Fortson's Season Stats
PPG RPG APG BPG SPG 15.4 5.4 6.4 0.1 0.7
SEC FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK Jeffery Taylor, Vanderbilt F • 6-7 • 205 • Norrkoping, Sweden
Taylor's Season Stats
PPG RPG APG BPG SPG 13.8 6.3 1.8 0.7 1.1
SEC STANDINGS
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
December 15 (Monday) Alabama State at Ole Miss [CSS] 7:00 p.m. CT
December 16 (Tuesday) 18-Vanderbilt vs. South Florida [ESPN2] 6:00 p.m. CT 18-Tennessee vs. Marquette [ESPN] 8:30 p.m. CT North Carolina Central at South Carolina [SS] 8:00 p.m. ET
December 17 (Wednesday) Tennessee State at Alabama [CSS] 7:00 p.m. CT 19-Austin Peay at Arkansas [RSP] 7:00 p.m. CT Tuskegee at Auburn 6:00 p.m. CT Nicholls State at LSU [CST] 7:00 p.m. CT
December 18 (Thursday) 20-Mississippi State vs. Cincinnati [ESPN2] 6:30 p.m. ET 20-Ole Miss vs. Louisville [ESPN] 9:00 p.m. ET
December 20 (Saturday) Belmont at Tennessee [SS] 3:00 p.m. ET 22-LSU vs. Texas A&M 3:30 p.m. CT Wofford at Georgia [CSS] 2:00 p.m. ET Auburn at Virginia [FSN] 4:00 p.m. ET 23-Florida vs. Central Florida [FSN-FL] 6:30 p.m. ET Tennessee Tech at Vanderbilt [CSS] 5:00 p.m. CT 19-Stephen F. Austin at Arkansas [RSP] 7:00 p.m. CT 21-Kentucky vs. Appalachian State [FSNS] Noon ET The Citadel at South Carolina [SS] 5:00 p.m. ET
ALL TIMES LOCAL *SEC Game; [ ] TV Game; #Tape Delayed; FSN includes FSN South, FSN Southwest and SUN Sports; RSP - Razorback Sports Properties; BBSN: Big Blue Sports Network; CSS: Comcast Sports Southeast; CST: Cox Sports Television; MTN: The Mtn. - MountainWest Sports Network; FSN: Fox Sports Net; FSNS: FSN South; FSN Fla.: FSN Florida; Raycom: Raycom Sports; SS: SportSouth; SUN: Sun Sports; CBSCS: CBS College Sports.
LAST WEEK'S RESULTS
December 9 (Tuesday) at Georgia 67, Virginia Tech 66 [FSN]
December 10 (Wednesday) Charlotte 70, at Mississippi State 64 at Vanderbilt 78, Alabama A&M 55 [CSS] at Arkansas 98, North Carolina Central 70 [RSP] at Florida 94, Florida Gulf Coast 60 [FSN-FL]
December 13 (Saturday) at Kentucky 72, Indiana 54 [CBS] Texas A&M 86, at Alabama 74 ot [CSS] at LSU 87, Grambling State 41 at Temple 88, Tennessee 72 [ESPN] at Mississippi State 79, South Alabama 60 at New Mexico 103, Ole Miss 70
SEC Coaches Reaching Milestones
Four Southeastern Conference coaches are on the verge of or have reached significant milestones this season.
SEC HIGHLIGHTS
SEC NOTES
Five Named To Preseason Wooden Watch List
Five Southeastern Conference student-athletes were among the 2008-09 preseason candidates for the John R. Wooden Award All-American Team and Player of the Year trophy were announced Nov. 7. The list was composed of 50 student athletes who, based on last year's individual performance and team records, are the early frontrunners for college basketball's most prestigious honor.
Florida's Nick Calathes, South Carolina's Devan Downey, Vanderbilt's A.J. Ogilvy, Kentucky's Patrick Patterson and Tennessee's Tyler Smith were each named to the preseason squad.
In mid-January, the Wooden Award Committee will release the Midseason Top 30 list, followed in March by the National Ballot, consisting of approximately 20 top players who have proven to their universities that they are also making progress toward graduation and maintaining a cumulative 2.0 GPA. The Wooden Award All-American Team will be announced the week of the “Elite Eight” round during the NCAA Tournament.
The 33rd annual Wooden Award ceremony, which will include the announcement of the Men's and Women's Wooden Award, and the presentation of the Wooden Award All-American Teams and the Legends of Coaching Award to Rick Barnes from The University of Texas, will be held at The Los Angeles Athletic Club in April, 2009.
Century Celebrations
Three SEC schools are celebrating a century of basketball on their campuses this season. LSU, Ole Miss and Tennessee will each hold special events during the season to celebrate the milestone.
LSU began playing intercollegiate basketball on Jan. 30, 1909 and will celebrate the anniversary of the event on Jon. 30-31 when the school hosts a two day celebration that will be highlighted by a reunion, the announcement of an all-century team and the current team hosting Arkansas Jan. 31.
Ole Miss is celebrating its program's origination on Jan. 28, 1909 and will host a reunion of some of the top players in school history against Georgia Feb. 21.
Tennessee will celebrate the 100th anniversary of basketball on its campus the weekend of Feb. 13-14 when the Vols host South Carolina with a reunion of former players and the announcement of an all-century team.
38 Former SEC Players On NBA Opening Day Rosters
The Southeastern Conference maintains its strong presence in the NBA for the 2008-2009 season as 38 former players were on 22 of the 30 NBA team's rosters to open the season. Ten of the 12 SEC schools have former standouts holding roster spots at the beginning of the league's 63rd season.
