Bruce Pearl evaluates Vanderbilt roster, job Jerry Stackhouse has done

Jerry Stackhouse, now in his third season as the head coach at Vanderbilt, has seen the Commodores slowly improve year-over-year, and Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl has taken note.

Stackhouse inherited a team that in 2018-19 had the worst record in SEC history under Bryce Drew, as the Commodores went 0-18 in conference play, and he helped the Commodores amass three SEC wins in his first year at the helm. The following year, Stackhouse tallied four SEC wins (including a first-round SEC Tournament victory), and now Vanderbilt is fighting as a middle-of-the-pack SEC program. Vanderbilt’s 13-11 overall record and 5-7 conference record tells quite a different story than Auburn, which sits at 23-2 overall and 11-1 in SEC play, but Pearl isn’t taking Stackhouse’s team lightly.

“We’re getting ready for Vandy. Prior to our winning the last four times against Vanderbilt — by a margin of about seven — Auburn had lost 13 in a row to Vanderbilt,” Pearl said, pointing out that it hasn’t always been such a favorable matchup for the Tigers. “Vanderbilt had been a program that was one of the best college basketball programs in the SEC.”

Vanderbilt may no longer hold that status, but Pearl still believes the Commodores will present a tough task for Auburn, despite the game being played at Auburn Arena. Last year, Auburn took to Nashville to face the Commodores in Memorial Gymnasium, and Stackhouse gave the Tigers a run for their money. Vanderbilt won the first half by a 25-23 margin, but Auburn emerged unscathed thanks to a second-half comeback, winning 73-67.

“Jerry Stackhouse does a great job coaching them,” Pearl said. “He’s a great, great offensive coach and the stuff they run is really, really good. They’ve got the preseason conference Player of the Year in (Scotty) Pippen and he certainly hasn’t disappointed with what he’s done.”

Unsurprisingly, Scotty Pippen Jr., who was picked as the SEC Preseason Player of the Year, has led the charge for Vanderbilt, averaging 18.9 points per contest. A former three-star recruit, Pippen has looked the part of a potential NBA draftee, and he’s gotten to the free-throw line at an incredible rate this season: Pippen’s 177 free-throw attempts is by far and away the most in the conference, as LSU guard Tari Eason is second with 128 attempts. But Pippen isn’t all that Stackhouse has to work with, as Pearl noted.

“(Jordan) Wright is the most physical guard in the league,” Pearl said. “No. 10 — Myles (Stute) — he is a stretch-four kid, a tough kid. And he’s shooting the ball really well. So, Vanderbilt will present us with — they’re the best three-point shooting team in our league. They make nine a game. So, those teams are obviously really, really dangerous. Vanderbilt is coming in winning three out of their last five in the league, and (we need to) try to do a great job offensively.”

Wright, who’s averaging 12 points per game, has also contributed on the boards with a team-leading 6.3 rebounds per game. Stute, on the other hand, has started to come into form in his second season, averaging 8.8 points per contest and shooting an impressive 43.6 percent from three-point range. All in all, Pearl certainly expects Auburn to get the best of Stackhouse’s Commodores; so too does Las Vegas, as Auburn opened up as a 14-point favorite against Vanderbilt.

Still, Pearl isn’t taking Stackhouse’s team lightly.

Vanderbilt and Auburn tip-off in Auburn Arena at 9:00 p.m. ET on Wednesday.