Feb. 15, 2008
| GAME AT A GLANCE | ||||
 Last Game:No. 19 Vanderbilt handed Kentucky one of its worst losses in decades, beating the Wildcats 93-52 on Tuesday night. Recap Florida (19-6, 6-4 SEC) TELEVISION: Raycom RADIO: 104.5 the Zone SIRIUS: Channel 122 SERIES INFORMATION LAST MEETING COACHES UF TIDBITS UF PLAYERS TO WATCH |
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SEC Quotes: Stallings and Donovan Discuss Matchup
VU Notes | UF Notes & Website | Season Stats | SEC Standings
Upcoming Home Games at Memorial Gym
Saturday, Feb. 16, vs. Florida at 2 p.m. CT
Saturday, Feb. 23, vs. Georgia at 3 p.m. CT
Tuesday, Feb. 26, vs. Tennessee at 8 p.m. CT
NASHVILLE – The Commodores take to the Memorial Gymnasium floor this Saturday to take on the Florida Gators in a regionally televised game on Raycom Sports. Tom Hammond and Daymeon Fishback will handle announcing duties on the television side, while Joe Fisher and Tim Thompson will have the call on the Vanderbilt/ISP Radio Network. The Vanderbilt Bar Association, the student government at the law school, will also be on hand to take donations for the recent devastation caused by the tornados in Arkansas, Tennessee and Kentucky. Monetary donations will be taken at all of the main entrances of Memorial Gym beginning 90 minutes prior to the game.
Vanderbilt has won four consecutive games and is coming off of a historical, 93-52, victory over Kentucky Tuesday night at Memorial Gym. The win was the Commodores’ largest in SEC play since a 41-point victory on February 27, 1993, when Vanderbilt defeated Mississippi State by 41, 80-39. It was the largest margin of victory over Kentucky in the 96-year history of the series, and the Wildcat’s largest margin of defeat ever in SEC competition.
Vanderbilt jumped on Kentucky right from the start. Tied at three, the Commodores went on a 36-5 run to take a commanding 39-8 lead. The `Dores held Kentucky without a field goal for 12:21 during the run and without a point for 9:45.
Vanderbilt had one of its best defensive performances on the season. The Commodores held Kentucky to 17-of-52 (32.7 percent) shooting from the floor and 1-of-10 (10.0 percent) from beyond the arc. Vanderbilt shot 31-of-56 (55.4 percent) from the field and 7-of-16 (43.8 percent) from the three-point line.
Vanderbilt committed a season-low six turnovers, including only one in the first half, while forcing Kentucky into 17 miscues. Vanderbilt scored 25 points off Kentucky turnovers. It was the lowest turnover total for a Vanderbilt team since last year’s regional final affair with Georgetown when the Commodores turned it over five times.
The win over the Wildcats avenged an earlier, 79-73, double overtime loss to Kentucky on January 12 at Rupp Arena.
Vanderbilt will also be searching for a season-series split with the Gators this Saturday. Florida jumped on the Commodores early and often in route to an 86-64 win at the O’Connell Center on January 27.
Florida and Vanderbilt will meet for the 115th time this Saturday, with the Commodores holding a 60-54 series advantage. The two teams will play for the 51st time in Nashville, with Vanderbilt leading the series in Nashville, 38-12. Vanderbilt ended then number one Florida’s 17-game winning streak last year at Memorial Gym in a 83-70 win on February 17, 2007.
Commodore head coach Kevin Stallings is 4-14 all-time against Florida in his head coaching career, and 3-5 against the Gators at Memorial Gym.
Florida enters the game Saturday with a 19-6 overall record and a 6-4 mark in SEC play. The Gators have lost three out of their last four games, including their last time out, when LSU handed UF an 85-73 loss in Gainesville on February 13.
Gator freshman Nick Calathes paces the offensive attack, averaging 15.4 points per game and a SEC-leading 6.1 assists per game. Sophomore Marreese Speights adds 13.9 points and a team-leading 7.9 rebounds per contest, and junior Walter Hodge chips in 10.3 points per game.
In Vanderbilt’s last three games, the Commodores have only had 25 combined turnovers (10 vs. UGA, 9 vs. S. Carolina, 6 vs. UK) against the three teams. Against Kentucky, the Commodores had only one turnover in the first half, their lowest total of the season for a half. Additionally, Senior Shan Foster and freshman A.J. Ogilvy rank three and six, respectively, in scoring in the Southeastern Conference as of February 14. Foster pours in 18.9 points per contest, while Ogilvy adds 17.4 points per game, and leads all SEC freshmen. The Foster-Ogilvy combination is the top scoring duo in the Southeastern Conference (36.3 ppg).
The game tips off at 2 p.m. CST at Memorial Gym. The game is sold out, with no tickets remaining for the contest.
FLORIDA’S PROJECTED STARTING LINEUP
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