MBB celebrates Senior Day with contest against Miss. State Wednesday

March 4, 2008

GAME AT A GLANCE

Last Game: Arkansas held off Vanderbilt for a 78-73 victory Saturday in Fayetteville. Recap No. 25 Miss. State (20-8, 11-3) at No. 16 Vanderbilt (24-5, 9-5) Wed., March 5 at 7 p.m. CT Memorial Gym (14,316) Nashville, Tenn. TELEVISION: None RADIO: 104.5 the Zone Play-by-Play: Joe Fisher; Color: Tim Thompson SIRIUS: Channel 153 SERIES INFORMATION Vanderbilt leads the all-time series, 70-41. Vanderbilt leads 41-8 in Nashville; MSU leads 29-22 in Starkville; VU leads 7-4 on neutral floors. LAST MEETING Mississippi State won 83-70 in Starkville on Feb. 21, 2007. COACHES Kevin Stallings is in his ninth year at Vanderbilt (168-113) and his 15th overall (291-176). Rick Stansbury is in his 10th season overall and with Mississippi State (205-112). MSU TIDBITS Mississippi State has won in two of their last three visits (2004 & `02) to Memorial Gym… MSU will be looking to snap an 11-game losing skid against ranked opponents played away from Humphrey Coliseum… Having already established a new single-season school mark for blocks for the second straight year (228 this season and 222 last year), the Bulldogs are now challenging the current alltime SEC season standard of 240 blocks set by the 1997-98 Kentucky club in 39 games… The Bulldogs continue to rank second among the nation’s leaders in field-goal percentage defense (.367) behind Georgetown (.362). MState is bidding to establish a new modern-day (post-1964), single-season Southeastern Conference record for field-goal percentage defense currently owned by the 1964-65 Tennessee team (.374). MSU PLAYERS TO WATCH Junior guard and Nashville native Jamont Gordon ranks fifth in the SEC in scoring (17.1 ppg), third in assists (4.79 apg) and 16th in rebounding (6.2 rpg) for all games. Sophomore center Jarvis Varnado maintains his position as the nation’s No. 1 shot-blocker (4.86 bpg). Amazingly with his 136 swats on the year, Varnado has more blocks individually this season than nine SEC teams.

Call (615) 322-GOLD to Purchase Tickets to the Game

|

Audio: 104.5’s Tuesday Interview with Coach Stallings

SEC Quotes: Stallings and Stansbury Discuss Matchup

VU Notes | MSU Notes & Preview | Season Stats | Standings

NASHVILLE – The 16th-ranked Vanderbilt Commodores will close out the home portion of their schedule on Wednesday night when SEC West Champion and number 25-ranked (ESPN/USA Today poll) Mississippi State comes to town for a cross-divisional matchup at Memorial Gymnasium. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m., with no television scheduled for the contest.

Wednesday’s game will be the last at Memorial Gym for senior players Shan Foster, Alex Gordon, Alan Metcalfe, Ross Neltner, and Davis Nwankwo and senior manager Julio Lupo. Foster, Gordon, and Metcalfe, the three four-year seniors on the roster, will go down in history as the winningest group of seniors in the history of Vanderbilt basketball. As of Wednesday’s game, the group has helped the Commodores to 83 wins over a four-year span.

In 2007-08, the Commodores have posted the most wins (24) in a season in the Kevin Stallings era, and the second-most wins in the regular season in the school’s history. Only the 1992-93 edition of the Commodores won more games than this year’s team (25). Vanderbilt has also won 18 consecutive games at home and 31 of its last 32 games played in Memorial Gym. The 18 wins is the most home wins in a single season in the history of Memorial Gym.

The Commodores recently had its seven-game SEC winning streak snapped at Arkansas on Saturday, 78-73, the longest SEC run for a Vanderbilt team since 1992-93, when the team strung nine together nine wins in a row.

Saturday’s game at Arkansas was a record setter for senior Shan Foster, who became the school’s all-time leading scorer when he scored 22 points against the Razorbacks. He passed Matt Freije, who played from 2001-04, for the number one position and now has 1,895 career points.

Vanderbilt trailed by as many as 12 in the first half, but rebounded late in the first period and early in the second to make a game out of it at Bud Walton Arena. In the second half alone, the game featured one tie and ten lead changes.

Foster led all scorers with 22 points on 8-of-12 shooting from the floor and 6-of-8 from beyond the arc. A.J. Ogilvy tallied 20 points, his first 20+ point performance since January 9 against South Carolina, and Ross Neltner added 14 points for the Commodores. Jermaine Beal and Alex Gordon added seven assists apiece in the game.

Vanderbilt and Mississippi State will play for the 112th time Wednesday night, with the Commodores holding a 70-41 all-time lead in the series. In Nashville, Vanderbilt holds a 41-8 advantage in the series. The Commodores won the last meeting at Memorial Gym on January 21, 2006, 80-52.

Commodore head coach Kevin Stallings is 4-6 all-time against the Bulldogs and has a 2-2 record against Mississippi State at Memorial Gym.

Mississippi State enters the game with a 20-8 overall record and an 11-3 mark in SEC play. The Bulldogs most recently clinched the SEC’s West Division on Saturday after knocking off Florida, 68-59, in Gainesville.

Junior Jamont Gordon, from Nashville, will be making a homecoming appearance against the Commodores Wednesday. Gordon leads all Mississippi State players in scoring, averaging 17.1 points per game. Senior Charles Rhodes adds 16.2 points per game, sophomore Barry Stewart chips in 12.0, and sophomore guard Ben Hansbrough tosses in 10.5 points per contest. The Bulldogs also feature the nation’s top shot blocker in sophomore Jarvis Varnado, who averages 4.9 blocks a game.

A limited number of tickets still remain for the game against the Bulldogs. Please call 322-GOLD for more information.

Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.

MISSISSIPPI STATE’S PROJECTED STARTING LINEUP