Jan. 27, 2009
TV: None | Radio: 104.5 FM | XM: Channel 199
| VU Notes | VU’s Stats | SEC Stats
COLUMBIA, S.C. — The Vanderbilt Commodores will travel to South Carolina for the first of two meetings with the Gamecocks this Wednesday at 6 p.m. CT in Columbia. The game will tip off at the Colonial Life Center, and can be heard on the Vanderbilt-ISP Radio Network and VUcommodores.com, with Joe Fisher and Tim Thompson on the call. The game will not be televised.
Vanderbilt and South Carolina will meet for the 43rd time Wednesday night, with the overall series tied at 21 heading into the game. South Caroina holds a 10-9 advantage in games played in Columbia, although the Commodores have claimed the last three meetings in Columbia and have a 3-3 record all-time at the Colonial Life Center.
Vanderbilt won last year’s meeting in Columbia on Feb. 9, 66-65, on a buzzer beating layup by Jermaine Beal. The win gave Vanderbilt its 20th victory of the 2007-08 campaign, the fourth of the Kevin Stallings’ era, which began in 1999.
Stallings has a 9-11 mark against South Carolina since becoming the Commodores’ head coach, and has won the last five meetings with the Gamecocks. Stallings is 5-4 against South Carolina in Columbia.
Vanderbilt dropped its third consecutive game Sunday in a 94-69 loss at the hands of the Florida Gators. The hot shooting Gators fired an opponent, season best 57.4 percent from the field and converted on 15-of-25 3-point attempts (60 percent) to help propel them to victory.
Vanderbilt was led by juniors George Drake, who scored 14 points, and Jermaine Beal, who added 13. Freshman Jeffery Taylor scored 10 points and added a game-high nine rebounds against Florida.
Drake has led the team in scoring in two consecutive games – he scored a career-high 16 points against Tennessee on Jan. 20, and led the team in scoring for the first time in his Vanderbilt career. Against Florida, he scored a team-high 14 points for the Commodores.
It marks the first time in his career that he has scored in double figures in consecutive games. His previous career high came against Central Arkansas on Nov. 26, 2008, when he tallied 14 points, and his previous best in an SEC game came on Jan. 13, 2007, at Georgia when he scored seven points.
Sophomore A.J. Ogilvy leads all Vanderbilt scorers on the 2008-09 season, averaging 15.1 points per contest. Taylor adds 12.1 points per game, Beal averages 11.9 points, and freshman guard Brad Tinsley chips in 10.2 points per contest. Ogilvy leads all VU players on the glass with 6.5 rebounds per game.
South Carolina enters the game with a 14-4 overall record, a 3-2 mark in the SEC and the winners of its last two SEC games, both at home. The Gamecocks are led by guard Devan Downey, the second leading scorer in the SEC, at 19.7 points per game. Guard Zam Frederick (15.8), and forwards Dominique Archie (11.2) and Mike Holmes (11.1) also average double figures for South Carolina.