Men's Basketball: Commodores value Taylor's defense (Tennessean)
"Sometimes people tend to focus on offensive productivity," Kevin Stallings said. "Just like John (Jenkins) bails us out on offense, Jeff bails us out on defense because of his athleticism and defensive tenacity. I don't think there's ever a situation where we have had to overcome him."
Men's Basketball: Vanderbilt at Georgia game preview (Tennessean)
"(Festus) is the one that has taken charge of his free throws and gotten better at those," Stallings said. "Obviously, the improvement from last year is remarkable."
Men's Basketball: Dores travel south seeking sweep (InsideVandy)
Donny Turnbaugh is blogging on his trip to the 2011 SEC Women's Swimming Championships this week.
SONG OF THE DAY
Paul Simon and Spud Webb would have schooled Sidney Deane and Billy Hoyle in a pickup game. Also, love the cameos by Biz Markie, Big Daddy Kane, John Madden, Mickey Mantle and more.
Four new videos have been posted to our VUcommodores' YouTube page including Kevin Harlan calling John Jenkins a 'flamethrower' in the Kentucky game and Brad Tinsley hitting the game winner against Alabama. Enjoy and share.
More teams that impressed us: Vanderbilt "The Commodores don't like to do anything easy. In a span of three days, Vandy clipped Alabama and Kentucky at home, both coming down to the final possessions. Alabama coach Anthony Grant and Kentucky coach John Calipari looked exasperated at one point -- and that's what Memorial Magic will do to coaches."
Teams that should be in: Vanderbilt [18-6 (6-4), RPI: 15, SOS: 11] "After Thursday night's thrilling home win over Alabama, the Commodores' at-large chances were already looking strong. After Saturday's win over Kentucky, those chances are such that it would take a massive February collapse for Kevin Stallings' team to miss the tournament. The one thing Vanderbilt really needed was a marquee win, and as far as the RPI is concerned, it's hard to do much better than beating Kentucky. Provided the Dores don't pile up too many egregious slip-ups the rest of the way -- Saturday's game at Auburn could be particularly dangerous and damaging -- they'll have no problem getting to the Big Dance."
Should be in: Vanderbilt [18-6, 6-4; RPI: 17, SOS: 13]
"The 'Dores got a hard-earned home sweep of Alabama and Kentucky by identical 81-77 scores to slip into second place in the East. If they can hold onto that spot, they'll get a first-round bye in the SEC tournament, which would be a nice bonus. It won't be easy, though. Four of the last six are away from Memorial Gym and the two home games are Tennessee and Florida."
GW: North Carolina (N), Saint Mary's, Kentucky
BL: Arkansas
No. 18 Kentucky at No. 23 Vanderbilt - 12 p.m. CT, Memorial Gym TV: CBS (Kevin Harlan and Bill Raftery) Radio: 97.1 RQQ (Joe Fisher and Tim Thompson), VUcommodores.com Follow the action live online - click here
SATURDAY'S SEC SCHEDULE live scores
No. 18 Kentucky at No. 23 Vanderbilt, 12 p.m. CT, CBS
LSU at Arkansas, 12:30 p.m. CT, SEC Network
Ole Miss at Alabama, 3 p.m. CT, SEC Network
Georgia at South Carolina, 3 p.m. CT, SEC Network
Tennessee at No. 17 Florida, 5 p.m. CT, ESPN
Mississippi State at Auburn, 6 p.m. CT, FSN
SEC STANDINGSview East
Florida 8-2
Vanderbilt 5-4
Georgia 5-4 Tennessee 5-4
Kentucky 5-4
South Carolina 4-5 West
Alabama 7-2
Mississippi State 5-4
Ole Miss 4-5
Arkansas 4-6
LSU 2-7
Auburn 1-8
"The next month really is a time for us to start working on our program and our players here," Franklin said. "I'm excited because it gives me the opportunity to get to know the guys that are already on our roster ... We had our first morning workout (Wednesday) from 5:45 to 6:45, and it was like chaos. They responded really well to it. Now, we're breaking up offense and defense, putting our playbooks together, and getting organized for spring ball. It's really the specific, hands-on football development, and making sure everyone understands the message I want."
"The thing that we've hung our hats on all year is our ability to defend, and we had a tough time [Thursday] defensively," Alabama coach Anthony Grant said. "Vanderbilt did a great job."
Men's Basketball: Dores prepare to enact revenge against UK (InsideVandy)
Men's Basketball: 3 points on Alabama-Vandy (Huntsville Times)
Men's Basketball: 'Memorial Magic' could magnify road woes (UKathletics.com)
"I'm so proud of how much the team has learned," Melanie Balcomb said. "I kept thinking back to Kentucky when they made the same run and we fell apart. Our body language was just terrific and didn't change. I think we know and have the confidence that we've been looking for. We have an identity now and we are stronger."
"I think it's a wonderful honor and I think that I'm lucky. I tell my wife, Jean, that I feel special now. Now somebody else has made some kind of deduction about me," said Smith.
Men's Basketball: Taylor talks team and family (InsideVandy.com)
"It is great to get a little respect from the media and different people associated with college baseball," third baseman Jason Esposito said. "But you want to be No. 1, not fourth or fifth. That is what our sights are set on."
Stallings' opening statement...
"We're hoping to get more healthy. Lance Goulbourne has been suffering from an ankle injury and has not been very effective recently. We're hopeful of being able to get him some rest and healthier by game time on Thursday.
"We felt good about how we played on Saturday against South Carolina. We've got a very difficult week this week with the first place team coming in on Thursday. So, we're just going to do all we can this week to prepare and play an obviously very good Alabama team."
On doing TV interviews during media timeouts... "That was something that was brought up at the league meetings that I think ESPN had the desire to do. We were encouraged as a group to be willing participants, so we agreed that we would be. There are some coaches that love to see themselves on camera, but in general, I don't think it's something coaches would prefer to do. But we agreed to it, so that's what we got. It's a little bit of a run-off of the things that the NBA is doing. It was just a concept that might make our game more enjoyable for people that were watching it on television.
On John Jenkins' season...
