Feb. 16, 2009
TV: ESPN | Radio: 104.5 FM | XM: Channel 200 | VU Notes | UK Notes
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NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Vanderbilt Commodores return home to Memorial Gym to take on SEC East foe Kentucky Tuesday evening for a nationally televised game on ESPN. The action can aslo be heard live on the Vanderbilt-ISP Radio Network and vucommodores.com, with Joe Fisher and Tim Thompson on the call. Tip off is set for 8 p.m. CT.
Vanderbilt and Kentucky will meet for the 172nd time on Tuesday night, with the Wildcats holding a 130-41 overall advantage in the series. Kentucky also leads the all-time series in Nashville, 48-23, although the Commodores have won the last three in the friendly confines of Memorial Gym. Vanderbilt defeated the Wildcats, 93-52, last season at Memorial Gym on February 12, which was the worst margin of defeat in SEC play for Kentucky in its storied history. Vanderbilt head coach Kevin Stallings is 7-13 all-time against the Wildcats, and has a record of 5-4 versus Kentucky at Memorial Gym.
Vanderbilt had a three-game winning streak snapped Saturday after a 69-50 loss to Tennessee at Thompson-Boling Arena. Tennessee’s Tyler Smith scored 30 points to lead the Volunteers, and the Volunteers forced the Commodores into 23 turnovers, which tied for their highest total of the year (23 vs. VCU, 11/30). The Volunteers converted those turnovers into a 21-8 margin in points off of turnovers. Vanderbilt shot only 38.8% from the floor and 12.5% from three, and had two players in double figures in A.J. Ogilvy (11) and Brad Tinsley (11).
Ogilvy leads the Commodores in scoring on the 2008-09 season at 14.6 points per game. Freshman guard Jeffery Taylor adds 12.3 points per game, and junior Jermaine Beal is next at 12.2 points per contest. Freshman guard Brad Tinsley also chips in 10.5 points per contest. Ogilvy leads all VU players on the glass with 6.9 rebounds per game. Taylor pulls down 6.1 rebounds per contest and is second on the team behind Ogilvy.
Kentucky enters the game with an 18-7 overall record, and a 7-3 mark in SEC play after defeating Arkansas, 79-63, on Saturday in Fayetteville. The Wildcats feature the league’s leading scorer in junior guard Jodie Meeks, who averages 25.8 points per game, and a 27.9 ppg clip in SEC play. Sophomore forward Patrick Patterson, who is questionable with an ankle sprain, is next for the Wildcats at 17.8 points per game. Patterson leads the team on the glass with 9.1 rebounds per game.
At the half of Tuesday’s game, the 2008 Vanderbilt Football team will be on hand and will be honored for their 16-14 win over Boston College in the Gaylord Hotels Music City Bowl, the team’s first bowl game since 1982, and their first win in a bowl game in 53 years, dating back to a 25-13 win over Auburn in the 1955 Gator Bowl.