MBB Returns Home to Face Auburn Saturday

Feb. 1, 2008

GAME AT A GLANCE

Last Game: Chris Warren scored 20 points as No. 24 Ole Miss beat No. 18 Vanderbilt 74-58 Wednesday night. Recap Auburn (12-7, 2-4 SEC) at No. 18 Vanderbilt (17-4, 2-4) Sat., Feb. 2 at 4 p.m. CT Memorial Gym (14,316) Nashville, Tenn. – SOLD OUT TELEVISION: FSN South Play-by-Play: Dave Neal; Color: Barry Booker RADIO: 104.5 the Zone Play-by-Play: Joe Fisher; Color: Tim Thompson SIRIUS: Channel 122 SERIES INFORMATION Vanderbilt leads the all-time series, 75-51. Vanderbilt leads 44-16 all-time at Memorial Gym; VU leads 30-29 at Auburn; AU leads 6-1 on neutral floors. LAST MEETING Auburn won 68-65 in Auburn on January 5, 2007. COACHES Kevin Stallings is in his ninth year at Vanderbilt (161-112) and his 15th overall (284-175). Jeff Lebo is in his 4th season with Auburn (55-55) and 10th year overall (170-118). AUBURN TIDBITS Auburn head coach Jeff Lebo spent one season (1992-93) as an assistant coach on Eddie Fogler’s staff at Vanderbilt, and the Commodores went 28-6 (14-2 SEC) en route an SEC Championship and a Sweet 16 appearance… Auburn has won four of its last five games vs. Top 25 teams… In the last eight games, Auburn has allowed its opponents to shoot 49 percent from the field and 42 percent from 3-point range… The Tigers have had 15 or more turnovers only twice in the last nine games in contrast to committing 15 or more in eight of the first nine this season… Quantez Robertson leads the SEC with 37.3 minutes played per game edging out teammate DeWayne Reed, who is fifth in the league with 34.6. Both Robertson and Reed have played all 40 minutes in five games this season. TIGER PLAYERS TO WATCH Senior forward Quan Prowell is averaging 24 points and 6.5 rebounds while shooting 72 percent from the field (18-of-24) in Auburn’s last two games. He tied a career-high with 26 points on 9-of-12 shooting in all 40 minutes vs. LSU Jan. 30. Junior guard Rasheem Barrett is averaging 19.7 points while shooting 64 percent from the field (21-of-33) in Auburn’s last three games.

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Joe Fisher’s Preview with the 104.5 Wake Up Zone

SEC Quotes: Stallings and Lebo Discuss Matchup

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

Upcoming Home Games at Memorial Gym
Saturday, Feb. 2, vs. Auburn at 4 p.m. CT
Tuesday, Feb. 12, vs. Kentucky at 8 p.m. CT
Saturday, Feb. 16, vs. Florida at 2 p.m. CT

NASHVILLE – #18/19 Vanderbilt returns home to the friendly confines of Memorial Gym for a Saturday afternoon tip-off against SEC West Division foe Auburn at 4 p.m. CST. FSN South will carry the game live on television, and Joe Fisher and Tim Thompson will have the call on the Vanderbilt/ISP Radio Network.

Saturday’s game with the Tigers is the first appearance for the Commodores at Memorial Gym since January 19, when Vanderbilt came away with a 92-76 win over LSU. VU is 13-0 on its home floor in 2007-08, and dating back to last season, Vanderbilt has won 26 of its last 27 games played in Memorial Gym.

Vanderbilt has lost two consecutive games and four out of its last five, all on the road in the Southeastern Conference. The Commodores have played and lost at four of the toughest places to play in the SEC – at Kentucky, Tennessee, Florida, and Ole Miss, to open league play. The Commodores return home to play Auburn, but then hit the road for two more at Georgia (2/6) and at South Carolina (2/9), before returning home for four straight.

Against Ole Miss, the Commodores trailed by only three at the half, 29-26, and by three with 8:08 to go in regulation, 52-49. Ole Miss then reeled off a 15-2 run over the next 5:43 to put the game out of reach.

Shan Foster scored 14 points to lead the Commodores in Oxford. Foster moved past VU great Ronnie McMahan (1992-95) for third place all-time on the Commodore all-time scoring list. He now has 1,723 career points, one point shy of the 2nd place position, currently occupied by Phil Cox (1982-85).

A.J. Ogilvy was the only other Commodore in double figures with ten points.

Vanderbilt and Auburn will meet for the 127th time, with the Commodores holding a 75-51 advantage in the series. All-time at Memorial Gym, VU is 44-16 against the Tigers. Vanderbilt head coach Kevin Stallings is a career 5-5 against the Tigers, and 4-0 against Auburn at Memorial Gym.

Auburn enters the game with a 12-7 overall record, 2-4 in the Southeastern Conference. The Tigers lost their last time out against LSU, 81-80, at home on Wednesday night. Quan Prowell led all Tiger scorers and rebounders with 26 points and seven rebounds, respectively. Junior guard Rasheem Barrett leads the Tigers in scoring for the year at 14.2 points per game, while Prowell adds 14.1 points per contest for Auburn.

Tip off is set for a 4 p.m. CST start.

AUBURN’S PROJECTED STARTING LINEUP