"He's really a remarkable, remarkable player, in my opinion. He's not the fastest guy, and certainly not the highest jumping guy, but he knows how to play. He knows how to use screens, he knows how to get himself open. He's got more game off the dribble than I think people tend to think, and he can make a variety of shots. I think one thing that helps him is that he's got a great shot fake. When he lifts up, first of all, you have to respect it because he's such a great shooter. If he gets you out of position, then he can draw a foul or get around you. For a guy that's not the most athletic guy in the world, he really maximizes the skill set that he has. He's been incredibly consistent and very, very valuable."
On the recruitment of Festus Ezeli...
"We saw him playing AAU basketball the summer prior to the fall he enrolled at Vanderbilt. He made several recruiting visits and there were other schools that were very interested in him; very high-level schools like Florida, Ohio State, Connecticut, Boston College. He basically came, enjoyed the visit, and liked the guys that were here. He essentially came on the condition that we redshirt him. He was going to go to a prep school and as he put it back then 'to learn how to be on a team.' We convinced him that he could learn how to be on a team here. So then, he agreed to come, but only on the condition that we redshirt him, and so that's what we did."
On Ezeli's progression since coming to Vanderbilt... "His progress has been really incredible. He was very raw; the work ethic that you have to have to succeed at this level was completely new to him. He had trouble getting through an individual workout when he first got here. He's turned into one of our best workers. He's got a great spirit. He's extremely coachable and he really cares about not letting his teammates down. He gives you his best effort every day and as a coach that's all you can ask."
Places to be this week... Thursday, Nashville: "Alabama is 7-1 in the SEC. I did not expect to be writing that sentence at any point this season, but expectations or not, there it is. The Crimson Tide have a handful of easy games left on their schedule -- thanks SEC West! -- but two real road tests stand out. The last (and perhaps most crucial) comes March 1 at Florida. The first is Thursday night, when the Tide takes its impressive, physical defense to Vandy's always tough Memorial Gym."
SHOULD BE IN Vanderbilt (16-6, 4-4; RPI: 19, SOS: 19)
"Dear refs, John Jenkins doesn't airball threes. Now that we got that out of the way, Vandy is far from in the barn as far as the NCAAs but also has excellent opportunities to move up. The 'Dores still get Florida, Tennessee and Kentucky all at home (plus a trip to Lexington late in the season). The fun starts this week with league leader Alabama coming to Nashville before the Wildcats come calling."
GW: North Carolina (N), Saint Mary's
BL: Arkansas
Week's Top Matchups: 6. Alabama at Vanderbilt, Thursday "I never would have figured that Alabama would be involved in any game to watch this season, but the Crimson Tide sit atop the SEC and really could make a statement with a win in Nashville."
SEC STANDINGSview East Florida 7-2
Tennessee 5-3
Georgia 5-4
Vanderbilt 4-4
Kentucky 4-4
South Carolina 4-4
West Alabama 7-1
Mississippi State 4-4
Arkansas 4-5
Ole Miss 3-5
LSU 2-6
Auburn 1-8
South Carolina at No. 23 Vanderbilt - 12:47 p.m. CT, Memorial Gym TV: SEC Network, ESPN3.com (Dave Baker and Will Perdue) Radio: 97.1 RQQ, VUcommodores.com Follow the action live online - click here
Note: We'll have complete coverage of football national signing day starting at 7 a.m. CT Wednesday on VUcommodores.com. We'll post player bios with videos, quotes, photos and more on our NSD Central page. Also, follow @VandyFootball on Twitter to get instant notification for each signee when the NLIs come in.
Arkansas at No. 19 Vanderbilt - 5 p.m. CT, Memorial Gym TV: FSN, ESPN3.com (Dave Neal and Barry Booker) Radio: 97.1 RQQ, VUcommodores.com, Sirius 214, XM 199 Follow the action live online - click here
This Week
Thursday, Jan. 27: Vanderbilt at Mississippi State, 6 p.m. CT, TV: ESPN2
Saturday, Jan. 29: Arkansas at Vanderbilt, 5 p.m. CT, TV: FSN
COMMODORES RETURN TO RANKINGS
After going 2-0 last week including a 19-point rout of No. 21 Saint Mary's, Vanderbilt vaulted back into both major polls Monday.
The Commodores are 19th in the Associated Press Top 25 (their highest ranking in 2010-11) and 22nd in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll.
It marks the third time Vanderbilt has been in the top 25 this season. The Dores were ranked for consecutive weeks by the AP on Dec. 27 and Jan. 3, but fell out of the polls on Jan. 10 after suffering an overtime loss at South Carolina.
GOULBOURNE NAMED SEC PLAYER OF THE WEEK From Boggles' Press Release: Junior forward Lance Goulbourne claimed the Commodore's fourth SEC Player of the Week award this season and the first of his career after his two double-doubles last week against Ole Miss and St. Mary's. Read More
BRACKETOLOGY UPDATE
ESPN.com's Joe Lunardi listed Vanderbilt a No. 6 seed for the third week in a row.
SI.com's Andy Glockner dropped VU from a No. 5 seed to a No. 6 seed.
Coach Stallings' opening statement... "We're coming off a good week where we played pretty well in both games. We're kind of glad to have an extra day this week because we've been banged up a little bit physically, especially our big guys. We're hoping we can get healthier by the time we head to Starkville.
"I was pleased with our play last week and pleased with how we kind of gutted it out given the fact we were less than 100% physically. We enter this week in a reasonably good frame of mind. From a playing standpoint, we've had a personal tragedy. Chris Meriwether's mother passed away this morning. From a personal standpoint, we're all hurting right now."
On handling difficult situations on his call-in show... "We do take live callers. I probably handle it about like every other coach does. You're going to get some suspect comments and questions at times. I think that it's good if people can remember that these guys are 18-22 year-old guys. They are on scholarship, but it's not like they're getting paid for a living to do this. I think that sometimes fans, and even coaches, remember that these kids are doing the best they can. I think it's frustrating sometimes when you care about the players, you care about their families, when you hear them criticized. They already get enough criticism from their coaches, generally speaking. It's probably that protective thing that we don't really like to hear anyone else criticize them because we know what they face on a day to day basis any way.
"I usually do better (with questions) after a win than a loss. You just deal with it the best you can ... I don't make it a habit of getting confrontational with callers. People are entitled to their opinion. I do think there's a time and a place that it's okay for the coach to remind people that if things are getting too negative, that these young men are still real young, and they're doing the best that they can.
