Vanderbilt Begins Six-Game Homestand with Visit From TCU

Vanderbilt Begins Six-Game Homestand with Visit From TCU

12/17/2004

Vanderbilt Begins Six-Game Homestand with Visit From TCU

Vanderbilt returns to action following final exams Saturday when TCU visits Memorial Gymnasium for a 7 p.m. tip-off. The contest is the first of six consecutive home games for the Commodores concluding with the Southeastern Conference opener against Alabama on Jan. 5.

Vanderbilt fans attending the game are encouraged to help support the “Toys For Tots” program directed by the US Marine Corps Reserve. Its mission is to collect new, unwrapped toys and distribute them as Christmas gifts to needy children in the community. The first 1,000 fans that bring a toy to the game will receive a free Vanderbilt Gold shaker. 

The Commodores (4-4) are coming off an 88-72 loss at Cincinnati on Dec. 9 . The Bearcats scored 33 points off a season-high 23 turnovers by Vanderbilt. However, VU is undefeated at home this season and has won 16 consecutive non-conference home games. Sharp shooting from beyond the arc has helped carry the Commodores to home victories this season, hitting 40-of-79 (.506) from 3-point range in their last three home games.

Mario Moore continues to lead Vanderbilt in scoring, averaging 16.0 points. The junior from Nashville has scored 10 or more points in 13 consecutive games dating back to last season’s SEC Tournament.

The TCU contest marks the homecoming of TCU Head Coach Neil Dougherty and Horned Frogs assistant coach Rick Callahan. The duo served as assistant coaches to Eddie Folger during his four-year coaching tenure at Vanderbilt.

The improved Horned Frogs (6-3) have won three of their last four games, including a 65-51 victory over SMU on Dec. 12. TCU is led in scoring by senior guard Corey Santee’s 14.2 points.

Vanderbilt hit a season-high 12 3-pointers last season in Fort Worth to defeat TCU 95-60 on Jan. 3, 2004. Saturday will mark the fifth meeting in the series with Vanderbilt holding a 3-1 advantage. Familiar Faces and Places ? Vanderbilt head coach Kevin Stallings and assistant coach Dan Muller reunite with a former player/teammate when the Commodores battle the Horned Frogs this weekend. TCU assistant coach David Cason played two seasons as a guard (1994-95) at Illinois State where Stallings coached from 1994-99. Cason was also a student assistant at Illinois State during the 1995-96 season. Muller played under Stallings at Illinois State from 1994-98, including the two seasons alongside his teammate, Cason.

? TCU Head Coach Neil Dougherty and assistant coach Rick Callahan served as assistant coaches during Eddie Fogler’s four-year tenure as Vanderbilt head coach (1990-93). Fogler and his staff posted an 81-48 overall record, highlighted by the 1992-93 squad that won the SEC Eastern Division, advanced to the NCAA Regionals and finished with a 28-6 overall mark. About the Series Vanderbilt owns a 3-1 advantage in its series with TCU. The Commodores won last season’s meeting 95-60, hitting a season-high 12 3-pointers. The match-up last season was the first in the series in more than 40 years. Prior to last year, the last meeting in the series came on Dec. 18, 1963, a 113-56 Commodore victory at Memorial Gym.

The Commodores have won the last three meetings against the Horned Frogs.
The series began at the 1951 Cotton Bowl Tournament in Dallas when TCU edged Vanderbilt 51-49 on Dec. 28. The two teams met again three years later with Vanderbilt winning 71-50 in Nashville on Dec. 11, 1954.

Moore Leading Commodore Attack Vanderbilt junior guard Mario Moore continues to lead the Commodore attack, averaging a team-best 16.0 points. The Nashville native has led VU in scoring in six of its eight games this season, including a season-high 23-point effort against Austin Peay (12/1).

Moore is tied for second in the SEC shooting 50.0 percent from beyond the arc (24-of-48) [through 12/15]. His 3.00 3-pointers per game rank fourth in the league.

Moore also is listed eighth in field goal percentage (.489), hitting 45-of-92 from the field. He is tied for ninth in the SEC in scoring at 16.0 points a contest.

Moore has scored in double figures in 13 consecutive games dating back to last season’s 74-70 overtime upset win over Mississippi State in the second round of the SEC Tournament. During the stretch, Moore is averaging 16.5 points and 2.6 rebounds, shooting 47.2 percent from the field (77-of-163) and 48.2 percent (41-of-85) from beyond the arc.