Feb. 19, 2010
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Vanderbilt Notes | Kentucky Notes
TV: ESPN | Radio: 104.5 FM | XM: 199 Sirius: 218
The battle for SEC East supremacy is on the line this Saturday afternoon when the #2 Kentucky Wildcats come to Memorial Gym in a nationally televised contest. Tip off is set for 5 p.m. CT, and the game can be seen live on ESPN and ESPN360.com. 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.
The Wildcats enter the game with a one-game lead over the Commodores in the SEC East standings and have a league record of 10-1. Vanderbilt is now 9-2 in league play after an 82-78 win over Ole Miss Thursday in Oxford, Miss.
Vanderbilt got its fourth road win in league play for the first time since the 2004-05 campaign with the win Thursday night over the Rebels. It was also the Commodores’ third consecutive win, and its 14th win in their last 16 games.
Junior center A.J. Ogilvy paced the Commodore effort with a season-high and 2009-10 team best 27 points against the Rebels. The Australian big man was eight-of-10 from the floor and 11-for-13 from the free throw line in the win. He also grabbed eight rebounds. Sophomore Jeffery Taylor scored 19 points on eight-of-11 shooting, and senior Jermaine Beal added 14 points for the Commodores. Taylor is averaging 20.0 points per game in his last three contests, and Beal is pouring in 19.0 points per game in his last seven games. Free throw shooting once again was at the forefront of the Commodore victory – VU was 26-of-34 from the charity stripe (76.5%) in the win over the Rebels. It was the sixth time in league play that Vanderbilt has attempted at least 30 free throws. Vanderbilt has played 11 SEC games, and has been to the free throw line an SEC-best 346 times, an average of 31.5 times per game. In fact, the Commodores have made 251 in SEC play, which is more than eight teams in the SEC have attempted in league play.
Vanderbilt and Kentucky will meet for the second time this season and the 176th in the history of the series. Kentucky won the earlier meeting this year, 85-72, in Lexington, and leads the all-time series, 132-43. The Wildcats also lead the series in games played on the Vanderbilt campus, 48-24, although VU has won four consecutive games over Kentucky at Memorial Gym.
Jermaine Beal leads a very balanced Commodore offensive attack with 14.7 points per game. Jeffery Taylor is next at 14.1 points per game, with A.J. Ogilvy (13.9) and John Jenkins (10.3) also averaging double figures.
Kentucky enters the game as the #2 team in the country and has a 25-1 record overall. The Wildcats are atop the SEC East division with a 10-1 league record. UK won its most recent game, an 81-75 overtime win at Mississippi State on Tuesday night. Freshman John Wall leads four Kentucky players in double figures with 17.0 points per game. Freshman big man DeMarcus Cousins (16.0), junior forward Patrick Patterson (14.8), and freshman guard Eric Bledsoe (10.7) also average double figures for the Wildcats.