Jan. 19, 2009
TV: ESPN | Radio: 104.5 FM | XM: Channel 199
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The Vanderbilt Commodores welcome intrastate rival and SEC foe Tennessee to Memorial Gym on Tuesday night in a nationally televised game on ESPN. The game will tip at 8 p.m., and can be heard on the Vanderbilt-ISP Radio Network and vucommodores.com, with Joe Fisher and Tim Thompson on the call. Fans attending the game are encourage to wear white to the game as a part of a “White Out” promotion Tuesday night against the Volunteers.
Vanderbilt and Tennessee will meet for the 174th time on Tuesday night in a series that dates back to the 1921-22 season, with the Volunteers owning a 106-67 advantage in the series. The Commodores own a 46-31 advantage in Nashville and a 36-21 lead in the series since Memorial Gym became Vanderbilt’s home floor in the 1952-53 season. The Volunteers are Vanderbilt’s most common opponent in the history of Commodore basketball.
Vanderbilt defeated the then-number one ranked Volunteers, 72-69, at Memorial Gym on February 26, 2008, behind Shan Foster’s 32 point performance. The win pushed the Commodores’ all-time record against number one ranked opponents at Memorial Gym to 6-3, with Vanderbilt coming away with the last four meetings with number one.
Head coach Kevin Stallings is 9-10 all-time in meetings with Tennessee and 5-4 against the Volunteers at Memorial Gym.
The Commodores fell to 12-5 and 1-2 in the SEC after dropping a 73-66 decision at Mississippi State on Saturday. Vanderbilt outrebounded the Bulldogs, 37-28, and attempted 12 more shots, but Mississippi State fired a 2008-09 opponent-best 48.0% from the floor to come away with the victory. The Commodores entered the game with the nation’s leading field goal percentage defense, but the Bulldogs shot their way to the win behind the guard play of Ravern Johnson and Dee Bost, who scored a total of 34 points.
Freshman Jeffery Taylor led all Vanderbilt scorers with 18 points, which tied a career high. A.J. Ogilvy and Jermaine Beal added 14 points, and Brad Tinsley chipped in 12 for the Commodores. Ogilvy and freshman Lance Goulbourne led Vanderbilt on the glass with six rebounds apiece.
Ogilvy leads all Vanderbilt players in scoring with 16.4 points per contest. Taylor is next with 12.6 points per game, Beal adds 12.1, and Tinsley chips in 10.2 points per contest.
Tennessee enters the game with an 11-5 overall record and a 2-1 record in the SEC after defeating South Carolina, 82-79, in their last time out on Saturday. Tyler Smith leads all Volunteers in scoring with 17.9 points per game, with Wayne Chism (12.0) and Cameron Tatum (10.3) also averaging double figures. Chism leads Tennessee in rebounding with 9.0 rebounds per contest.
The Vanderbilt men’s basketball team is asking all Commodore fans attending the game on Tuesday to support the team by wearing white.