March 13, 2012

#5 MBB vs. #12 Harvard Preview

March 13, 2012

Vanderbilt Gamenotes | Harvard Gamenotes

Tournament time is here, and the Commodores are right in the thick of things after winning the SEC Tournament Championship Sunday and being invited to their third consecutive NCAA Tournament, a first in school history. Vanderbilt will take on #12 East region seed Harvard on Thursday afternoon at The Pit in Albuquerque at 3:40 CT.

Vanderbilt-Harvard Series Information
Series Record: Vanderbilt leads the all-time series, 1-0.
Last Meeting:
Vanderbilt defeated Harvard, 74-58, on 12/28/93 at Memorial Gym.
Record at Vanderbilt: VU leads 1-0.
Record at Harvard: NA
Record at Neutral Site: NA
Coach Stallings vs. Harvard: Coach Stallings has never faced Harvard.

Media Information
Radio: 97.1 FM, DialGlobal Sports Network
Radio Talent: Joe Fisher (pxp), Tim Thompson (analyst)
TV: TNT
TV Talent: Spiro Dedes (pxp), Bob Wetzel (analyst)
Live Stream: CBSSports.com
Live Stats: vucommodores.com
Twitter Updates: @VandyMBB
Tournament Central Presented by Buffalo Wild Wings

Quick Tidbits

Vanderbilt claimed its first SEC Tournament title since 1951 with a 71-64 win over number-one ranked Kentucky on Sunday in New Orleans. Senior forward Jeffery Taylor tallied his second double-double of the season with 18 points and 11 rebounds, while tournament MVP John Jenkins and senior center Festus Ezeli each scored 17 points.
The Commodores moved to 8-16 against number-one ranked opponents, and 2-0 on neutral floors. Both wins on neutral floors have come over Kentucky in the SEC Championship.
Vanderbilt has advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the third consecutive season, a program first.
The Commodores will be making their 13th career NCAA Tournament appearance and their sixth appearance since 2004. Vanderbilt has been to two Sweet 16’s (2004 and 2007) since then.
Vanderbilt has an all-time record of 9-13 in the NCAA Tournament, while current head coach Kevin Stallings has a 5-7 overall record in the tournament.
The Commodores sport the leading scorer and second-leading scorer in the SEC in John Jenkins (19.9) and Jeffery Taylor (16.4).
Jenkins and Taylor were both named to the All-SEC first team by the league’s coaches this year. Taylor was also named to the All-Defensive team for the third consecutive season.
Since the return of Festus Ezeli to the lineup after suffering a knee injury in presason practice, VU is 14-6 with starting lineup of Brad Tinsley, John Jenkins, Jeffery Taylor, Lance Goulbourne, and Ezeli.
Taylor, originally from Sweden, played two seasons of high school basketball at Hobbs High School in Hobbs, N.M. Taylor won a state championship at the Pit in the spring of 2008 before his arrival at Vanderbilt.
Vanderbilt has made a 3-pointer in 829 consecutive games, a streak which began at the inception of the 3-point line in 1986-87. The Commodores rank second only to UNLV (839) for the longest streak in Division I basketball.

Vanderbilt’s History At The NCAA Tournament
Vanderbilt will be making its 13th appearance in the NCAA Tournament, and their fifth since 2004, and have a 9-13 all-time record at the tournament. The Commodores have advanced to the regional semifinals four times since the field expanded to 64+ teams (1988, 1993, 2004, 2007) and advanced to the Elite Eight on one occasion, in 1965, when the field was only 23 teams.

The Commodores’ last appearance came in the 2011 tournament, when #12-seed Richmond defeated #5 seed Vanderbilt, 69-66 in Denver, Colo.

In the 2007 edition of the tournament, Vanderbilt, a #6 seed, knocked off #11 George Washington, 77-44, and #3 Washington State, 78-74, in a double overtime classic, at ARCO Arena in Sacramento, Calif. The Commodores were defeated by #2 Georgetown, 66-65, in the East Regional semifinals at Continental Airlines Arena in East Rutherford, N.J.

In 2004, VU advanced to the Sweet 16 as a number six seed in the Phoenix regional, defeating No. 11 seed Western Michigan (71-58) and No. 3 seed N.C. State (75-73) in Orlando, Fla. The Commodores then lost to eventual national champion, No. 1 seed Connecticut, 73-53, in Phoenix, Ariz.

Stallings At The NCAA Tournament
Vanderbilt head coach Kevin Stallings owns a 5-7 mark in the NCAA Tournament. He is 4-5 in five appearances at Vanderbilt (2004, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011) and 1-2 in two appearances (1997, 1998) during his six-year tenure as head coach at Illinois State from 1994-1999.