" ... My call-in shows are awesome. Our people are terrific here. Even when things were bad, our callers are very good. I don't have many problems that way."
On Mississippi State... "They have had games where they looked absolutely awesome. I know Saturday wasn't one of those games. They've looked awesome at times since they've had this group together. I said at Media Day back in October that I thought they would have the chance to win the league. That's what I thought of them, and I haven't come off it. I think they're very, very talented. Obviously, they're getting a later start on the opportunity to gel than most of the other teams in the league, but they have very, very talented players and guys that have been around there for awhile. They've got experience, they've got talent, so I don't know what else you can ask for. But like I said, they have gotten a later start on this group being a team, so that's the only thing probably keeping them from being a top 20 team.
"You have to prepare for who they are: a very talented and experienced team. The preparation isn't any different. I think it's just when they've had enough time together, it all starts clicking. They're obviously a team as the deeper this season goes, the more that people will have to reckon with them."
More performances that wowed us... "Lance Goulbourne, Vanderbilt: Entering last week, the junior forward had zero double-doubles in his Vandy career. He now has two. In double-digit victories over Ole Miss and Saint Mary's, Goulbourne threw up a 14 and 16 against the Rebels and a 15 and 10 against the Gaels."
SHOULD BE IN Vanderbilt (14-4, 2-2; RPI: 18, SOS: 24) "The 'Dores picked up a sneaky quality nonleague win, rolling past Saint Mary's after beating Ole Miss earlier in the week. That the Gaels may be Vandy's best win of the season leaves some reason for pause. They need to handle things at Miss. State and home to Arkansas this week before a trip to Gainesville." GW: North Carolina (N), Saint Mary's BL: None
Junior forward Lance Goulbourne talked with reporters on Thursday about the Commodores' upcoming matchup with Saint Mary's.
On learning from the losses to Tennessee and South Carolina...
"We definitely did, and those were two games we regret heavily. I wish we could have those back but you move on and you learn from it. I think we did a good job learning from it (against Ole Miss).
"We're going to try to forget about it. We want to move past that. Obviously it might be in the back of our minds, but we don't want to think about that. We just want to keep pushing forward."
On executing down the stretch against Ole Miss...
"We have older guys that have been through the fire for us. When we get to the line, we know to knock down our free throws, protect the ball, protect the lead and build on it. That's a big thing for us because we have a lot of guys that can go in there and do a lot of things. We have a lot of aspects of our game that can control the tempo for us."
On if it's harder for John Jenkins to get open with teams keying on him...
"It doesn't seem like it. He's been busting out 20-point games like it's pretty easy. It's pretty tough to get John open because guys kind of hang on to him; they know he's a good shooter and don't want to let him loose. We have a lot of plays set up for John so people can't really scout what we're going to do. He's been getting open and knocking down his shots. As long as he does that, we're going to be in pretty good shape."
On if teams game plan to defend John Jenkins first...
"I don't know if that's their first option, but that would be my first option if I was coaching against him. The kid can really shoot the ball. You don't want John to get any space because he'll shoot it. He's confident enough to let it go and make it. I assume that's in everybody's game plan to not let John get any open shots, or Jeff (Taylor) to attack the basket, or Fes (Ezeli) to get the ball inside."
On facing Saint Mary's...
"We played them last year and beat them by two in their house. I'm sure that they still have that (game) in the back of their minds and want revenge. That's going to be a pretty good team to come in here. They've got some good guards, they've got some good bigs and we're going to be focused and ready for that. We've got the next two days to prepare for them and we're just ready to fight."
On having a nonconference game in the middle of SEC play...
"I don't think there's really any feeling about it. I think it's another game that we have to prepare for the same way with the same focus and intensity. We just got to go in there prepared to fight and do the same things we've done every day. Just play them like every other team. We can't think of it as a SEC game or a nonconference game, we just have to be prepared to fight."
On what this game means for postseason play...
"(Saint Mary's) is a top-25 team. They've been climbing up the rankings and beating a lot of teams. They've only lost to BYU and San Diego State. We're right there, too, as a top-25, top-30 team in the country. We want to keep building our resume for the end of the season. We want to get in the (NCAA) tournament and know that nothing's guaranteed."
"I am beyond excited," Anderson said. "Having my name hanging in the rafters at a school like Vanderbilt with such a rich tradition is the highest honor. It started with a goal freshman year before I ever played a college basketball game and I thank God for blessing me with so many wonderful people who helped make it happen. It really is amazing to me."
Football: James Franklin's speech to Commodore fans - Watch Video
Men's Basketball: Highlights/interviews, Ole Miss Game - Watch Video
Women's Basketball: Highlights/interviews, Arkansas Game - Watch Video
NFL: Chicago QB Jay Cutler discusses the Green Bay matchup - Watch Video
SONG OF THE DAY
Props to Nick Wells for his Vanderbilt remix titled "Black and Gold." The original song, Wiz Khalifa's "Black and Yellow," is used during the Commodores' starting lineup in Memorial Gym.
Tennessee 59, Georgia 57
ATHENS, Ga. (AP) - Brian Williams somehow managed to put back a buzzer-beater as he was falling down, giving Tennessee a 59-57 victory over Georgia on Tuesday night. Recap
Alabama 68, Kentucky 66
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) - Ben Eblen grabbed a loose ball and made one of two free throws with 2.8 seconds left to help Alabama preserve a 68-66 victory over No. 12 Kentucky on Tuesday night. Recap
WEDNESDAY'S SCHEDULE Ole Miss at Vanderbilt, 8 p.m. CT, CSS Arkansas at South Carolina, 7 p.m. CT, SEC Network
THURSDAY'S SCHEDULE Florida at Auburn, 6 p.m. CT, ESPN
SEC STANDINGS East Florida 2-1
South Carolina 2-1 Georgia 2-2 Kentucky 2-2
Tennessee 2-2
Vanderbilt 1-2 West Alabama 3-1
LSU 2-1 Arkansas 2-1 Mississippi State 2-1 Auburn 0-3 Ole Miss 0-3
The latest (meaningless) postseason projections are in...
ESPN.com's Joe Lunardi listed Vanderbilt a No. 6 seed for the second week in a row.
