Brick House: Vandy 0-for-25 on 3s, ending streak
Vanderbilt‘s streak of 1,080 straight games of making at least one 3-pointer came to a screeching halt Saturday night, when the Commodores missed all 25 of their attempts in a 66-45 loss to Tennessee.
The 0-for-25 night represented one of the worst 3-point-shooting performances by a men’s Division I team over the past 20 seasons. According to ESPN Stats & Information research, only Northwestern State’s 0-for-26 effort in a game in 2012 was worse in that span.
Vanderbilt’s night also marked the most 3-point field goal attempts in a game without a make in SEC history, according to ESPN Stats & Information research.
Vols head coach Rick Barnes said he didn’t know about the Commodores’ streak.
“That’s a really honestly tough situation as a coach,” Barnes said. “You sit there and you see shots that are pretty good looks at it and just can’t go down for you. Again, I’ve been there. I have so much respect for [Vanderbilt coach] Jerry Stackhouse, [his] character, who he is. We’ve had some adversity, too.”
The Commodores previously had been one of three men’s Division I teams to make at least one 3-pointer in every game since the shot was introduced for the 1986-87 season, along with UNLV and Princeton.
Stackhouse, in his first year as the Commodores’ coach, said he wasn’t happy that some fans booed, seemingly more concerned about the 3-point streak than about the team on the court.
“Basically once we got down to the end of the game and hadn’t made a 3, fans were more concerned about the 3s than us really even getting baskets,” Stackhouse said. “Guys were playing their ass off and trying to compete. So it happens, man. I felt for those kids because they were out there playing and trying to compete and trying to do things the right way, and it just didn’t work out for them.”
The Commodores certainly tried to keep the 3-point streak alive. They took 10 shots in the first half and 15 in the second. Inside the final minute, Jordan Wright missed, and Saben Lee had one that went in and out. Lee also missed again in the final seconds.
Lee said he wasn’t aware the streak was in jeopardy until late.
“I was kind of wondering why people were like oohing and ahhing when we were missing 3s,” Lee said. “I was kind of locked into the game. … Late in the game, I started understanding why people were reacting that way.”
Vanderbilt has lost five straight, three of those since learning the SEC’s leading scorer in Aaron Nesmith was likely lost for the rest of the season due to an injured right foot.
The Commodores also lost their 22nd straight conference game during the regular season, a skid that started under former coach Bryce Drew. That ties the second-longest skid in SEC history, matching Alabama’s 22-game streak between 1960 and 1970 and is just two away from matching Sewanee’s mark of 24 consecutive losses between 1938 and 1940.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.