about the McNeese team it will play against Thursday afternoon. The Commodores were not shy admitting they had their work cut out for them in the film room between Sunday night and tipoff time.
But in the days since, Vanderbilt has become quickly familiar with the Cowboys through film sessions. Now, the Commodores know plenty of McNeese’s tendencies. And two 'Dores talked about their opponent with Vandy On SI Wednesday afternoon.
The first thing that jumped off the film was McNeese’s defense. With the Cowboys being the top team in college basketball in percentage of turnovers forced and steals, their defensive efficiency has the full attention of Vanderbilt heading into Thursday.
“They are really aggressive defensively. They’re number one in steals and turnovers forced, so just being wary of protecting the ball and valuing every possession,” Vanderbilt wing Tyler Nickel told Vandy On SI.
Nickel’s assessment is spot on given how efficient McNeese’s defensive numbers are. That all points to perhaps the biggest key of the game: ball control. Vanderbilt cannot get uncharacteristically lazy with the ball, its offensive actions or its tempo that it plans to run. If it does, an upset could brew.
And Nickel knows exactly how critical ball control is going to be Thursday.
“Yeah, it’s really important. That’s kind of how their whole game is predicated off of. So we just got to be very aware of that,” Nickel said. “But we’ve seen teams similar to that. We played Texas A&M and handled it well. We’ve seen similar stuff. Even in the half court, the way they collapse, we’ve seen certain stuff like that. But they’re obviously very elite at it.”
Nickel also noted that the experience he and his teammates have gained seeing various styles of defenses does wonders in terms of preparation for a tough mid-major like McNeese.
But there is another aspect to McNeese that Vanderbilt has been preparing for: the Cowboys’ backcourt. McNeese is led by its trio of guards in Larry Johnson, Tyshawn Archie and Javohn Garcia, who all averaged 12 or more points per game.
Johnson in particular presents a unique challenge because of the way he drives the ball, but also leads the team in rebounds. A guard like that is indicative of a tough, physical player that plays with a lot of heart.
To Duke Miles, Thursday’s matchup feels like a battle of the backcourts, with of course needing to defend against McNeese’s big men.
“Yeah for sure. I feel like the backcourt is definitely going to be a great matchup for tomorrow,” Miles told Vandy On SI Wednesday before practice. “We’ve been trying to focus on offensive rebounding more and obviously they lack there. Larry Johnson is their best rebounder, so obviously we’re going to try and eliminate their guards.”
While Vanderbilt has had its fair share of struggles this season, rebounding is an area that the Commodores can take advantage of Thursday. McNeese ranks 229th in college basketball in average height, meaning that they do not present as big a team that other teams Vanderbilt has seen this season.
Outside of the X’s and O’s, Vanderbilt feels it also needs to start the game off well. In a tournament like the NCAA Tournament, the crowd can shift against the higher-seeded team quickly if a mid-major gets hot and starts to create upset potential.
The Commodores are making it a point of emphasis to avoid a situation in which they look up at the scoreboard and they are in a tightly-contested game with little time left.
“Every team at this level is good. So, you give any team confidence and they can get hot and get going. A big start is everything,” Nickel told Vandy On SI. “We have got to try and take their confidence away as quickly and efficiently as we can. If we can do that, I like our chances.
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Graham Baakko is a writer for Vanderbilt Commodores On SI, primarily covering football, basketball and baseball. Graham is a recent graduate from the University of Alabama, where he wrote for The Crimson White, WVUA-FM, WVUA 23 as he covered a variety of Crimson Tide sports. He also covered South Carolina athletics as a sportswriting intern for GamecockCentral.
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