CBSsports.com's Jerry Palm gave the Commodores a No. 7 seed.
SI.com's Andy Glockner moved VU up to a No. 5 seed.
Also, Glockner posted his Bubble Watch breakdown for each conference and had Vanderbilt "In the Mix" for a tournament spot.
Vanderbilt (12-4, 1-2; RPI: 22, SOS: 35) The Commodores were
on their way to a great week until they let Tennessee rally from 17
down to steal one in Knoxville. They get two home dates this week,
including a bubbly nonleague meeting with St. Mary's, to make things
right again. Good Wins: North Carolina (N) Bad Losses: None
"There is nothing like sitting in the front row and watching your son play," Brad Tinsley's mother, Kathy, said. "I just can't even imagine how nerve-wracking it would be to only get to see him and not have that personal interaction afterwards, whether it is a good game or a rocky game. Just to be able to be with him, give him a hug when he needs it and a pat on the back. That is just so special."
This Week Wednesday, Jan. 19: Ole Miss at Vanderbilt, 8 p.m. CT, TV: CSS Saturday, Jan. 22: No. 21/22 Saint Mary's at Vanderbilt, 1 p.m. CT, TV: None (VUcommodores.com webcast)
NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL RANKINGS
After going 1-1 in conference play last week, Vanderbilt remained in the "others receiving votes" category in both major polls released Monday. The Commodores are 34th (46 votes) in the Associated Press Top 25 and 35th (eight votes) in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll.
One note: No. 21/22 Saint Mary's, Vanderbilt's opponent on Saturday, jumped into the rankings for the first time this season. The Gaels, winners of 10 straight, are 16-2 with blemishes only to top-10 teams San Diego State and BYU.
BRACKETOLOGY UPDATE
The latest NCAA projections weren't posted as of Monday evening. I'll follow-up with a new blog post when the brackets are released.
Stallings' opening statement... "We had a tough game on Saturday (at Tennessee) and a good hard, fought game against Georgia on Wednesday. The Mississippi game is a big game for us. We've been a little inconsistent in our play, and a little more inconsistent on the road probably than at home. Ole Miss has great guard play and some very athletic guys up front. They're very good off the dribble and do a lot of good things on both ends of the floor. We're going to have to have really good preparation and a good sound approach in order to beat them. Hopefully we can have two good days of practice to get ready for what we feel is a very good Mississippi team."
On every SEC team already having a loss in league play... "One, I think it's early and two, I think there are probably not any dominant teams in our league maybe like Kentucky was a year ago. But nevertheless, I expect it to be a battle to the end of the 16-game schedule for the conference championship. We'll just have to wait to see how it plays out. Certainly winning and winning on the road is very difficult, and we're all finding that out."
On if he has any concerns about his team closing out games... "Yes, I do. It's just something we have to work on and have to try to get better at. We need to play a little bit more intelligently and aggressively. We need to defend better, run better offense, rebound better, take care of the ball better; everything you can imagine we need to do better."
On Festus Ezeli's development... " ... The first organized team he was on was when he came here as a freshman ... He came here on the condition only that if we redshirted him. He was bright enough to know and articulate that he didn't know what it meant to be on a team. I think his development has occurred later because he got started later. We're very proud of the progress he's made. He's a great kid and deserves all the success he's having."
On if there's a carry over effect on losing games down the stretch... "Sure, I think it's like anything. If something happens once then you kind of write it off to a one-time occurrence. If it happens twice, now you start wondering if it's becoming a trend ... It's just one of those things that you have to man-up and fix. I think the bright spot for us is that we're showing that we're capable of putting ourselves in position to win against good teams on the road. If we continue to do that, we'll win some games ... We need to get that fixed and play better with leads, play a little better in the second half and at the end."
The SEC named Dee Bost (Mississippi State) the SEC Player of the Week, and Terrence Jones (Kentucky) the SEC Freshman of the Week.
SECsports.com released its Hoops Notebook with tidbits on each team.
"The Commodores have been outscored 123-102 in the second half in the last three games, and have been outrebounded 70-48, including 37-15 on the offensive glass."
ESPN.com's Andy Katz sayshe's looking forward to the Commodores' matchup with Saint Mary's Saturday. Watch Video
Also, Eamonn Brennan has Nashville as one of the places to be this week in ESPN.com's Weekly Watch:
"This is a sneakily good game, primarily because both Vanderbilt and Saint Mary's -- especially Saint Mary's -- are sneaky-good teams. The Gaels have replaced forward Omar Samhan with an impressive trio of forwards (Mitchell Young, Tim Williams and Kenton Walker). Buoyed by the beautiful shooting of Mickey McConnell and Matthew Dellavedova, Saint Mary's is scoring 1.21 points per possession (adjusted) this season. That's the fourth-most efficient offense in the country, a unit that can utterly destroy you from beyond the arc before you have a chance to realize what's happening."
SATURDAY'S SEC RESULTS Tennessee 67, Vanderbilt 64 KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Tobias Harris hit a layup and a pair of free
throws in the final 1:09 as Tennessee erased a 17-point deficit to beat
Vanderbilt 67-64 on Saturday. Read More
Kentucky 82, LSU 44 LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) - Brandon Knight scored 19 points, Terrence Jones
added 17 in his second game coming off the bench and No. 13 Kentucky
beat LSU 82-44 on Saturday. Read More
Arkansas 70, Alabama 65 FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. -- Marshawn Powell scored 17 points as Arkansas
remained undefeated at home this season in rallying for a 70-65 victory
over Alabama on Saturday. Read More
South Carolina 72, Florida 69 GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) - Bruce Ellington scored 23 points, including
the final six for South Carolina, and the Gamecocks beat Florida 72-69
on Saturday. Read More
Georgia 98, Ole Miss 76 OXFORD, Miss. (AP) - Gerald Robinson scored a season-high 22 points and
No. 24 Georgia put five players in double figures Saturday in a 98-76
victory over Mississippi. Read More
SUNDAY'S SEC SCHEDULE
Auburn (7-9, 0-2) at Mississippi State (9-7, 1-1), 2 p.m. CT, FSN
SEC STANDINGS East Florida 2-1
Georgia 2-1 Kentucky 2-1
South Carolina 2-1
Vanderbilt 1-2 Tennessee 1-2
West LSU 2-1 Arkansas 2-1 Alabama 2-1 Mississippi State 1-1 Auburn 0-2 Ole Miss 0-3
The Commodore basketball teams will make their first ever appearance on
ESPN's College GameDay Saturday against Tennessee in Knoxville. GameDay
coverage will begin at 9 a.m. CT on ESPN. The men's game starts at 11
a.m. CT followed by the women's game at 7 p.m. CT. Get ready for the action with today's stories on the doubleheader. AROUND THE WEB
With a 0-2 start to conference play and their in-state rivals coming to town Saturday, the Vols are saying all the right things when it comes to the Commodores.
