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#25/25 MBB takes on Ind. St. Sat.

Dec. 15, 2011

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The 25th-ranked Vanderbilt men’s basketball team emerges from a 10-day final exam break to take on Missouri Valley Conference contender Indiana State on Saturday afternoon. Game time is set for 4:30 p.m. CT, and can be seen live on CSS and ESPN3, and heard live on the Vanderbilt Radio Network from IMG College, with Joe Fisher and Tim Thompson on the call.

The Commodores, who last hit the court on December 7 in an 87-83 road win at Davidson, will also play at home for the first time since an 82-70 overtime loss to Xavier on November 28.

Starting with the game against the Sycamores Saturday, Vanderbilt will play three games in five days, and then reconvene after the holiday break at Marquette on December 29.

Series Information
Series Record: Series tied at 1.
Last Meeting: Indiana State won 88-77 in Terre Haute on 12/22/84.
Record at Vanderbilt: 1-0
Record at Indiana St.: 0-1
Record at Neutral Site: NA
Coach Stallings vs. Indiana St.: Coach Stallings has a 10-3 record against Indiana State in his career.

Media Information
Radio: Vanderbilt Radio Network from IMG College, vucommodores.com; XM 199
Radio Talent: Joe Fisher (pxp), Tim Thompson (analyst)
TV: CSS, ESPN3
TV Talent: Matt Stewart (pxp), Barry Booker (analyst)
Live Stats: vucommodores.com
Twitter Updates: @VandyMBB

More On The Indiana State series

  • Saturday’s meeting will be the third in the all-time series. Indiana State won 88-77 in Terre Haute on 12/22/84 in the last meeting. This will be the second game at Memorial Gym between the two schools (VU won 72-66 on 12/19/81).
  • Coach Stallings is 10-3 all-time against Indiana State, with all meetings coming while he was the head coach at fellow MVC member Illinois State.
  • Vanderbilt has no players from the state of Indiana.

More on Indiana State

The Sycamores are 7-2 on the season and are the reigning Missouri Valley Conference Tournament champions. Dwayne Lathan leads the team in scoring with 11.8 points per game, while Lathan and Jake Odum lead the team on the glass with 5.1 rebounds per contest. Indiana State’s two losses came against Minnesota in the Old Spice Classic in Orlando and at Boise State.

Tickets Still Available

With Vanderbilt’s students on holiday break, there are single-game sales for the current three game stretch against Indiana State, Longwood, and Lafayette, as well as for the Miami-Ohio game on January 2nd. The tickets are in the lower-level Vanderbilt student section and are $20. For more information and to purchase, call the McGugin Center ticket office at 615-322-GOLD or by clicking on this link.

Quick Hitters

  • Vanderbilt moved to 6-3 on the season and notched its first true road win of the season with an 87-83 victory over Southern Conference favorite Davidson on December 7. Jeffery Taylor scored a career-high 30 points to lead the Commodores.
  • John Jenkins scored 22 points, and continues to lead the SEC in scoring with 21.3 points per game and ranks first in the nation in three’s made per game with 3.9 per contest.
  • The game was Jenkins’ 5th 20-point performance of the season, and 26th of his career. He has also scored in double figures in 40 consecutive games.
  • Senior center Festus Ezeli returned from a suspension/sprained right knee to notch 15 points, six rebounds, and two blocks – it was his first action of the season.
  • Ezeli (154) is three blocks from tying Will Perdue’s career blocks record with 157. Ezeli set the single-season block record last season with 87 blocks.
  • The game with Indiana State ends the longest break in between games this season – VU had 10 days off for final exams.
  • VU is only shooting 66.3% from the free-throw line this season. VU’s last season under 70% from the charity stripe was 2005-06 (.697). Vanderbilt has had only six seasons under 70% since 1962-63.
  • For the season, Vanderbilt is allowing opponents to shoot 45.0% from the floor, which is currently the 11th-worst defensive percentage in the SEC. Offensively, the Commodores are shooting 45.6% from the floor and 35.7% from three.
  • The Dores have amassed three non-conference losses – VU has not lost four non-conference games in a season since the 2006-07 campaign (four losses).
  • The Commodores outrebounded the Wildcats, 38-32, on Dec. 7. Vanderbilt is 6-0 on the season when outrebounding their opponent. VU also outrebounded Davidson, 14-12, on the offensive glass.

Last Time Out – Vanderbilt 87, Davidson 83

Jeffery Taylor scored a career-high 30 points on a career-best 12 made field goals to lead the Commodores to an 87-83 road win over Davidson on December 7. John Jenkins scored 22 points, and Festus Ezeli played 21 minutes in his season debut and tallied 15 points, six rebounds, and two blocks.

  • Vanderbilt moves to 4-1 all-time against Davidson and 1-1 against the Wildcats at Davidson.
  • The Commodores are now 1-1 in true road games in 2011-12, and have one non-conference road game left this season (at Marquette, 12/29).
  • Vanderbilt is 3-1 this season in black uniforms.
  • The Commodores won the opening tip, the eighth time this season that has happened and is now 6-2 in those games.
  • Davidson shot only 22.7% from three.
  • Vanderbilt shot 48.4% from the floor against the Wildcats, compared to 44.3%. The Dores were 46.7% from three, and 76.9% from the charity stripe.
  • The 76.9% clip from the free-throw line was the team’s second-best performance of the season (best, Oregon State, .833 (5-6)).
  • The Commodores outrebounded the Wildcats, 38-32. Vanderbilt is 6-0 on the season when outrebounding their opponent. VU outrebounded Davidson, 14-12, on the offensive glass, and outscored the Wildcats, 14-11, in second-chance points.
  • Vanderbilt scored a season-high 42 points in the paint and also received 24 points from their bench.
  • Vanderbilt’s largest lead of the game came at the 7:59 mark in the second half – an 18-point margin.
  • With Jeffery Taylor’s three at the 15:17 mark in the first half, VU extended its consecutive game streak with a three-pointer to 805 games.
  • Jeffery Taylor scored a career-high 30 points on 12-17 shooting from the floor. He was also 3-4 from beyond-the-arc. It was Vanderbilt’s first 30-point individual performance since John Jenkins scored 32 points in a win over Kentucky on Feb. 12, 2011.
  • Taylor’s 12 made field goals were also a career high.
  • Festus Ezeli returned from a sprained right knee to see his first action of the season. The 6’11 big man scored 15 points in 21 minutes, and also grabbed six boards.
  • Ezeli’s seven made free throws tied for the team’s second most by an individual this season. Brad Tinsley made eight free throws against Monmouth.
  • John Jenkins scored 22 points, his fifth 20+-point game of the season and 26th of his career.
  • Jenkins has also scored in double figures in 40 consecutive games.

‘Dores RPI Strong, As Is Strenth Of Schedule

In the latest RPI Ratings on RealTimeRPI.com, Vanderbilt is ranked seventh and the ‘Dores Strength of Schedule is ranked third in the country.

As Jeffery Taylor Goes…

So do the Commodores. Since 2010-11, Vanderbilt is 21-4 in games in which Taylor scores 15 or more points, and 8-10 in games in which he fails to reach the 15-point barrier.

Taylor Is Active SEC Leading Scorer

Taylor is the active scoring leader in the SEC with 1,465 career points. He leads Florida’s Erving Walker by 12 points. Taylor is also the SEC’s second-leading active rebounder with 606.