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MBB hits road to face S.C.

Jan. 9, 2012

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Vanderbilt travels to Columbia, S.C., for its first SEC road test this Tuesday night at the Colonial Life Arena, when the Commodores face the South Carolina Gamecocks. Tip-off is set for 8 p.m. CT, and the action can be seen live on ESPNU and heard live on the Vanderbilt IMG College Radio Network.

The Commodores opened SEC play Saturday with a 65-35 win over Auburn at Memorial Gym, with John Jenkins’ 17-point effort leading the way. Jenkins continues to lead the league in scoring with 20.3 points per game and the nation in threes made per contest with 4.0 per game. Jeffery Taylor ranks third in the SEC in scoring with 17.4 points per game and is also third in the SEC in field goal percentage at 53.2%.

Series Information
Series Record: Tied at 24.
Last Meeting: Vanderbilt won the last meeting, 78-60, in Nashville on Feb. 5, 2011.
Record at Vanderbilt: VU leads 13-10.
Record at SC: SC leads 12-10.
Record at Neutral Site: SC leads 2-1.
Coach Stallings vs. SC: Coach Stallings is 11-13 against SC.

Media Information
Radio: Vanderbilt Radio Network from IMG College, vucommodores.com, XM 199
Radio Talent: Joe Fisher (pxp), Tim Thompson (analyst)
TV: ESPNU
TV Talent: Dari Nowkhah (pxp), Dino Gaudio (analyst)
Live Stream: ESPN3
Live Stats: vucommodores.com
Twitter Updates: @VandyMBB

More On The South Carolina Series

  • Tuesday’s meeting will be the 49th of the career series, with the series tied at 24. South Carolina holds a 12-10 advantage in games played in Columbia.
  • The first meeting between the two schools came in the 1926-27 season, and the two teams have met at least twice every season since the SEC expanded to 12 teams in 1991-92.
  • South Carolina won last year’s meeting in Columbia in overtime, 83-75.
  • Coach Stallings is 11-3 all-time against the Gamecocks.

More On South Carolina
The Gamecocks enter Tuesday’s game with an 8-7 overall record and 0-1 mark in the SEC after dropping a 79-64 decision to Kentucky in Lexington on Saturday. Malik Cooke leads South Carolina in scoring with 12.9 points per game, while Anthony Gill leads the team in rebounding with 5.2 rebounds per contest.

Coach Stallings To Coach 400th Game At Vanderbilt
Vanderbilt head coach Kevin Stallings will coach in his 400th career game at Vanderbilt on Tuesday evening in Columbia. Stallings is in his 13th season and is Vanderbilt’s second winningest coach in Commodore history with 247 career victories. Overall, Stallings is in his 18th season and has a career record of 370-215.

Quick Hitters

  • Vanderbilt won their fifth consecutive game with a 65-35 victory over Auburn in their SEC opener Saturday at Memorial Gym. John Jenkins led a balanced Commodore attack with 17 points, with Jeffery Taylor adding 16 points and point guard Brad Tinsley chipping in 12.
  • The 30-point win over Auburn was Vanderbilt’s largest in an SEC victory since a since defeating Kentucky, 93-52 on February 12, 2008 at Memorial Gym.
  • Vanderbilt held Auburn to 35 points–the lowest opponent point since Mississippi State defeated Vanderbilt, 33-31, on January 30, 1982. It was the fewest points for an opponent in a Commodore win since a 35-33 win over Mercer on Dec 11, 1976.
  • The Commodores also held Auburn to 27.3% from the floor, its best defensive performance of the season, and its best since limiting Manhattan to a 25.9% day on December 30, 2009.
  • Festus Ezeli who made his second start of the season against Auburn, is VU’s all-time leading shot block leader with with 161. He surpassed former Vanderbilt great Will Perdue, who had 157 in his career, against Miami (Ohio) on January 2.
  • The Commodores sport the leading scorer (John Jenkins, 20.3 ppg) and the third-leading scorer (Jeffery Taylor, 17.4 ppg) in the SEC. Jenkins also paces the league in three’s made at 4.0 per game.
  • In the last five games, Jenkins and Taylor are averaging 20.6 and 18.2 points per game, respectively. Combined, the two are 71-125 from the floor (56.8%) and 33-63 from three (52.4%).
  • Taylor is third in the SEC in field goal percentage (.532), and has made more field goals per game than any other player (6.7).
  • The Commodores are 58-129 from three in their last three games – 45.0%, and an average of 11.6 threes per game in that span.
  • Vanderbilt is the only team in the SEC that sports three 1,000-point scorers in John Jenkins, Jeffery Taylor, and Brad Tinsley.

Last Time Out – Vanderbilt 65, Auburn 35
John Jenkins scored 17 points to lead all scorers in a Commodore 65-35 win over Auburn Saturday afternoon at Memorial Gym. Jeffery Taylor (16) and Brad Tinsley (12) also scored in double figures for Vanderbilt.

  • Vanderbilt moves to 82-31 in the all-time series against Auburn, and starts the SEC component of their season 1-0.
  • Kevin Stallings is now 247-152 (13) at Vanderbilt, 370-215 (18) in his career, and 11-5 against Auburn.
  • Vanderbilt held Auburn to 35 points–the lowest opponent point since Mississippi State defeated Vanderbilt, 33-31, on January 30, 1982. It was the fewest points for an opponent in a Commodore win since a 35-33 win over Mercer on Dec 11, 1976.
  • The 30-point margin of victory was Vanderbilt’s largest since defeating Kentucky, 93-52 on February 12, 2008 at Memorial Gym.
  • Vanderbilt outrebounded Auburn, 42-34, and moves to 10-1 on the season when doing so.
  • Vanderbilt’s largest lead came at 4:19 and the final margin of 30 points.
  • Dores opened the second half with a 14-2 run.
  • The Dores’ held Auburn to shooting 27.3% from the field. The lowest opponent FG% before today was 32.2% by Marquette.
  • Jenkins led scoring for the Commodores with 17 points. Taylor and Tinsley also had double-digit scoring with 16 points and 12 points, respectively.
  • Vanderbilt had more assists (12) than turnovers (11).
  • Ezeli got his second starting nod this season. He led the team with a season-best eight rebounds, and added four points and a pair of blocks.
  • Jenkins led the Commodores with 17 points in the win and has now connected on a three in 36 consecutive games. His 5-8 performance from beyond the arc, marked his fifth consecutive game making three or more three-pointers, his 10th this season, and 41st in his career.
  • Jenkins has now scored in double figures in 44 consecutive games, and done so 63 times in his career.
  • Tinsley added 12 points and a team-best six assists in the game. Now with 396 career assists, Tinsley moved up to seventh on the all-time helpers list at Vanderbilt. He passed Drew Maddux, who tallied 394 assists from 1994-98.
  • Taylor chipped in with 16 points on 3-5 shooting from beyond the arc. It was the 14th time he scored in double figures this season, and the 86th time in his career. Vanderbilt is now 24-5 since the beginning of the 2010 season when Taylor scores at least 15 points.
  • Goulbourne tied a career high with three steals in the win. He has now achieved the feat four times in his career, the last occurrence coming vs. Lafayette (12/21/11). He also added two blocks.
  • Dai-Jon Parker’s two made threes tied a career-best – he also made two threes against Monmouth on Nov. 25.