Stallings served an assistant under Roy Williams at Kansas from 1989 to 1993, helping lead the Jayhawks to four NCAA appearances (1990-1993) and two Final Four showings (1991 and 1993).

Stallings worked as an assistant to Gene Keady at Purdue from 1983 to 1988 with the Boilermakers making six NCAA Tournament appearances. Stallings played for Keady for three seasons (1980-82), including 1980 when the Boilermakers advanced to the Final Four.

More On The Harvard Series

Vanderbilt’s only meeting with the Crimson came on December 28, 1993, at the Music City Invitational at Memorial Gym. The Commodores won that meeting, 74-58.
Coach Stallings has never faced Harvard.

More Notes From Win Over Kentucky

The Commodores’ win over Kentucky is the team’s first SEC Tournament championship since 1951, when Vanderbilt also defeated number one Kentucky.
John Jenkins was named the MVP of the tournament. Lance Goulbourne was also named to the all-tournament team.
Jenkins averaged 18.3 ppg., while Goulbourne averaged 8.7 points and 7.7 rebounds in three games.
Vanderbilt moves to 8-16 in games against the number one team in the nation and 2-0 on a neutral floor.
The win over number one was Vanderbilt’s first since defeating Tennessee in 2008 at Memorial Gym.
Commodores are now 5-0 on neutral floors this year.
The Commodores out scored Kentucky 16-2 to end the game, and held UK without a field goal for the final 8:04 of regulation.
Player notes
Jeffery Taylor led Vanderbilt with 18 points and 11 rebounds. It was his second double-double of the season and 10th of his career.
Jenkins scored 17 points, as did Festus Ezeli.
Jenkins has scored in double figures in 67 consecutive games.
Jenkins has now made 3 threes or more in a game in 29 of 34 contests this year.
Ezeli has now scored in double figures in 14 games this season and 41 in his career.

Vanderbilt Postseason Titles
The Commodores now have three – the 1951 SEC Championship, the 1990 NIT title, and now the 2012 SEC Championship. VU also finished runner up in the 1994 NIT.

The Pit Kind To the Commodores
The Commodore women’s basketball team played NCAA Tournaments at The Pit in back to back years in 2008 and 2009 and were an undefeated 4-0.

#44 Jeffery Taylor Quick Facts

Taylor is returning home to New Mexico to play on the same floor in which he claimed the 2008 New Mexico state championship for his Hobbs team. Taylor, originally from Sweden, moved to the U.S. as a junior to live with his grandparents, who reside in Hobbs. His father Jeff, was a standout player at Hobbs and eventually played in the NBA and then Sweden, where he met his future wife.
Jeffery Taylor is third on Vanderbilt’s all-time scoring list and leads all active scorers in the SEC with 1,873 career points.
Taylor finished the season second in league games only in 3FG % at 48.8 (39-80)%.
Taylor also finished third in the SEC in league games only in threes made (2.4).
Taylor is the only player in school history to rank in the top 10 in scoring, rebounds, and steals.

#23 John Jenkins Quick Facts

Jenkins has made 129 threes this year, which is the second-best single-season total in VU history, behind Shan Foster’s SEC-Best 134 (2008).
Jenkins led the SEC in scoring in two consecutive seasons for first time since 1995 and 1996, when LSU’s Ronnie Henderson accomplished the feat.
Jenkins led the SEC in scoring in all games with 19.9 points per game, and in three pointers made with 3.9 per game. Jenkins’ 3.9 threes made per game and his total of 129 threes also leads the nation.
If Jenkins’ season ended against Kentucky Sunday, he would have the third-best 3-point FG percentage in Vanderbilt history at 44.2%. He only trails former VU greats Barry Booker and Billy McCaffrey on that list.
Jenkins has scored in double-digits in 67 consecutive games, 86 in his career.
Jenkins has made three or more threes in 29 of 34 games this season. He has made six or more in three games this year.

#3 Festus Ezeli Quick Facts

All-time school shot block leader with 199.
Missed first six weeks of the season with a sprained left knee. Returned against Davidson on Dec. 7, when he scored 15 points and had six rebounds.
Scored in double figures in 14 games this season, and 41 in his career.
Season-high in scoring came against MTSU, when he tallied 21 points and was 11-13 from the free throw line.

#1 Brad Tinsley Quick Facts

Tinsley is second all-time in assists at Vanderbilt. He is also the school’s sixth-leading free throw shooter all time at 83.6%.
One of three 1,000-point scorers, Tinsley has scored in double figures 13 times this season and 59 times in his career.
He has posted five or more assists in 12 games this year and 40 games in his career.

#5 Lance Goulbourne Quick Facts

Has led the team in rebounding for two consecutive seasons.
Has three double-doubles this year, and six in his career.
Scored in double figures in 18 games this season.
Played tennis in high school, where his serve topped out at 130 mph.