Vanderbilt will look to improve on its fast start and two-game winning streak when it hosts Mississippi Valley State on Monday in Nashville, Tenn.

The Commodores (4-1) are coming off a 68-52 victory at Pittsburgh on Wednesday, marking their first road game and Power Five opponent. Tre Thomas topped the Commodores with 14 points, and Scotty Pippen Jr. added 11 to help Vanderbilt pull away in the second half.

Jordan Wright has paced his club with an average of 16.8 points along with 5.6 rebounds, while Pippen has chipped in 15.4 points per contest.

Mississippi Valley State (0-3) dropped a 73-58 decision to Ole Miss on Friday.

The Delta Devils have struggled defensively, allowing an average of 95.7 points per contest and having blowouts of 58 and 29 points respectively in their first two games. The Delta Devils have scored 61.7 points per game.

Mississippi Valley State did piece together a 17-2 run late in the first half to open up a seven-point lead on Friday. The Delta Devils had a 38-33 halftime cushion against Ole Miss.

Robert Carpenter led the Delta Devils for the second time in as many games. He had a game-best 27 points, hitting five 3-pointers while grabbing seven boards and recording two blocks.

Carpenter has averaged 22.0 points, and Caleb Hunter has contributed an average of 14.0 per game. John Aguer has collected 5.3 rebounds.

Vanderbilt head coach Jerry Stackhouse has been pleased with his club’s defensive effort, as the Commodores are holding clubs to 59.0 points while scoring 70.4.

“Holding the team to 42 percent is a helluva number,” he said. “Forty-three percent is a helluva number, and we continue to have teams in the 30s. So that lets us know our defense is still trending in the right direction. That’s what I wanted to see.”

Mississippi Valley State head coach Lindsey Hunter realizes his club has to form its identity with 11 new players on its 17-man roster.

“We’re working, but we know we need to improve on things,” he said. “We have been scoring, but our biggest deficiency has been our defense. We need some better efforts.”

–Field Level Media