Jan. 26, 2010
Live Audio and Live Stats | 
Twitter Updates | 
Vanderbilt Notes | Tennessee Notes
TV: ESPNU | Radio: 104.5 the Zone | XM: 200 | Sirius: None
The winners of nine consecutive games and now a member of the Top 25, Vanderbilt will meet its most played rival on Wednesday when the Commodores travel to Knoxville to take on the #14/14 Tennessee Volunteers at Thompson Boling Arena. Tip off is set for 6 p.m. CT, and the game can be seen live on ESPNU. The radio call can be heard on the Vanderbilt-ISP Radio Network and vucommodores.com, with Joe Fisher and Tim Thompson courtside with all of the action.
Vanderbilt moved to 4-0 in SEC play for the first time in the Stallings’ era and the first time since the 1965-66 season with an 82-74 win over Auburn on January 23 at Memorial Gym. The Commodores trailed by as many as 16 against the Tigers, but rallied in the second half behind an 18-point second-half effort from sophomore forward Jeffery Taylor, who did not score in the first half. Vanderbilt shot 64.3% in the second half against Auburn, and outrebounded the Tigers 18-11 in the period, after being outrebounded 22-10 in the first half, to help aid in the win. For the game, VU shot 53.7% from the floor, its 10th game this season cracking the 50% barrier from the floor, and made 76.0% of its free throws (19-25). Vanderbilt also dished out 13 assists against only 10 turnovers in the game.
Junior center A.J. Ogilvy scored 17 points, grabbed eight rebounds, and tied a career-high with five blocks against Auburn. Sophomore guard Brad Tinsley scored a season-high 15 points, and Jermaine Beal eclipsed the 1,000-point mark for his career with 14 points against the Tigers. Beal became the 40th Vanderbilt player to score 1,000 or more points in his career.
Taylor leads four Commodores averaging in double figures with 14.3 points per contest. Taylor is first in the SEC in field goal percentage in SEC games, and third in the league in all games. Ogilvy is next at 13.9 points per game, senior guard Jermaine Beal averages 13.1 points per game, and freshman sharpshooter John Jenkins adds 10.8 points per contest.
Wednesday’s game with Tennessee is Vanderbilt’s third road SEC contest of the season and its first against a ranked opponent this year. After the game with the Volunteers, Vanderbilt travels to Kentucky on Saturday to take on the number one Wildcats in Lexington.
Vanderbilt and Tennessee will meet for the 176th time in a series that began in the 1921-22 season. Tennessee leads the all-time series, 108-67, and has won two straight in the series, and has won four consecutive games in Knoxville. Vanderbilt’s last win at Thompson Boling Arena came in the 2004-05 season in an 88-63 win. Vanderbilt head coach Kevin Stallings has a 9-12 overall record against Tennessee as a head coach. He is 3-7 against the Volunteers in Knoxville.
Vanderbilt will take on a ranked opponent for the first time this season. The Commodores will take on two ranked foes this week, with number one Kentucky on tap Saturday afternoon at Rupp Arena. It will be the first time since 2007 that VU has faced back-to-back ranked opponents. That year, Vanderbilt faced three straight – #10 Alabama at home (Jan. 17), and #25 Kentucky (Jan. 20) and #24 LSU (Jan. 24) on the road, and came away from the stretch 3-0. In 2006-07, VU played 10 ranked teams and was 7-3 against those ranked foes.
The Commodores are 79-199 and a 17-121 road record all-time against ranked opponents, and 24-45 in the Stallings Era (since 1999-00) against ranked foes. The last time Vanderbilt and Tennessee were ranked and played was February 26, 2008, when 18th ranked Vanderbilt knocked off #1 Tennessee, 72-69, at Memorial Gym.
Tennessee enters the game ranked as the 14th team in the nation and has a 15-3 overall record and a 3-1 mark in SEC play. The Volunteers most recently dropped their first league game of the season with a 78-63 loss at Georgia.
Scotty Hopson leads all Tennessee players in scoring with 13.8 points per game, while Wayne Chism adds 11.8 points per contest. Chism also leads the Vols on the glass with a 6.4 rebounding average.