March 8, 2008
Team Records and Series Notes:
– Vanderbilt drops to 25-6 and 10-6 in Southeastern Conference play, while Alabama improves to 16-15 and 5-11 in conference play.
– Alabama still leads the all-time series 64-61, including holding a 43-18 advantage in games played in Tuscaloosa.
– Vanderbilt is now 57-50 all-time in overtime games and 3-2 in overtime games on the season. The `Dores are 7-7 in overtime games under Kevin Stallings.
– Today’s overtime game marks the first time that Vanderbilt has played two consecutive overtime games since 1993. That year Vanderbilt defeated Wake Forest 91-83 on December 8 and lost 86-77 to Georgia Tech on December 18, with both contests going to overtime.
– Vanderbilt opens up postseason play on Thursday as it travels to Atlanta, Ga. for the SEC Tournament. The Commodores will be the third seed in the conference tournament and will play their opening game of the tournament on Thursday at 2:15 p.m. (CST). The `Dores will face the sixth seed from the Western Division, which could either be Alabama or Auburn.
Vanderbilt Team Notes:
– Key Run: Trailing 64-62 in overtime, Alabama went on an 11-2 run to take a 73-66 advantage. Senior Mykal Riley scored the first 13 points for the Crimson Tide in the overtime period to lead them to the victory.
– Key Stat: Alabama shot 4-of-6 (66.7 percent) in the overtime period, while Vanderbilt made only 4-of-10 (40.0 percent) shots in the extra period.
– Vanderbilt has now made a three-pointer in 693 consecutive games, the second-longest streak in the nation. The Commodores shot 7-of-25 (28.0 percent) from beyond the arc in today’s game.
– Vanderbilt used the starting lineup of Jermaine Beal, Shan Foster, Alex Gordon, Ross Neltner and Andrew Ogilvy for the 27th time this season. The `Dores are 22-5 when going with this starting five.
– Vanderbilt struggled shooting in the game, making 26-of-68 (38.2) from the field, while Alabama shot 25-of-60 (41.7 percent) from the field and 9-of-22 (40.9 percent) from the three-point line.
Vanderbilt Individual Notes:
– Freshman center Andrew Ogilvy scored 17 points to pass Mike Rhodes to become the leading freshman scorer in Vanderbilt history. Ogilvy now has 519 points on the season. Ogilvy also recorded his fourth double-double of the season as he brought down a team-high 10 rebounds.
– Senior swingman Shan Foster scored 21 points, his fifth-consecutive game of 20-plus points. Foster is the first Vanderbilt player to score 20 or more points in five straight games since Matt Freije accomplished the feat in the 2004 season. Foster now has 1,958 points in his Vanderbilt career.
– Foster also knocked down three three-pointers in the game to bring his career total to 358, which ranks him third all-time in Southeastern Conference history. Foster has made three or more three-pointers in 25 games this season.
– Senior forward Ross Neltner was the third Commodore in double figures as he scored 13 points. Neltner also grabbed seven rebounds.
– Freshman forward Andre Walker scored eight points for Vanderbilt. The eight points are the most he has scored in a game since he tallied 10 at Florida on January 27. Walker also had a career-high two steals.
– Freshman guard Keegan Bell led the team in assists with seven. Bell now has 90 assists in his freshman season.