Kentucky vs Vanderbilt(ESPN College Gameday).....A Preview

Lwcat
WT Administrator

Kentucky vs Vanderbilt….2/11/12
Saturday 9PM..(ESPN)
Kentucky leads the series 134-44

College Gameday 11:00am at Vandy-
Rece Davis, Hubert Dais, Jay Bilas and Digger Phillips
Game will be called by Dan Shulman and Dick Vitale

Vanderbilt Commodores

Location: Nashville
Enrollment: 6,750
Arena: 14,316

Head Coach: Kevin Stallings
Career Record: 359-211 (63.0%) 18 seasons
At Vandy: 236-148 (61.5%) 12 seasons

2010-11 Record: 23-11
2010-11 SEC Record: 9-7
2010-11 Postseason: NCAA 0-1

2011-12 Record: 17-7
2011-12 SEC Record: 6-3

Vandy 78 Oregon 64
Cleveland St. 71 Vandy 58
Vandy 80 Bucknell 68
Vandy 86 N.C. St. 79
Vandy 64 Oregon St. 62
Vandy 95 Monmonth 73
Xavier 82 Vandy 70 (OT)
Louisville 62 Vandy 60 (OT)
Vandy 87 Davidson 83
Indiana St. 61 Vandy 55
Vandy 99 Longwood 71
Vandy 89 Lafayette 58
Vandy 74 Marquette 57
Vandy 69 Miami, OH 62
Vandy 65 Auburn 35
Vandy 67 South Carolina 57
Vandy 77 Georgia 66
Vandy 69 Alabama 59
Mississippi St. 78 Vandy 77 (OT)
Vandy 65 Tennessee 47
Vandy 84 Middle Tennessee St. 77
Arkansas 82 Vandy 74
Florida 73 Vandy 65
Vandy 76 LSU 61

Probable Starting Lineup

Lance Goulbourne-F 6’8” Sr………………….…9.3 PPG
Jeffery Taylor-F 6’7” Sr…………………………17.8 PPG
Festus Ezeli-C 6’11” Sr………………………….10.0 PPG
Brad Tinsley-G 6’3” Sr…………………………..9.1 PPG
John Jenkins-G 6’4” Jr………………………...…19.7 PPG

Vandy Stats

PPG-74.3
FG%-46.8%
3 PT%-39.3% (8.9 PG)
FT%-68.9%
RPG-35.0 (+1.8)
APG-13.2
TO’s-14.0
SPG-6.3
BPG-4.2

UK Stats

PPG-78.2
FG%-48.8%
3 PT%-37.9% (5.7 PG)
FT%-72.1%
RPG-39.8 (+7.8)
APG-13.5
TO’s-12.2
SPG-6.6
BPG-9.2

Vanderbilt was a preseason top 10 team because they returned a senior laden lineup and a previous NCAA team However, a 17-7 record has dropped them out of the top 25.
In evaluating Vandy this season you must look at the first 10 games when 6’’11”Festus Ezeli wasn’t playing….in those games the Dores went 6-4 with bad losses at home to Cleveland St. and Indiana St. After Ezeli returned to the lineup, Vandy is 10-3. All 3 losses have come in the SEC with only one at home….an OT loss to Mississippi St.
In reviewing the Dores season, you see a solid win at Marquette plus 3 of Vandy’s losses were in overtime.

While Vandy has been a disappointment this season, they are now playing like a top 25 team. Vandy is led in scoring by John Jenkins who has hit 89-201 perimeter shots for an excellent 44.3%. Jeffery Taylor is 2nd in scoring and is also a terrific perimeter shooter hitting an eyepopping 47.8% while leading the team in steals. In addition, Taylor joins Goulbourne and Ezeli in leading the Dores in rebounds. Brad Tinsley also is a solid 3 point shooter and leads the team in assists with 109 for 4.5 PG. There is no question that the return of Ezeli to the Vandy lineup has been a huge plus in the paint both offensively and defensively as Ezeli leads the team in blocks.

Vanderbilt has always been very difficult to defeat in Nashville and with Gameday you can bet the Dores will be more than ready to defend their home court. Any team that shoots a lot of perimeter shots and makes a good percentage as Vandy does is always dangerous….and especially when you are playing in a very different arena that has the teams under the baskets as opposed to being on the sides of the court. It makes it very difficult for coaches to have verbal contact with their team during play. You can bet that Vandy and their fans will be at a fever pitch as the #1 Cats come to Nashville!

UK will arrive in Nashville coming off another great performance in defeating a very good Florida team by 20 points. The Cats played great defense….while Teague ran the offense very effectively and handed out a season high 10 assists. Davis continues to leave fans in awe with his incredible performances….especially defensively where he is the favorite to be defensive player of the year. MKG had another great game with 13 points…13 rebounds….3 assists and only 1 turnover in 39 minutes. Lamb shot very well hitting 4-5 perimeter shots and scoring 18 points. Miller and Wiltjer also played very well.

The game in Nashville is always tough for UK….last season a UK team that made it to the Final Four still lost to the Dores in Nashville 81-77. This is a big test for the Cats and I look for this UK team to pass the test with a 7 point win over Vandy. GO CATS!