Nov. 2, 2011
Exhibition Time
The Commodores open the 2011-12 season with an exhibition contest this Saturday, November 5, when they take on Clayton State. The Lakers are not your average exhibition opponent, as they come in as the defending NCAA Division II Champions and boasting a national preseason ranking of No. 1 at that level. It marks the second year in a row Vanderbilt has scheduled a top-level Division II program for the exhibition slate, as Delta State came in ranked No. 2 a season ago.
Pre-Season Rankings
While they don’t mean a whole lot for coaches or players, preseason rankings at least give fans and the media something to talk about as they await the season. The Commodores find themselves receiving votes in both the Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today Coaches polls. Vanderbilt has now been ranked or received votes in the preseason AP poll in all but one season under Head Coach Melanie Balcomb.
Schedule Looking Tough
Vanderbilt will play at least eight games against teams that were ranked in the preseason AP poll. Tennessee (No. 3), Georgia (No. 13), Florida State (No. 14), Oklahoma (No. 15), Kentucky (No. 18) and LSU (No. 21) are all in the preseason rankings. The Commodores face Tennessee, Georgia and LSU twice during SEC play, and could possibly face Oklahoma in the annual Vanderbilt Thanksgiving Tournament, meaning there could be as many as nine contests against preseason top-25 teams. Last year’s squad went 2-6 against ranked foes.
Thanksgiving Feast
The annual Vanderbilt Thanksgiving Tournament has the potential to be one of the best ever. The field features No. 15 Oklahoma, as well as local foe Lipscomb and Liberty. The event is free and features Vanderbilt vs. Lipscomb at 2:00 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 25, followed by Oklahoma vs. Liberty at 4:00 p.m. All four teams return the following day with the consolation game at 2:00 p.m. and the winners meeting for the championship at 4:00 p.m. Admission is free for all four games and a lucky fan will win a prize during each media timeout of the two games featuring the Commodores.
Double-Header? Try Triple-Header
Memorial Gym will open in style this season as both the men’s and women’s basketball teams open on Friday, November 11. The women’s squad faces Alabama A&M at 6:00 p.m., followed by the men taking on Oregon at 9:00 p.m. Then, just for good measure, the Vanderbilt-Kentucky football game kicks off at 11:21 a.m. on Saturday, making for a busy 24 hours in Midtown Nashville. That day will just be a warm-up for Friday, November 25, when following women’s Thanksgiving Tournament games at 2:00 and 4:00 p.m., the men will take on Monmouth at 9:00 p.m.
Adventures in Hoover
In case you haven’t seen it, check out the recap of SEC Media Day, held last week in Hoover, Ala. The women were represented by junior forward Tiffany Clarke, who not only got in on the action by interviewing men’s player John Jenkins, but shot some footage of her own for a Sights & Sounds segment.
Another highlight was Coach Balcomb and Clarke being interviewed by Chris Childers, host of The Sunday College Sports Recap Show on SiriusXM Satellite Radio. Childers’ studio is housed in Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena, which will host the 2012 SEC Women’s Basketball Championship. He and Balcomb even spent some time discussing the latest up-and-comers in the Nashville music scene.
A full rewind from media day is available here.
