Feb. 19, 2013

Vanderbilt Gamenotes 

Vanderbilt heads to the Bluegrass State this Wednesday evening for their second match up of the season with longtime rival Kentucky at Rupp Arena. The game will tip at 7 p.m. CT, and televised regionally on the SEC Network, with the game also being heard on the Vanderbilt IMG College Radio Network in middle Tennessee and online at vucommodores.com.

The Commodores are coming off of a 63-56 home victory over Texas A&M, and are looking to avenge a close, two-point loss to the Wildcats in the SEC opener earlier this season at Memorial Gym.  Kentucky came away with a 60-58 victory in that contest on January 10.

Game 25/VANDERBILT (10-14, 4-8) vs. KENTUCKY (17-8, 8-4)
Lexington, Ky. - Rupp Arena - 7 p.m. CT
Radio:  Vanderbilt Radio Network from IMG College, vucommodores.com
Radio Talent:  Joe Fisher (pxp), Tim Thompson (analyst)
Satellite Radio:  Sirius 128, XM 200
TV:  SEC Network SEC Network Affiliates 
TV Talent:   Clay Matvick (pxp), Joe Dean, Jr. (analyst)
Live Stats: vucommodores.com
Twitter Updates:  @VandyMBB

Series Information
Series Record:  Kentucky leads the all-time series, 137-45.
Last Meeting:  Kentucky defeated VU, 60-58, on 1/10/13 at Memorial Gym.
Record at Vanderbilt:  UK leads 54-27.
Record at UK:  UK leads 76-14.
Record at Neutral Site:  UK leads 7-4.
Coach Stallings vs. UK:  Coach Stallings is 10-19 vs. Kentucky.

About Kentucky and the Series

• Kentucky enters the game Wednesday night with a 17-8 overall record and an 8-4 mark in SEC play.  Freshman Archie Goodwin leads the Wildcats in scoring with 13.6 points per game, with sophomore Kyle Wiltjer (11.8) and freshman Alex Poythress (11.7) also averaging double figures.
• The two teams will meet for the 183rd time on Thursday, with the Wildcats holding a 137-45  series lead.  Kentucky holds a 76-14 series edge in Lexington, and have won five consecutive games at Rupp Arena against the Commodores.
• Coach Stallings is 10-19 all-time against Kentucky as a head coach.

Notes From Last Meeting

• The Commodores shot only 32.9% from the floor for the game, its second-worst shooting performance of the season.  However, Vanderbilt outrebounded the Wildcats, 42-37 and 20-9 on the offensive glass.  The 20 offensive rebounds was a season-high.  The previous best was 16 against Marist (11/23).
• It was the most offensive rebounds by a Vanderbilt team since February 16, 2011, when the Commodores had 23 at Georgia in a 64-56 win.
• It was the first loss of the season this year for Vanderbilt when outrebounding their opponent (4-1).
• The Commodores, who trailed by 16 with 16:27 to go in regulation, scored 18 unanswered points in the second half and took the lead, 49-47, with 6:11 to play.  The game featured three ties and two lead changes.
• Vanderbilt’s bench outscored the Wildcats’ bench, 21-5.
• Shelby Moats set a new career-high in points (9) and rebounds (10) on a career-high four made field goals.
• Kedren Johnson tied a career-high with six assists and four steals. Johnson led the way with 18 points. He has scored in double-figures in 11 of the team’s 13 games.

'Dores Three-Point Streak Still Intact

Vanderbilt has made a 3-pointer in 856 consecutive games, a streak which began at the inception of the 3-point line in 1986-87. The Commodores rank second only to UNLV for the longest streak in Division I basketball.  Vanderbilt, UNLV and Princeton are the only three schools in college basketball to have made at least one 3-pointer in every game played since the 3-point line was implemented.

Last Time Out

Vanderbilt claimed a 63-56 win over Texas A&M to win its second game of a three-game home stand on Saturday at Memorial Gym.  Junior forward Rod Odom led a trio of Vanderbilt players with 19 points, with sophomore guard Dai-Jon Parker adding a career high 17 points on a career-best five made three’s, and sophomore center Josh Henderson contributing 11 points.

Close Losses in League Play

Of the eight league losses this season, one has gone to overtime (Ole Miss), one was by four points (Alabama, led by 11 with seven minutes to go), one was by two points (Kentucky), and a pair of games by one point (at Tennessee, at LSU).

Variety of Success

The Commodores have been led in scoring by five different players this season, in rebounding by eight nine players, and six different leaders in assists.  Of the 10 players who have played in SEC games, nine have received a start, and the Commodores have used six starting lineups in the last seven games.

Odom Beginning to Come On

Junior forward Rod Odom scored a career-high 20 points and had three made threes in the Commodores’ one-point loss at LSU on February 6, and followed up that performance with a 15-point outing in the win over Arkansas on February 9.  Recently against Texas A&M, he scored 19 points, tied a career-high with four threes, and set a new career best with four assists.  He is averaging 15.0 ppg and 5.5 rpg in the last four games. 

Wins/Losses Trends

In the Commodores’ 10 wins this season, Vanderbilt is averaging 68.1 ppg, is shooting 47.3% from the floor and 41.4% from three, while making 9.2 threes per contest.  Vanderbilt also has a +3.0 rebounding margin in the wins.  In losses, VU is averaging 52.7 ppg and is shooting only 37.1% from the floor and 30.7% from three.  The Commodores also have a -4.9 rebounding margin in the losses.

Defensive Excellence

The Commodores are only surrendering 60.3 points per game, which marks Vanderbilt’s best scoring defensive effort since 1950-51 (60.5 ppg).

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