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Matthew Fisher-Davis was not in the starting lineup on Tuesday night at Georgia, and per the Tennessean’s Adam Sparks, he might not be in the lineup on Saturday, either.
Fisher-Davis’s benching on Tuesday was initially viewed as punishment for, more or less, a tantrum that he threw last Saturday in the Tennessee game subsequent to a technical foul. Left unsaid is that he hasn’t been playing very well of late: since dropping 33 on Auburn back on January 4, Fisher-Davis has averaged 12.0 ppg — four below his season average -- and is shooting a weak 32.5 percent from the floor. Meanwhile, Nolan Cressler — who started in place of Fisher-Davis on Tuesday night — is shooting 58.3 percent from the floor in SEC play and averaging 8.5 ppg. Drew also said that he liked what the team got from Joe Toye (also in the starting lineup on Tuesday) defensively.
It’s hardly unexpected that Drew would want to explore some changes to the rotation with the team mired in a four-game losing streak, though perhaps relegating the team’s leading scorer to the bench was unexpected. Vanderbilt will have a tough task in defeating the Florida Gators on Saturday either way; the Gators are 14-4 on the season and 5-1 in the SEC, and they’re ranked 13th nationally in KenPom.