March 16, 2012
Vanderbilt Gamenotes
Vanderbilt and Wisconsin will battle for a berth in the Sweet 16 on Saturday afternoon at The Pit in Albuquerque in the third round of the East Regional. The game tips off at 5:10 CT and can be seen live on TNT.
Series Information
Series Record: First meeting
Last Meeting: NA
Record at Vanderbilt: NA
Record at Wisconsin: NA
Record at Neutral Site: NA
Coach Stallings vs. Wisconsin: Coach Stallings is 1-2 against the Badgers (all with Illinois State).
Media Information
Radio: 97.1 FM, DialGlobal Sports Network, SiriusXM
Radio Talent: Joe Fisher (pxp), Tim Thompson (analyst)
TV: TNT
TV Talent: Spiro Dedes (pxp), Bob Wetzel (analyst); Jaime Maggio (sidelines)
Live Stream: CBSSports.com
Live Stats: vucommodores.com
Twitter Updates: @VandyMBB
Quick Hitters
- Vanderbilt advanced to the third round of the NCAA Championship with a 79-70 win over Harvard on March 15. The win snapped a three-game skid in the tournament, dating back to the 2007 season.
- Vanderbilt has advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the third consecutive season, a program first.
- Vanderbilt now has an all-time record of 10-13 in the NCAA Tournament, while current head coach Kevin Stallings has a 6-7 overall record in the tournament.
- The Commodores have advanced to the Regional Semfinals four times in program history - last Sweet 16 appearance came in 2007.
- The Commodores sport the leading scorer and second-leading scorer in the SEC in John Jenkins (20.1) and Jeffery Taylor (16.3). Jenkins leads the nation in threes made with 3.9 per game.
- Jenkins and Taylor were both named to the All-SEC first team by the league’s coaches this year. Taylor was also named to the All-Defensive team for the third consecutive season.
- Since the return of Festus Ezeli to the lineup after suffering a knee injury in presason practice, VU is 15-6 with starting lineup of Brad Tinsley, John Jenkins, Jeffery Taylor, Lance Goulbourne, and Ezeli.
- Taylor, originally from Sweden, played two seasons of high school basketball at Hobbs High School in Hobbs, N.M. Taylor won a state championship at the Pit in the spring of 2008 before his arrival at Vanderbilt.
- Vanderbilt has made a 3-pointer in 830 consecutive games, a streak which began at the inception of the 3-point line in 1986-87. The Commodores rank second only to UNLV (840) for the longest streak in Division I basketball.
- Jenkins scored 27 points in the win over the Crimson on Thursday. Senior guard Brad Tinsley tallied 16 points and Jeffery Taylor added 15.
- Jenkins was 10-13 from the free throw line - his 13 attempts set a new NCAA single-game record for VU.
- VU shot 54.3% from the field against Harvard - the 12th game this year shooting 50% or better.
More On The Wisconsin Series
- Vanderbilt and Wisconsin have never met on the hardwood.
- Coach Stallings is 1-2 all-time against Wisconsin, with both meetings coming while he was the head coach at Illinois State.
More On VU’s Win Over Harvard
- Festus Ezeli scored eight points, grabbed 11 rebounds, had two assists and four blocks. His four blocks set a new NCAA single-game record.
- The 11 rebounds was Ezeli’s third double-digit rebounding game this season.
- The Commodores outrebounded Harvard, 35-25, and 10-8 on the offensive glass.
- John Jenkins has now made three or more threes in 30 of 35 games this season.
- Jenkins, with 683 points, has the third-leading single-season point total in VU history. He trails Shan Foster (2007-08, 691 points) and Billy McCaffrey (1992-93, 699 points).
- Jenkins also has 132 threes on the season - he trails Shan Foster (134, 2007-08) by two made threes for Vanderbilt and the SEC’s record for threes in a season.
