MBB Hosts Wake Forest Wednesday

Dec. 4, 2007

GAME AT A GLANCE

Last Game: Shan Foster scored 17 points to lead Vanderbilt to a 92-79 victory over Georgia Tech on Saturday. Recap WAKE FOREST (5-1) AT VANDERBILT (7-0) Wed., Dec. 5 at 7 p.m. CT Memorial Gym (14,316) Nashville, Tenn. TELEVISION: FSN South Play-by-Play: Dave Neal Color: Mike Gminski RADIO: 104.5 the Zone Play-by-Play: Joe Fisher; Color: Tim Thompson SIRIUS: Channel 147 SERIES INFORMATION The series between the two schools is tied, 4-4. Series is tied in Nashville (2-2); Series is tied in Winston-Salem (2-2). LAST MEETING Wake Forest won 88-78 in Winston Salem on 11/21/06. COACHES Kevin Stallings is in his ninth year at Vanderbilt (151-108) and his 15th overall (274-171). Dino Gaudio is in his first season with Wake Forest (5-1), and 8th overall as a head coach (73-125). WAKE FOREST TIDBIT The Demon Deacons are allowing an ACC-low 54.8 points per game. The Deacs also lead the conference and rank 16th in the country in field goal percentage defense, as opponents are shooting 36.1 percent. Wake is second in the league and 22nd nationally with 10.33 steals per game. They also lead the ACC in turnover margin at +5.33. However, as good as the Deacs have been on the defensive end the opposite could be said about Wake Forest’s play on offense. The Deacs, who traditionally have scored points at will, are 10th in the ACC in scoring at 70.0 points per game. They’ve struggled to put the ball in the basket of late. The Deacons’ troubles extend past the three-point line, where Wake is shooting just 27.6 percent (34-for-123). PLAYER TO WATCH James Johnson finds himself among the league leaders in a number of categories early in his first season on campus. Johnson ranks among the ACC’s best in rebounding (5th), steals (5th), field goal percentage (8th), blocked shots (10th) and scoring (21st). He leads all ACC freshmen in rebounding and is second in steals to just teammate Jeff Teague. Johnson also leads all freshmen in offensive boards and is second in blocks.

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Game Notes | Read Wake Forest’s Preview | Season Stats

Upcoming Home Games, Call 322-GOLD for Tickets:
Wednesday, Dec. 5, vs. Wake Forest at 7 p.m. CT
Saturday, Dec. 8, vs. Lipscomb at 8 p.m. CT
Saturday, Dec. 22, vs. Tenn. State at 8 p.m. CT
Saturday, Dec. 29, vs. Tenn. Martin at 12 p.m. CT

NASHVILLE – Vanderbilt plays host to their second consecutive ACC opponent Wednesday night when the Commodores take on the Wake Forest Demon Deacons at 7 p.m. The game will be televised by FSN South and Sun Sports. Joe Fisher and Tim Thompson will call the game on the ISP/Vanderbilt Radio Network.

The Commodores, who recently moved into the top 25 in both the AP (23) and the ESPN/USA Today Poll (25), moved to 7-0 on the 2007-08 campaign after defeating Georgia Tech, 92-79, Saturday afternoon at Memorial Gym. Vanderbilt led by as many as 28 in the contest, and shot 54.7% from the floor for the game. The Commodores also were hot from beyond the arc, connecting on 45.5% of its shots (10-22). VU senior wing Shan Foster led all Vanderbilt scorers with 17 points, while A.J. Ogilvy scored 16 points, Alan Metcalfe added 15 points, and Alex Gordon chipped in 11 points.

Leading 19-13 with 11:38 remaining in the first half, the Commodores reeled off the next nine points agains the Yellow Jackets to take a commanding 15-point advantage. Senior center Alan Metcalfe scored six of the nine points for the Commodores during the run. The `Dores stretched the lead to 20 at halftime and would lead by as many as 28 in the second half.

Vanderbilt improved to 654-184 all-time at Memorial Gymnasium. The Commodores have won 93 of their last 99 games against non-conference opponents at home and are 140-13 at home against non-SEC foes since 1990

Vanderbilt and Georgia Tech will meet for the ninth time in the history of the series, with both teams winning four games apiece. At Memorial Gym, Vanderbilt is 2-2 against the Demon Deacons, and lost the last meeting on their home floor to Wake Forest, 83-68, on March 14, 2000, in the NIT. It was the last time the Commodores have lost to an ACC foe on its home floor.

Wake Forest has won the last two meetings, including last year’s 88-78 win over the Commodores at Joel Coliseum.

Wake Forest is 5-1 on the season after knocking off South Carolina-Upstate, 72-48, on Saturday. 6’8 forward James Johnson leads the Demon Deacons in both scoring and rebounding with 12.7 points and 8.5 rebounds per game, respectively.

The Demon Deacons are coached by Dino Gaudio, who is in his first season after taking over for the late Skip Prosser in August. Overall, in his eight season as a head coach, Gaudio has a 73-125 record.

Vanderbilt owns a 75-69 record all-time record against the Atlantic Coach Conference after Saturday’s win over Georgia Tech. All-time in Memorial Gym, VU is 46-13 against the ACC.

Shan Foster was named the SEC Player of the Week for his play against South Alabama and Georgia Tech November 27-Dec. 3 when he averaged 21.5 points and 3.0 points per game. Foster joins Will Perdue (1989), Dan Langhi (1999), Matt Freije (2004), and Derrick Byars (2007) as the only Commodore players to win two SEC Players-of-the-Week honors in the same season. Foster also becomes only the second SEC player to win two weekly honors in the first four weeks of the season and the first student-athlete in 18 years to accomplish the feat. Tennessee’s Dyron Nix won back-to-back Player-of-the-Week honors from the league office to open the 1989 campaign. Foster also won the SEC weekly honor earlier this season for his 21-point, eight-rebound performance in Vanderbilt’s 77-70 win at Toledo on November 13.

The Commodores have won their first seven games of the season for the first time since the 2003-04 season when the `Dores opened the season 12-0. It is the ninth time in school history that a team has started a season 7-0.

Tip-time is set for 7 p.m. from Memorial Gym.

WAKE FOREST’S PROJECTED STARTING LINEUP

# Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl. PPG RPG APG Hometown 4 Harvey Hale G 6’2 190 Jr. 9.8 1.8 1.7 Albequerque, N.M. 10 Ishmael Smith G 6’0 165 So. 6.3 4.3 4.2 Concord, N.C. 13 Chas McFarland C 7’0 225 So. 9.0 4.8 0.3 Lovington, Ill. 23 James Johnson F 6’8 235 Fr. 12.7 8.5 1.1 Cheyenne, Wyo. 42 L.D. Williams G 6’4 205 So. 11.7 5.5 1.1 Yadkinville, N.C.