Vanderbilt hosts #1 Kentucky Saturday

Feb. 10, 2012

Vanderbilt Gamenotes

College Gameday Information | Stallings, Jenkins Press Conference

Vanderbilt’s men’s basketball team welcomes the big stage of ESPN College Gameday on Saturday morning, and then later at 8 p.m., the number one team in the nation, Kentucky, at Memorial Gym for a nationally-televised tilt on ESPN. The action can also be heard live in the middle Tennessee area and online at vucommodores.com on the Vanderbilt IMG College Radio Network.

The Commodores, coming off of a 76-61 win over LSU on Wednesday night at Memorial Gym, will take on a number one team at home for the first time since the 2007-08 season, when Vanderbilt knocked off then number one Tennessee, 72-69. In fact, Vanderbilt has won four consecutive games against number ones at Memorial, dating back to December 5, 1987, when an unranked Commodore team knocked off North Carolina, 78-76. Vanderbilt also knocked off number one Florida in 2007 (83-70) and Kentucky in 1993 (101-86).

Series Information
Series Record: Kentucky leads the all-time series, 134-44.
Last Meeting: Kentucky defeated Vanderbilt, 68-66, on March 1, 2011.
Record at Vanderbilt: UK leads 48-26.
Record at UK: UK leads 78-14.
Record at Neutral Site: UK leads 6-3.
Coach Stallings vs. UK: Coach Stallings is 9-16 vs. Kentucky.

Media Information
Radio: Vanderbilt Radio Network from IMG College, vucommodores.com, XM 201
Radio Talent: Joe Fisher (pxp), Tim Thompson (analyst)
TV: ESPN
TV Talent: Dan Shulman (pxp), Dick Vitale (analyst), Erin Andrews (sidelines)
Live Stream: ESPN3.com
Live Stats: vucommodores.com
Twitter Updates: @VandyMBB

More On The Kentucky Series

• Saturday’s meeting will be the 179th in the overall series between the two schools. Kentucky leads the overall series, 134-44.
• The first meeting between the two schools came in the 1911-12 season.
• Vanderbilt has won five out of the last six against Kentucky at Memorial Gym (only loss in 2010).
• Vanderbilt’s John Jenkins and Kentucky’s Darius Miller each represented Team USA in the World University Games in the summer of 2011.
• The Commodores have two players from the state of Kentucky – senior Aaron Noll (Fort Mitchell) and redshirt junior Jordan Smart (Lexington, Ky.)
• Coach Stallings is 9-16 all-time against the Wildcats has a 7-5 record against Kentucky at Memorial Gym.

More On Kentucky
Kentucky enters the game as the number one team in the nation, and overall record of 24-1 and a perfect SEC mark of 10-0. Freshman Anthony Davis leads the team with 14.0 points and 10.0 rebounds per game, while also leading the nation in blocked shots with 4.8 per game. Doron Lamb (13.6), Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (12.6), and Terrence Jones (12.1) all average double figure points for the Wildcats.

Vanderbilt vs. Number Ones
Vanderbilt has a 7-14 all-time record against teams ranked #1 in the Associated Press poll, and has a 6-6 record against number ones at Memorial Gym..

Quick Hitters

• Vanderbilt improved to 17-7 overall and 6-3 in the SEC after a 76-61 win over LSU Wednesday night at Memorial Gym. Festus Ezeli tied a season high with 21 points, John Jenkins added 20 points, and Jeffery Taylor chipped in 19 points in the Commodore win.
• Vanderbilt is now 7-3 in games with their preseason initial starting lineup of Jenkins, Taylor, Lance Goulbourne, Festus Ezeli, and Brad Tinsley.
• The Commodores will host the ESPN College Gameday franchise for the first time at Memorial Gym Saturday.
• The Commodores sport the leading scorer in all games in John Jenkins at 19.7 ppg and the league’s top scorer in league games only in Jeffery Taylor at 18.2 ppg. Jenkins is second in league games only with 17.8 ppg and Taylor is second in all games at 17.8 ppg. Jenkins also paces the league and nation in threes made at 3.9 per game.
• Vanderbilt has a 7-14 all-time record against teams ranked #1 in the Associated Press poll, and has a 6-6 mark against number one in Nashville.
• Vanderbilt has won its last four at home against number one – Tennessee, 72-69, 2/26/08; Florida, 83-70, 2/17/07; Kentucky, 101-86, 1/13/93; North Carolina, 78-76, 12/5/87.
• The Commodores have faced Kentucky 14 times when the Wildcats were number one, and have a 4-10 record against UK in those games. VU is 3-4 in games played at Memorial, 1-0 in neutral site games, and 0-6 in games played in Lexington.
• Vanderbilt completed non-conference play 11-5.
• Jenkins has scored in double-digits in 57 consecutive games, 76 in his career.
• Taylor paces the SEC in league games only in 3FG % at 59.0%.
• In SEC play, the Commodores rank first in three different categories – 3-point field-goal percentage (.421), threes made (9.1), and assists (13.6).
• VU’s starting five has amassed 396 career starts.
• Vanderbilt is the only team in the SEC that sports three 1,000-point scorers in John Jenkins, Jeffery Taylor, and Brad Tinsley.
• Jenkins leads the league in all games in scoring (19.7) and threes made (3.9). In league games only, Jenkins leads threes made (3.8) and free throw percentage (.903).
• In league games only, Tinsley leads the league in assists (5.6) and is second in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.4).
• Taylor won SEC POTW honors for his play against UT and MTSU two weeks ago (20 ppg, 7.5 rpg).
• The Commodores’ bench has been outscored by their opponent by an average of 6.0 points per game (18.2 to 12.2) – for the season.
• Jeffery Taylor’s moved past Phil Cox (1982-85) on Vanderbilt’s all-time scoring list. Taylor is now third on the list with 1,742 career points.
• With his three 3FGs against LSU, Jenkins has scored at least 3 3FGs in 19 games this season.
• Vanderbilt held the Tigers to 14.3% from beyond the arc on Wednesday night. This is the third time this season the Commodores have held an opponent to less than 15% shooting.