Feb. 27, 2008
Team Records and Series Notes:
– Vanderbilt improves to 24-4 on the year and 9-4 in Southeastern Conference play, while Tennessee drops to 25-3 and 11-2 in conference play.
– Tennessee still leads the all-time series 106-67. Vanderbilt holds the lead in games played in Nashville, owning a 46-31 advantage.
– The win is Vanderbilt’s fourth consecutive win against a No. 1 opponent at Memorial Gym. The Commodores are now 6-3 against a top-ranked opponent at Memorial Gym. Vanderbilt is 7-13 against a No. 1 opponent overall.
– Vanderbilt is now 24-44 against ranked opponents in the Kevin Stallings’ era. The `Dores have enjoyed more success in recent meetings against ranked opponents, winning six of their last 10 matchups against ranked foes.
– All-time Vanderbilt is 78-198 against ranked opponents and 55-65 at home against ranked teams.
– The win is Vanderbilt’s seventh-consecutive Southeastern Conference win. It is the first time that a Vanderbilt team has won seven-consecutive conference games since the 1992-93 team won eight-straight games in SEC play.
– The win also clinches Vanderbilt’s second-straight winning SEC season. It is the first time Vanderbilt has had two consecutive over .500 records in conference play since the 1992-93 and 1993-94 seasons.
– Vanderbilt has won 18 consecutive games at home and 31 of its last 32 games played in Memorial Gym. The 18 wins is the most home wins in a single season in the history of Memorial Gym.
– Vanderbilt goes back on the road on Saturday to face the Arkansas Razorbacks. Tip off from Bud Walton Arena is set for 3 p.m. (CST) and the game will be carried live on Raycom Sports (television) and the Vanderbilt/ISP Sports Network with Joe Fisher (play-by-play) and Tim Thompson (analyst).
Vanderbilt Team Notes:
– Key Run: Leading 50-49 with 11:35 to play, Vanderbilt went on an 11-4 run to take a 61-53 advantage. Shan Foster and Jermaine Beal combined for all 11 points for the `Dores during the run. Tennessee would get as close as three in the closing minutes, but Vanderbilt made clutch free throws down the stretch to seal the win.
– Key Stat: The Vanderbilt defense was suffocating all night, holding Tennessee to 20-of-61 (32.8 percent) from the field and 7-of-26 (26.9 percent) from beyond the arc. Vanderbilt has held all of its opponents to under 50 percent shooting on the season.
– Vanderbilt continued its trend of not turning the ball over. After committing 22 turnovers against Tennessee in Knoxville, the `Dores only had eight miscues in tonight’s contest. Vanderbilt has had 10 or fewer turnovers in four of the last five games.
– Vanderbilt enjoyed a 31-28 advantage at halftime. The Commodores are now 18-0 this season when leading at the intermission.
– The Commodores blocked seven shots in tonight’s contest.
– Vanderbilt has now made a three-pointer in 692 consecutive games.
Vanderbilt Individual Notes:
– Senior swingman Shan Foster matched his number in tonight’s game, scoring a game-high 32 points. It’s the second time this season that Foster has scored 32 in a game and the fourth time in his career he has gone for 30+ points in a game. Foster now has 1,873 points in his Vanderbilt career. He is 19 points away from surpassing Matt Freije for the Vanderbilt all-time scoring record.
– Foster also made six three-pointers in tonight’s game. He now has 107 three-pointers on the season, which is the most by a Vanderbilt player in a single season, passing the previous mark of 103 held by Frank Seckar. Foster now has 340 three-pointers in his Vanderbilt career.
– Sophomore Jermaine Beal scored 17 points, including shooting seven-of-nine from the charity stripe. Beal also added two assists, bringing his season total to 128, the third most by a sophomore in Vanderbilt history.
– Senior guard Alex Gordon added 11 for the Commodores. Gordon did much of his damage from the foul line where he made 7-of-9. He also fouled out for only the second time in his career and the first time this season.
– Freshman center Andrew Ogilvy was held under 10 points for only the second time in his career, scoring four points. However, the freshman made an impact in other areas, blocking three shots. Ogilvy now has 41 blocks on the season, the most blocks by a Vanderbilt player in a season since Chris Woods blocked 50 in the 1994-95 season.
– Senior forward Ross Neltner led the team in rebounding, bringing down nine boards. Neltner also claimed the team high in assists, dropping four dimes on the night.