Aug. 10, 2011
Non-Conference Schedule | Non-Conference Schedule (PDF) 
The Vanderbilt men’s basketball team has announced their non-conference schedule of games for the 2011-12 campaign, a slate that includes Oregon, Xavier, a pair of Big East teams in Louisville and Marquette, and the TicketCity Legends Classic, with the finals set for East Rutherford, N.J., November 19 and 21.
All game times and television are still to be determined.
“We are very excited about the non-conference portion of our schedule,” said Vanderbilt head coach Kevin Stallings. “It should be very challenging, to say the least. It will definitely be fun for our players and fans.
“Beginning with our home opener against Oregon, the schedule ranks among the most difficult we have had during my tenure. We are in a good tournament in the Legends Classic, have three difficult road games, and a good home schedule. I am confident this schedule will help prepare us for the rigors of SEC play.”
Nine postseason teams highlight non-conference schedule
Vanderbilt will play nine non-conference games in the friendly confines of Memorial Gym, beginning with Pac-12 opponent Oregon (2011 CBI champion) on November 11. Oregon, along with Texas (NCAA), Xavier (NCAA), Louisville (NCAA), Bucknell (NCAA), Cleveland State (NIT), Indiana State (NCAA), Marquette (NCAA), and Miami (CBI) are the nine Commodore opponents that advanced to postseason play in 2011.
The preliminary rounds of the TicketCity Legends Classic will bring Cleveland State (November 13) and Bucknell (November 15) to Nashville, and the finals of the tournament will take the Commodores to the Izod Center in East Rutherford, N.J. to play North Carolina State in the semifinals on November 19. VU will play either NCAA tournament participant Texas or Oregon State on November 21.
Former Vanderbilt assistant coach King Rice returns to Memorial Gym with his Monmouth team on the day after Thanksgiving on November 25, and then after playing Atlantic 10-foe Xavier on November 28, the Commodores hit the road for back-to-back road games before the final exam period against Louisville on December 2 as a part of the Big East/SEC Challenge and at Davidson on December 7.
Before the Christmas break, the Commodores will play three games at Memorial Gym in five days, playing Indiana State on December 17, Longwood on December 19, and Lafayette on December 21.
Following the holiday break, Vanderbilt travels to Big East member Marquette on December 29, and returns to Memorial Gym on January 2 to take on Miami (Ohio).
Like in 2010, Vanderbilt will play a non-conference game during their off week in SEC play. Last season it was Saint Mary’s, this season it is Middle Tennessee State – the game will take place on Saturday, January 28
Schedule Notes
-The Commodores welcome Oregon back to Memorial after knocking off the Ducks, 76-75 on a buzzer-beating heave by Mario Moore.
– Oregon is also the last Pac-12 team to play at Memorial Gym. The Commodores lead the series with the Ducks, 4-2.
– The game is a first of a home-and-home series. Senior guard Brad Tinsley, from Oregon City, will get a chance to upend the Ducks for the first time.
– Vanderbilt leads the all-time series with Cleveland State, 1-0, and has never played Bucknell.
– The Commodores have never met Bucknell, Longwood, and Lafayette on the hardwood.
-Former Alabama coach and current North Carolina State mentor Mark Gottfried will get a chance to face the Commodores after analyzing them for the last two years as a television analyst with the SEC Network and ESPN at the Legends Classic in New Jersey on November 19.
-Vanderbilt’s game with the Musketeers of Xavier will be the first of a home-and-home series. It will also mark a homecoming for former Commodore Andre Walker, who transferred to Xavier for his final year of eligibility this summer.
-The Commodores play Louisville this season in the Big East/SEC Challenge on the road. Next season, Vanderbilt will play a home game against a Big East opponent.
-Vanderbilt’s back-to-back non-conference road games marks the first time for consecutive road non-league games since playing Dayton (12/30/2005) and Georgia Tech (1/3/2006).
-The Commodores have two three-games-in-five-days stretches – games against Oregon (Nov. 11), Cleveland State (Nov. 13), and Bucknell (Nov. 15), and against Indiana State (Dec. 17), Longwood (Dec. 19), and Lafayette (Dec. 21).
-VU will make its first trip to Marquette since the 1926-27 campaign.
-The Redhawks of Miami (Ohio) make their first trip to Memorial Gym since December 5, 1970.
-Middle Tennessee State appears on the schedule for the fourth consecutive year.
