Nov. 9, 2007
| GAME AT A GLANCE | ||||
 Last Game:Alex Gordon’s free throw with two seconds left lifted Vanderbilt to a 80-79 victory over Tusculum on Monday in the Commodores’ only exhibition of the season. Recap AUSTIN PEAY (0-0) AT VANDERBILT (0-0) Saturday, Nov. 10 at 7 p.m. CT Memorial Gym (14,316) Nashville, Tenn. TELEVISION: CSS RADIO: 104.5 the Zone TICKETS: 615.322.GOLD SERIES INFORMATION LAST MEETING COACHES VANDERBILT TIDBIT AUSTIN PEAY TIDBIT |
Order Men’s Basketball Season Tickets Starting at $75
| | Game Notes
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Vanderbilt men’s basketball season gets underway Saturday evening when the Commodores play host to the Austin Peay Governors at 7 p.m. at Memorial Gym. The game will be televised live by Comcast/Charter Sports Southeast.
The Governors, the preseason favorite in the Ohio Valley Conference and last year’s regular season champion, will provide a tough test for the Commodores in their opening game. Austin Peay returns all five starters from last year’s team which finished 21-12 and 16-4 in the OVC. The Governors won the regular season title but lost in the OVC Tournament to Eastern Kentucky, 63-62. The Governors advanced to the Postseason NIT, where APSU lost to Air Force, 75-51, in the first round. OVC Player of the Year Drake Reed leads the way for APSU after averaging 15.8 points and 6.0 rebounds per game in 2006-07.
Saturday’s game will be the 14th meeting between Austin Peay and Vanderbilt, with the Commodores leading the all-time series, 12-1, with VU holding a 10-1 advantage against the Governors in Nashville.
Vanderbilt returns three starters and six letterwinners from last year’s team, which advanced to the Sweet 16 for the second time in four years, one of only two SEC teams to accomplish the feat. Leading the way for the Commodores is 6’6″ swing man Shan Foster, a preseason All-SEC first team selection by the media and coaches. Foster, an All-SEC second team member in 2006-07 and a first team member in 2005-06, averaged 15.6 points and 4.6 rebounds per game a year ago.
Senior point guard Alex Gordon and senior forward Ross Neltner also return as starters for Vanderbilt. Gordon proved himself as a trustworthy facilitator at the point last season, finishing fourth in the conference with a 2.22-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio. A steady ball handler, Gordon committed only 51 turnovers on the season – the fewest among starting SEC point guards – and made just 12 miscues during 10 road games. Neltner provided head coach Kevin Stallings with a versatile option in the post last season – the forward’s first at Vanderbilt since transferring from LSU following the 2004-05 campaign. The Kentucky native helped provide toughness and rugged play in the interior, leading all SEC newcomers with a team-high 5.7 rebounds per game. At the same time, Neltner showed Commodore followers he could connect from beyond the arc (11-of-28 attempts from 3-point range) and pass the ball to open teammates (74 assists).
Saturday’s matchup with Austin Peay marks the first game of the South Padre Invitational for Vanderbilt. The Commodores, along with Utah State, Bradley, and Iowa, will host the first two rounds on campus, and then gather in South Padre Island, Texas, on November 23 and 24. Vanderbilt’s other home game in the tournament comes on November 20 against Valparaiso. VU will take on Utah State on the 23rd and then either Iowa or Bradley on the 24th in South Padre Island.
The Commodores played their one and only exhibition game Monday night and escaped with an 80-79 win over Tusculum. Vanderbilt held on to win the game when senior Alex Gordon nailed a free throw with two seconds remaining to give the Commodores a one-point win over a game Tusculum squad. Gordon and freshman A.J. Ogilvy paced the Vanderbilt effort with 17 points and seven rebounds apiece. The Commodores shot 41.7% from the floor and only 26.7% from three, while the Pioneers used their prowess from beyond the arc to make the game interesting, making 13-of-35 shots from three.
In season openers, the Commodores own an 88-32 all-time record and a 28-3 all-time mark in season openers at Memorial Gymnasium. Last year’s season-opening 86-70 loss to No. 8-ranked Georgetown snapped a 10-game season opening winning streak, but the Commodores have still won 14 of their last 16 season-openers. Prior to last year’s loss to the Hoyas, the last time VU dropped a season opener was in the first game of the 1995-96 campaign, when Vanderbilt fell short in a 71-63 decision against North Carolina in the opening round of the Maui Invitational.
At Memorial Gym, Vanderbilt is 28-3 in season openers, with their only setbacks coming to Louisville (82-74) on Dec. 1, 1970, Arkansas (107-70) in preseason NIT action on Nov. 14, 1990, and last year’s decision to Georgetown.
The Commodores are 7-1 when opening the season at home under head coach Kevin Stallings, with the only loss coming to Georgetown a year ago.
Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. and will be televised live by Comcast/Charter Sports Southeast. Joe Fisher and Tim Thompson will also have the live radio call of the game, which is aired locally on 104.5 The Zone and worldwide for free on the official home for Vanderbilt Athletics, vucommodores.com.
Season tickets are still available for as low as $75 by calling (615) 322-GOLD. Single game tickets for all non-conference games are also now available for purchase by calling (615) 322-GOLD or by visiting vucommodores.com. The price for Saturday’s ticket against Austin Peay is $15.