Don't believe me? Here are quotes from articles by Tennessee beat writers:
Head Coach Bruce Pearl: "Kevin (Stallings) has solid sets and he tweaks them based on his scout(-ing report). But (John) Jenkins is as Lofton-like of a shooter as anyone I've
seen, and (Jeffery) Taylor is a beast, probably the best defender in
college basketball, and he'll be all over guarding Scotty.'' (Mike Griffith, Knoxville News Sentinel) C Brian Williams: "Since I've been here, they've been a shooting team, but I think
that's changed. They're mixing
it up now with both physicality, and they've got shooters. They've got
every aspect of the game you need to win. In my personal opinion, they were the best (SEC) team coming into the season besides us." (Wes Rucker, 247sports.com)
"You can't out-physical (Festus Ezeli). He's one of the strongest people I've ever gone up against ... He's always been a monster down there, but now he's got game. Great for him." (Wes Rucker, 247sports.com)
G Trae Golden: "All our upperclassmen have a lot of respect for them. That says a lot." (Wes Rucker, 247sports.com)
G Cameron Tatum "Vandy has always had good shooters. But now they've added some athletes, and they're more than a
one-dimensional team.'' (Mike Griffith, Knoxville News Sentinel)
Looking for more information about the Commodores' first ever appearance on ESPN's College GameDay Saturday? Schulzie's game preview has the information you need, especially if you're making the trip to Knoxville.
The eyes of the nation will be on Vanderbilt basketball on Saturday when the men's and women's teams play at Tennessee in a pair of games that will be showcased on national television as part of ESPN's College GameDay airing from Knoxville.
GameDay coverage will begin at 9 a.m. CT on ESPN and will continue on ESPNU leading up to the tip of the men's game at 11 a.m. The men's game will be called by Dick Vitale and Dan Shulman with Doris Burke working the sidelines.
ESPN will resume College GameDay coverage at 6 p.m. CT leading up to the women's game, which will tip at 7 p.m. CT on ESPN. Shulman (play-by-play) and Burke (analyst) will have the call of the women's game.
"I'm extremely pleased to make this announcement today," Franklin said. "All of these coaches want to be part of something really special. When I called, many of them said yes without even talking about money and titles. They simply want to help turn this program into a success."
COMMODORES AROUND THE WEB
Football: Commodores' football staff has 'chemistry' (Tennessean)
Men's Basketball: Commodores are set at center (Tennessean)
Men's Basketball: VU has little concern for Vols' current struggles (City Paper)
Men's Basketball: Jenkins 'a tough cover' from 3-point arc (Knoxville News-Sentinel)
"You better make (Jenkins) put it on the floor. Because if you're late you're gonna get nailed," UT coach Bruce Pearl said. "But Vanderbilt's offense does not allow you to take one guy and just put him on (Jenkins). Their offense is too good.''
"I'm probably not the first quarterback that hasn't been to the playoffs in the first five years," Cutler said, "and I probably won't be the last. We're in a good situation now. We've just got to take advantage of it."
"I think we were ready tonight," Head Coach Melanie Balcomb said. "We had paid the price before on the road and didn't want that to happen again, and I felt like this was the right timing for us to get our first SEC win on the road."
VIDEO OF THE DAY
Coach Franklin introduces his offensive staff - Watch Video
Taylor's highlight-reel moment didn't go unnoticed. It was selected as the No. 1 Play of the Day on ESPN's SportsCenter.
"Whenever you have an electrifying play like that, it kind of gets everybody going," Taylor said. "It's what the crowd wants. It's kind of a crowd pleaser and it definitely pumps your own teammates up, so it's a good thing."
Vanderbilt photographer Joe Howell captured the jam in the image below. You can also watch the play in our game highlights on YouTube at the 1:08 mark.
Men's Basketball: Dores bounce back with 73-66 win (VUcommodores.com)
"We're hungry, we're still mad about that (South Carolina) game," center Festus Ezeli said. "We still have a bad taste about that one because we didn't play to our abilities."
"I think we will be more focused this time (on the road)," guard Jasmine Lister said. "I felt like we were playing like we didn't want to lose instead of winning on the road. Now, we are going to focus on winning.
"The Commodores will have one of the nation's better weekend rotations this season with Sonny Gray and others leading the way. Gray has had a fruitful campaign at Vandy and is expected to parlay a solid junior season into an even better first-round draft status."
"I probably know him better than y'all do," RB Matt Forte said. "I will tell you that he is probably the opposite of what you guys portray him to be. Jay is a good guy, and he comes to work every day to work hard."
NFL: Cutler says loser tag didn't irk him (Chicago Tribune)
"The only thing I will honestly say about (my time at Vanderbilt) and this is hard to believe, but its true," Fogler said. "I'm not sure why I left Vanderbilt. I really don't know. Now that sounds like bull, but why would I give you bull 17 years after the fact? I honestly do not know exactly what happened. Obviously, something went awry. I just decided to go to South Carolina."
