Feb. 29, 2008
| GAME AT A GLANCE | ||||
 Last Game:Shan Foster scored 32 points and Vanderbilt knocked off No. 1 Tennessee 72-69 on Tuesday night. Recap No. 14 Vanderbilt (24-4, 9-4 SEC) TELEVISION: Raycom RADIO: 104.5 the Zone SIRIUS: Channel 126 SERIES INFORMATION LAST MEETING COACHES UA TIDBITS UA PLAYERS TO WATCH |
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Wed., Mar. 5, vs. Miss. State at 7 p.m. CT (Senior Night Postgame)
NASHVILLE – After finishing the month of February undefeated at 7-0, the Commodores enter the month of March on the road at Arkansas for a Saturday afternoon game with the Razorbacks at Bud Walton Arena. Tip off is at 3 p.m. CST, and the game will be televised on Raycom Sports. Tom Hammond and Larry Conley will handle announcing duties on the television side, and Joe Fisher and Tim Thompson will call the game on the Vanderbilt/ISP Radio Network.
The Commodores most recently defeated the number one-ranked Tennessee Volunteers, 72-69, Tuesday night at Memorial Gym, the fourth consecutive time Vanderbilt has knocked off the nation’s top ranked team at Memorial Gym. The Commodores are now 6-3 against a top-ranked opponent at Memorial Gym and 7-13 against a No. 1 opponent overall. Vanderbilt has now won six out of its last ten against ranked opponents.
The win over Tennessee was 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.
The Commodores have also 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, now with 24 wins and only four losses, has posted the most wins in a season in the Kevin Stallings era, and the second-most wins in the regular season in the school’s history. Only the 1992-93 edition of the Commodores won more games than this year’s team (25).
In win number 24 against Tennessee, Vanderbilt went on an 11-4 run after only leading by one, 50-49, to take a 61-53 advantage in the key run of the game. 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.
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.
Foster led all scorers with 32 points on 9-of-13 shooting, six-of-nine from three, and eight-for-11 from the free throw mark. The 6’6 senior has averaged 30.1 points per game in his last two games.
The Commodores and Razorbacks will meet for the 21st time Saturday, with Arkansas holding a 13-7 advantage in the series. The Razorbacks hold a 7-1 series lead in Fayetteville, with Vanderbilt’s only win at Arkansas coming on January 13, 1996, when the Commodores won 80-73.
Vanderbilt head coach Kevin Stallings has a career 2-7 record against the Razorbacks and is 0-4 in Fayeteville. Arkansas is one of only two places in the SEC where he has never won (Mississippi State).
Arkansas enters the game with an 18-9 overall record, 7-6 in the Southeastern Conference. The Razorbacks are 13-1 this year at home, with their only loss coming against South Carolina on January 16, 70-66. Arkansas lost its last time out, a road tilt at Alabama on Wednesday, 59-56.
Sonny Weems leads three players averaging double figures with 15.4 points per game. Patrick Beverley and Darian Townes also average double digits at 11.2 and 11.1 points per contest, respectively. Beverley leads the Razorbacks on the glass with an average of 6.8 rebounds per game.
Tip-off is set for 3 p.m. CST.
ARKANSAS’ PROJECTED STARTING LINEUP
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