Jan. 20, 2012
Vanderbilt Gamenotes 
| Mississippi State Gamenotes
Vanderbilt will play its second game in 48 hours on Saturday evening, as the Commodores welcome Mississippi State to Memorial Gym for a national broadcast on ESPN2. The game will tip at 6 p.m. CT and can also be heard live on the Vanderbilt IMG College Radio Network.
The Commodores, winners of eight straight, defeated Alabama, 69-59, in Tuscaloosa on Thursday night behind a 20-point effort by John Jenkins and Festus Ezeli’s first double-double of the season (12 points and 10 rebounds).
Series Information
Series Record: Vanderbilt leads the all-time series, 74-43.
Last Meeting: VU won the last meeting, 87-81, on 3/11/2011, in the SEC Tournament quarterfinals.Record at Vanderbilt: VU leads 44-8.
Record at MSU: MSU leads 31-22.
Record at Neutral Site: MSU leads 7-6.
Coach Stallings vs. MSU: Coach Stallings is 7-8 against Miss. State.
Media Information
Radio: Vanderbilt Radio Network from IMG College, vucommodores.com, XM 199
Radio Talent: Joe Fisher (pxp), Tim Thompson (analyst)
TV: ESPN2
TV Talent: Brad Nessler (pxp), Jimmy Dykes (analyst)
Live Stream: ESPN3
Live Stats: vucommodores.com
Twitter Updates: @VandyMBB
More On The Mississippi State Series
- Saturday’s meeting will be the 118th all-time between the two schools – Vanderbilt leads the all-time series, 74-43, and 44-8 in games played in Nashville.
- The first meeting between the two schools came in the 1921-22 season in Nashville (Vanderbilt won, 22-18).
- Vanderbilt has won the last three games played in Nashville.
- Coach Stallings is 7-8 all-time against the Bulldogs and 4-2 against Mississippi State at Memorial Gym.
More On Mississippi State
The Bulldogs are 15-4 on the season and 2-2 in the SEC after dropping their last time out against Ole Miss in Oxford, 75-68. Arnett Moultrie leads the team in scoring (16.1) and rebounding (11.0).
Quick Hitters
- Vanderbilt won their eighth consecutive game with a 69-59 road victory over Alabama Thursday night in Tuscaloosa. John Jenkins led a balanced Commodore attack with 20 points, with Jeffery Taylor adding 17 points, Festus Ezeli tallying his first double-double of the season with 12 points and 10 rebounds, and Lance Goulbourne chipping in 11 points.
- The Commodores moved to 4-0 in the SEC for the second time in the Kevin Stallings’ era – the Commodores started 5-0 in league play to begin the 2009-10 campaign.
- In the eight-game win streak, Vanderbilt is only allowing 58.1 points per game, a 38.1% opponent field goal percentage, and opponents to shoot 31.8% from three. Vanderbilt also has a rebounding margin of +6.5 in the last eight games. The current starting five – Tinsley, Jenkins, Taylor, Goulbourne, and Ezeli, are shooting a combined 53.8% from the field (162-301).
- In the last five games, Vanderbilt is outscoring opponents by an average of 13.2 points and shooting 47.0% from the floor and 46.1% from three.
- With the win over Alabama, the Commodores are now 12-6 in road SEC contests since the 2009-10 campaign (6-2 in 2009-10, 4-4 in 2010-11, 2-0 in 2011-12). The 12 wins is the most in the SEC. Four of Vanderbilt’s starters are hovering around 50% from the floor for the season – Jenkins (48.2%), Taylor (53.6%), Tinsley (49.6%), and Goulbourne (49.6%).
- The Commodores sport the leading scorer in all games (John Jenkins, 19.8 ppg) and the third-leading scorer (Jeffery Taylor, 16.9 ppg) in the SEC. Jenkins also paces the league and nation in three’s made at 3.94 per game.
- John Jenkins was 4-7 from beyond-the-arc against Alabama, his eighth consecutive game making 3 or more 3FG, his 13th this season, and 44th in his career.
- Jenkins has scored in double-digit figures in 50 consecutive games, 69 in his career.
- Taylor scored in double figures for the 17th time this season against Alabama, and the 89th time in his career. Goulbourne reached double digits for the ninth time this season.
- VU’s starting five has amassed 366 career starts.
- Taylor is fourth in the SEC in field goal percentage (.538), and has made more field goals than any other player in the SEC (113).
- Jenkins leads the league field goal makes per game with 6.4.
- Vanderbilt is the only team in the SEC that sports three 1,000-point scorers in John Jenkins, Jeffery Taylor, and Brad Tinsley.
- In SEC play, the Commodores rank first in eight different categories – scoring defense (54.2), scoring margin (+15.2), field goal percentage defense (.349), 3-point field goal percentage (.464), rebounding margin (+8.7), assists (13.25), defensive rebounds (27.75), and threes made (9.75).
- Vanderbilt was 21-29 from the free throw line against Alabama (72.4%), and in their last two games, the Commodores are 51-73 (69.9%).
- The team’s 39.8 3-point percentage stands as the second-best team mark since the 1992-93 campaign, trailing only the 39.9 clip from 2007-08.
2011-12 vs. Ranked Opponents
Vanderbilt is 1-2 against ranked opponents this year after defeating Marquette on December 29 in Milwaukee, 74-57. Vanderbilt’s two losses have come in overtime to Xavier (82-70, November 28) and at Louisville (62-60, December 2).