WEDNESDAY'S SEC RESULTS Vanderbilt 73, Georgia 66 NASHVILLE (AP) - John Jenkins and Festus Ezeli scored 18 points apiece and Vanderbilt beat No. 24 Georgia 73-66 on Wednesday night to snap the Bulldogs' nine-game winning streak and ruin their first game back in the Top 25 since the end of the 2003 season. Read More
Alabama 57, South Carolina 47 TUSCALOOSA (AP) -- JaMychal Green scored 20 points, grabbed nine rebounds and blocked three shots to lead Alabama to a 57-47 victory over South Carolina on Wednesday night. Read More
LSU 56, Arkansas 53 BATON ROUGE (AP) -- LSU made just enough foul shots in the final minute
for a 56-53 victory against Arkansas in a Southeastern Conference game
Wednesday night. Read More
THURSDAY'S SEC SCHEDULE Mississippi State (8-7, 0-1) at Ole Miss (12-4, 0-1), 8 p.m. CT, ESPN2
SEC EAST STANDINGS Florida 2-0
Vanderbilt 1-1 Kentucky 1-1
Georgia 1-1
South Carolina 1-1
Tennessee 0-2
Vanderbilt men's basketball head coach Kevin Stallings discussed the Georgia game with local media on Tuesday afternoon. Watch Video
On the importance of defending home court... "I've always thought that if you're going to win the conference championship that the formula is to winning your home games and winning the games you're supposed to win on the road. I think that's where it begins. That's why it was a little frustrating to let that game get away from us on Saturday night (at South Carolina) because that was a game that we felt like we could and probably should win and we didn't.
"There's always more pressure on home games because if you're going to be a factor in the conference race you've got to take care of business at home. Until somebody starts winning a bunch of road games, then they're not going to separate themselves. You've got to win the overwhelming majority of your home games if you want to win the conference title."
On facing Gerald Robinson Jr... "He's gone into a situation where he's being utilized by his coaches properly, he's been put in a good system for him, and he's got really outstanding players around him so he doesn't have to be the only guy. He's a good player in a good situation and those two factors usually make for a good result; that's what he's getting and that's what (Georgia's) getting right now." On if he can tell before the game that energy is going to be an issue... "I can generally tell, not always, if energy is going to be an issue in the locker room about 45 minutes before the game. Interestingly, relative to the South Carolina game, our team hasn't played with a lack of energy all season long. I haven't had an energy complaint in practice or in games.
"Yeah, we had a couple of days in practice last week to where we had to call it to their attention, and then it showed up in the games. You have to give them a little bit of a pass if it only happens once because we haven't played all great games, but we haven't had a lack of energy. That hasn't been a part of this team's DNA at all. For whatever reason we had a little bit of one on Saturday night."
TUESDAY'S RESULTS Florida 81, Tennessee 75 (OT) KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Alex Tyus scored 18 points and turned a steal into a dunk in overtime that helped
Florida to an 81-75 victory over Tennessee on Tuesday night. Read More
No. 15 Kentucky 78, Auburn 54 Terrence Jones, coming off the bench for the first time in his brief career, scored 35 points as Kentucky rolled by Auburn 78-54. Read More
WEDNESDAY'S SCHEDULE Georgia (12-2, 0-1) at Vanderbilt (11-3, 0-1), 7 p.m. CT, SEC Network Arkansas (11-3, 1-0) at LSU (9-7, 1-0), 7 p.m. CT, SEC Network South Carolina (10-4, 1-0) at Alabama (9-6, 1-0), 8 p.m. CT, CSS
"Planes, trains, and . . . probably a bus. About to decide how we'll try and get across this ice rink in the south."
"Must be nasty, bus company won't put bus on road. As soon as they will, we'll be on it."
"Waiting on green light to take bus - cannot fly from Athens or ATL. Players might be a little excited that practice to be sacrificed today."
Vanderbilt and No. 24 Georgia will square off Wednesday at 7 p.m. CT. The Bulldogs come into the game ranked for the first time since the 2002-03 season.
Vanderbilt fell out of the Top 25 in both major polls released Monday. The Commodores slipped to 31st overall in the "others receiving votes" category of the Associated Press Top 25 and the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll.
The Commodores next opponent -- Georgia -- jumped into the AP rankings at No. 24 after the Bulldogs defeated Kentucky in Athens last Saturday.
Vanderbilt will host Georgia Wednesday at 7 p.m. CT.
BRACKETOLOGY UPDATE
ESPN.com's Joe Lunardi has Vanderbilt as a No. 6 seed, down one spot from last week. Bracket
SI.com's Andy Glockner kept the Commodores at a No. 6 seed for the second week in a row. Bracket
Coach Stallings' opening statement... "We had a disappointing game on Saturday, a game we had control of and let get away from us. We know we have a tough week because every week's tough in this league. Georgia's coming off a great win and we had three very interesting games with them last year. I think we all expect it to be a very competitive, very tough, physical game just like all SEC games are. We're going to have to play really well to win. We're looking forward to the opportunity and hopefully having a couple of good days of practice before then."
On what he didn't like in the South Carolina loss... "I just didn't like our look and demeanor. We were up 14 in the second half but we just didn't have our normal look. I don't know if we were self-absorbed or what the situation was, but we weren't doing what we needed to win. It's very disappointing because it was a road game that we had a chance to get and we let it get away from us."
On the Commodores' health situation... "It's okay. Andre Walker still hasn't practiced. Of course, we haven't practiced since the (South Carolina) game. Steve Tchiengang is battling a little bit of an Achilles tendon problem. Other than that, we're fine."
On last Saturday's SEC results ... "It's tough to win on the road in this league; we have a good league. Even some of the teams that might have gotten off to slow starts or performed poorly in the nonconference season, now is an opportunity for them to kind of jump back up into the fray. Everybody sort of gets new life when conference season starts."
CBSsportsline.com's Gary Parrish looks back at the weekend of college hoops in his weekly Monday column.
FoxSports.com's Jeff Goodman also recaps the weekend and lists the Vanderbilt-Georgia game as one the week's top matchups:
"The Bulldogs are coming off a home win against Kentucky -- now it's time to see if, in fact, this time has matured and can win on the road."
ESPN.com's Weekly Watch has Nashville as one of the places to be this week for the tilt between VU and UGA:
"If Kentucky is the clear favorite in the SEC East and Florida the
baffling contender with problems to fix, both Vanderbilt and Georgia
are the leaders in the dark-horse clubhouse. The Bulldogs are coming
off a huge win over Kentucky, while Vandy -- which had the more
impressive nonconference stretch of the two -- struggled in a road loss
to South Carolina."
SI.com's Andy Glockner breaks down each conference in his latest Bubble Watch.
SI.com's Seth Davis gives his Hoop Thoughts on Kansas, Enes Kanter, Renardo Sidney and more.
Men's basketball head coach Kevin Stallings comments on the Commodores' 83-75 overtime loss to South Carolina. (Big thanks to Cory from the Gamecocks' SID office for capturing this footage). Watch Video
Jeffery Taylor gets notoriety for his high-flying athleticism on offense (and rightfully so).
But the junior forward also gets it done on the other end of the court, often locking down the opponent's best offensive weapon.
ESPN's Hubert Davis gave Taylor high praise for his defensive efforts during College GameDay this morning, according to a tweet from the SEC.
@SEC_Hoops: "ESPN's Hubert Davis just named Vandy's Jeffery Taylor the best defensive player in the nation so far this year on College GameDay"
Taylor also earned a spot on FoxSports.com's 13-man 2010-11 Dream Team roster, released Friday. Jeff Goodman wrote:
"Love his athleticism, ability to defend and improved
perimeter shot. Taylor can guard multiple positions, is deadly in
transition and is shooting 42 percent from beyond the arc."
WIth a trip to Columbia to start league play today, Jeff Lockridge looks back at Vanderbilt's road success a year ago. The Commodores went 6-2 in SEC road games, their best mark since 1993.
Lockridge also says that John Jenkins will be back after missing one game with a concussion, but Andre Walker is unavailable with a severe ankle sprain.
Also, check out the following links for official game previews with notes: Vanderbilt | South Carolina
Tipoff is scheduled for 4 p.m. CT at Colonial Life Arena. You can watch the action on ESPN2 and ESPN3.com. Joe Fisher and Tim Thompson will provide the radio call on 97.1 RQQ and vucommodores.com. For more information on how to follow the action online, go here.
Junior guard Brad Tinsley talked with reporters on Thursday about the Commodores' league opener with South Carolina in Columbia.
On the team heading into SEC play... "We're just coming in and trying really hard and working on some of the things that we're not so good at right now. There's a lot of room for improvement. A lot of us are ready for the competition in front of us.
On what to expect from South Carolina... "They're very athletic and like to go up and down a lot. They play that style of play very well. It's definitely a tough place to play."
On if the Commodores have found their rhythm... "I'd say we're in a pretty good rhythm right now but there's always room for improvement. We need to keep getting better offensively and defensively and hopefully we can carry this momentum (into Saturday)."
On VU's success in SEC road games last year... "I think it takes a definite level of toughness to win on the road especially in a tough league like this. You just have to stick together because you're the only ones in the arena rooting for yourselves. I think the level of toughness and experience level also, just knowing
what to expect in different scenarios. There's a lot of tough
places to play on the road here."
On the long layoff between games... "I think it's a good thing just because you can step back from the season and evaluate what happened in the preseason, good and bad. It lets you get ready for league play and helps you work out those kinks you had problems with in the preseason."
On if the SEC is ready to see what Festus Ezeli can do... "He worked very hard in the offseason and it's paying big dividends for us right now. He's just so big inside. He's still learning a lot in only his fourth or fifth year of playing organized basketball. It's pretty incredible. I think he's definitely ready for it."
On facing South Carolina... "Every single one of these teams in this league is capable of beating anybody. That's what's so great about this league; home or away anybody can beat anybody so you can't take anybody lightly. It's definitely not what we're doing. We're going into a tough environment and we just have to play our game."
On what it would mean to start SEC play with a win... "Any win in the SEC is huge and the road wins are even bigger. It would mean a lot."
On how the team has played on the road this year... "Pretty well. We've only had two true road games, if you don't count Puerto Rico. I thought we played well at Middle Tennessee. We played well at Missouri, just had a lot of mishaps down the stretch. I think our young guys will learn quickly just how tough it is to win on the road in the SEC."
ESPN.com's Dana O'Neil published her SEC primer on ESPN.com today and labeled Vanderbilt as a team worth watching during conference play.
O'Neil focused her preview on the SEC's off-the-court issues ("the Land of Melodrama" as she termed it), but credited Vanderbilt for being "quietly steady amid the bedlam within their league, losing just twice -- on a neutral court to West Virginia and at Missouri."
She lists Kevin Stallings as the coach she'd want drawing up a last-second play and also thinks the Commodores will make the NCAA Tournament.
"Chronically undervalued, the Vanderbilt coach gets good but not crazy good talent every season. Yet every season his team is in the thick of things," O'Neil stated.
I just returned from Vanderbilt's media session in Memorial Gym. Here's the latest on the injury status of starters John Jenkins (concussion) and Andre Walker (sprained ankle):
Jenkins, VU's leading scorer at 17.8 ppg, is scheduled to practice for the first time this afternoon since suffering
a concussion last Saturday. How Jenkins responds to drills over the next two days will determine if he plays in the conference opener at South Carolina Saturday.
As for Walker, head coach Kevin Stallings said he'd be surprised if the junior forward played this weekend. "We're probably looking at some more time with him," Stallings said. "We'll just have to wait and see. I don't want to put a timetable on his injury because I don't want to limit him or give him too much leeway. We'll get him going when he's healthy."
Jenkins and Walker missed the Commodores' 80-52 win over Davidson Sunday.
Junior center Festus Ezeli talked with reporters on Thursday about the Commodores' conference opener with South Carolina in Columbia.
On the excitement of starting conference play... "Conference play is always exciting each year because it's bigger, badder competition, so we're just ready to show what we got."
On being ready for conference play... "Yes, we are. We still have two more days of preparation before it starts so hopefully we can get some more work done before it starts. We're working hard every day."
On the long layoff between games... "We like it because we get a lot of practice time. It's a chance for the coaches to get right what we've been doing wrong in the games."
On if Vanderbilt has stayed under the radar... "We just do what we can. We're playing hard and tough and that's all that really matters right now. I don't think the recognition really matters. Eventually it will come but right now we're just focused on the game."
On the Commodores' rhythm... "We have a very versatile team and everybody's playing their role. That's the first thing we talked about when the season started. We can be a really good team if everyone plays their role and plays it well. That's just what we work on as a team."
On the importance of getting a win in the SEC opener... "Every game counts in the conference and it's big, so it's very important."
Jon Rothstein, College Basketball Insider for MSG Network and CBS College Sports, posted the following tweets after his conversation with Vanderbilt men's basketball coach Kevin Stallings this morning.
Just got off the phone with #Vanderbilt HC Kevin Stallings - whose team is my pick to win the SEC.......
Stallings on replacing A.J. Ogilvy + Jermaine Beal "We need we had to replace two awfully good players but we've had guys fill in nicely."
Stallings on Festus Ezeli "We knew what he was capable of. He's really become a force inside."
Stallings on Brad Tinsley "He's been our backup point guard for 2 years so he's not being thrown into the fire so to speak."
Stallings on playing Tinsley + Kyle Fuller together "I like having two good ball handlers out there. It gives you more options."
Stallings on John Jenkins + Jeffrey Taylor "Their biggest collective strength is their ability to play without the ball."
Vanderbilt men's basketball is ranked No. 15 in the NCAA RPI, based on games played through Monday.
A couple of notes:
*The Commodores (11-2) have victories over RPI No. 30 North Carolina, No. 61 Davidson, No. 81 Presbyterian, No. 109 Belmont, No. 112 Nebraska, and No. 121 Marquette.
*Vanderbilt's only two losses came to No. 12 West Virginia and No. 33 Missouri.
*VU has the third-best RPI in the SEC. Here's the conference breakdown: No. 6 Kentucky No. 13 Florida No 15 Vanderbilt No. 40 Tennessee No. 58 Georgia No. 66 Ole Miss No. 134 South Carolina No. 160 Arkansas No. 218 Alabama No. 224 LSU No. 240 Mississippi State No. 323 Auburn
*Outside of conference play, the Dores still have a regular season matchup with No. 41 Saint Mary's.
*The Big East has eight teams in the top 18 with Georgetown coming in at No. 1.
A couple of links from around the sports world for your reading pleasure...
Vanderbilt men's basketball coach Kevin Stallings answers questions from national media during Monday's SEC teleconference. Listen
Blue Ribbon's Chris Dortch offers a good primer on SEC men's basketball heading into conference play. Dortch thinks the Commodores are good enough to contend in the East. Read More
College basketball fans... take a look into SI.com's midseason crystal ball. Read More
Also from SI.com, Seth Davis gives his latest stock report on college basketball teams to invest in at the moment. I scratched my head when he said he would buy stock in Kentucky, Florida and Tennessee, but would hold on Vanderbilt. His reasoning?
"The Commodores are smart enough not to lose to teams they should beat, but are they talented enough to consistently beat teams they shouldn't? Not sure."
YahooSports's Dan Wetzel believes Terrelle Pryor's acts expose the charade of college athletics. Read More
Teresa Walker's AP story on the Fisher/Young/Adams saga in Titans land. Read More
Just for fun, actor James Van Der Beek (errr Dawson) launched a website to spoof his popular YouTube crying clip from Dawson's Creek. He also offers dozens of other faces for your enjoyment (my favorite is sheer panic face). Van Der Memes
Finally, Stanford 's Jim Harbaugh writes the book on how to avoid media questions about coaching rumors. Just remember to respect the game and his players.
Men's basketball head coach Kevin Stallings commented on the injury status of guard John Jenkins (concussion) and forward Andre Walker (sprained ankle) during last night's call-in show:
"John said he felt fine (Monday)," Stallings said. "He was symptom-free and they're going to let him do some running and shooting Tuesday. If everything goes well, and we kind of expect it to, he'll be able to practice on Wednesday.
"Andre's still awhile out. It's one of the worst (injuries) I've ever seen. He'll be down for awhile. I don't know what awhile is, but at this juncture, I'm hoping for a week or two. It could be more.
"It's a very significant ankle sprain. They've X-rayed it and it's not broken. He'll be out for a little while."
The Commodores return to practice Tuesday morning after getting the day off yesterday.
In ESPN.com's Weekly Watch, Vanderbilt junior guard Brad Tinsley was recognized in the "performances that wowed us" section. Brad Edgerton writes:
"So much for point guard being Vandy's weak link. Tinsley has really
come on lately for the undermanned Commodores. In a one-point win over
Marquette, he had 15 points and eight assists and hit a key bucket down
the stretch. In a larger-than-expected 80-52 blowout of Davidson, he
scored 14 and actually contributed 10 rebounds. Most importantly,
Tinsley turned it over just once in each game."
In his first season starting at the point, Tinsley tops the SEC in assists per game (5.2) and ranks third in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.0). He also averages 10.0 points and 4.7 rebounds per game and leads the Dores with 15 steals.
Men's basketball coach Kevin Stallings commented on the injuries to starters John Jenkins (concussion) and Andre Walker (sprained ankle) following the Commodores' 80-52 win over Davidson yesterday:
"Andre sprained his ankle on Friday and then John got hit in the head (Saturday) in the first 30 minutes of practice.
"John left his feet on a shot fake and the guy jumped into him.
"(For Saturday's SEC opener), my best guess would be that John will be okay and that Andre won't be okay. Andre could be awhile.
"We would like to be full strength but it's part of it. You have to control the things you can control and that's out of your control ... It would be nice to get everybody back when we finally do. Our guys have a done a good job. We just have to do the best we can with what we have."
With impressive nonconference wins over Marquette and Davidson, Vanderbilt's men's basketball team moved up two spots to No. 22 in the Associated Press rankings released today.
The Commodores (11-2) also entered the ESPN/USA Today coaches poll for the first time this season at No. 24.
Kentucky is the only other SEC team ranked at the moment (AP No. 10 / Coaches No. 11) with Florida and Georgia receiving votes.
Vanderbilt will open its SEC slate Saturday at South Carolina (4 p.m. CT, ESPN2).
Junior forward Lance Goulbourne talked with reporters on Thursday about the Commodores' upcoming matchup with Saint Mary's.
Georgia's trip to Nashville on Tuesday morning has been delayed due to snow storms that have blanketed the South.
Vanderbilt basketball fan favorite Joe Duffy returns with another one of 
Jeffery Taylor gets notoriety for his high-flying athleticism on offense (and rightfully so). 
Junior guard Brad Tinsley talked with reporters on Thursday about the Commodores' league opener with South Carolina in Columbia. 
Junior center Festus Ezeli talked with reporters on Thursday about the Commodores' conference opener with South Carolina in Columbia. 