Florida and Kentucky top the list with nine former players each on the rosters of 14 different NBA squads. Golden State has four former SECers on its team while Atlanta has three SEC alums and Boston, Charlotte, Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Miami, Minnesota, New Jersey and New York each have two former conference players on their rosters.
Bolstering the list of former SEC players, LSU has six former players in the league. The former Tigers have accumulated 30 years of NBA experience, led by Shaquille O'Neal who is in his 16th season and is currently playing for Miami. Alabama is next in line with four former SEC players in the NBA. The former Crimson Tide players have accumulated 24 years of NBA experience, led by Antonio McDyess (Detroit--12th season). Arkansas has three players while Georgia and South Carolina have two and Auburn, Mississippi State and Tennessee each have one.
Pat Riley (Kentucky) and Ernie Grunfeld (Tennessee) highlight the front office list as team presidents for the Miami Heat and Washington Wizards, respectively. The NBA also lists 11 coaches who attended college at a current SEC institution, including Los Angeles Clippers head coach Mike Dunleavy (South Carolina).
Throughout the history of men's college basketball, the Southeastern Conference has captured 10 NCAA Championships and four NIT titles putting the SEC as one of the nation's top basketball conferences.
The SEC enjoyed another outstanding season in 2007-08 with six teams receiving NCAA Tournament invitations and two more playing in the National Invitation Tournament. At least half of the SEC's member institutions advanced to the postseason for the 30th consecutive year.
SECond TO NONE
The SEC became the first conference to win the Division I National Championship in Football (Florida), Men's Basketball (Florida) and Women's Basketball (Tennessee) in the same school year. The Southeastern Conference won all three during the 2006-07 academic year.
Only the SEC and the Big East have ever won both the men's and women's basketball titles in one season. SEC won both three times in 1996, 1998 and 2007. The Big East has won both twice in 2003 and 2004.
The SEC swept both the NIT and NCAA Tournaments in 2006 with Florida knocking off UCLA, 73-57, to earn its first NCAA championship and South Carolina defeating Michigan, 76-64, to earn its second straight NIT title.
The Southeastern Conference became the first conference since the Big East in 2003 to win both titles in a season. Only four conferences have won both the NIT and NCAA title, including the ACC (1992) and Big Ten (1979).
RECORD ATTENDANCE
The SEC posted its second-largest attendance last season totaling 2,561,545 fans for games featuring SEC teams in 2007-08. It marked the second consecutive year more than 2.5 million fans witnessed SEC basketball. A record 2,562,073 fans saw SEC basketball in 2006-07.
POLL WORTHY
The SEC is the only conference in the nation to have all of its teams ranked at least one week in the Associated Press top 25 (excluding preseason polls) since 1999-00. Simply stated, every SEC team has been a top-25 team nationally at one point in the last nine seasons.
A look at SEC teams in the AP top 25 show the league's diversity since the 2000 season. Every team has been in the top 25.
Alabama 2006-07 Arkansas 2007-08 Auburn 1999-00 Florida 2007-08 Georgia 2002-03 Kentucky 2006-07 LSU 2006-07 Ole Miss 2007-08 Mississippi State 2004-05 South Carolina 2003-04 Tennessee 2007-08 Vanderbilt 2007-08
Here's a look at the other major basketball conferences and their teams who have not achieved an AP top 25 ranking over that span:
ACC 11 of 12 Florida State Big East 14 of 16 Rutgers, South Florida Big Ten 9 of 11 Northwestern, Penn State Big 12 10 of 12 Colorado, Nebraska Pac-10 9 of 10 Oregon State
SPREADING THE WEALTH
Since the 1980-81 season, each of the 12 SEC schools has captured either an SEC divisional, overall or tournament title and 11 different schools have won or shared the SEC Championship since the league's inception in 1933.
The wealth was truly shared in 2003 as the Alabama and Georgia joined the ranks of SEC Divisional Champions. All 12 schools have won or shared a divisional title.
During the last 18 seasons, six schools captured their inaugural SEC title. Florida began the string by winning the school's first-ever basketball crown in 1989. Georgia followed in 1990. Arkansas won the 1992 title in its first season in the SEC and South Carolina earned the top spot in 1997.
SEC Titles Since 1980-81
Divisional Overall Tournament Titles Titles Titles Alabama 2 2 5 Arkansas 4 2 1 Auburn 1 1 1 Florida 5 4 3 Georgia 1 1 2 Kentucky 11 11* 12* LSU 3 5 0 Ole Miss 4 0 1 Mississippi State 6 2 2 South Carolina 1 1 0 Tennessee 4 3 0 Vanderbilt 1 1 0
*1988 titles vacated
SEC VS. NON-CONFERENCE OPPONENTS
Here's the SEC's non-conference record since the league expanded to 12 teams in 1991-92.
Year Record 2008-09 73-27 (.730) 2007-08 137-50 (.741) 2006-07 146-46 (.760) 2005-06 133-42 (.760) 2004-05 120-46 (.723) 2003-04 120-31 (.795) 2002-03 114-39 (.745) 2001-02 133-41 (.764) 2000-01 131-38 (.775) 1999-00 132-43 (.754) 1998-99 121-42 (.742) 1997-98 125-35 (.781) 1996-97 107-50 (.682) 1995-96 119-39 (.753) 1994-95 103-41 (.715) 1993-94 102-47 (.685) 1992-93 102-43 (.703) 1991-92 123-58 (.680)
NATIONAL POLLS
Associated Press (December 15)
Other SEC teams receiving votes: LSU 21, Florida 8.
USA Today/ESPN Coaches Poll (December 15)
Other SEC teams receiving votes: Florida 2; LSU 2.
TEAM-BY-TEAM NOTES
ALABAMA CRIMSON TIDE OVERALL: 5-3 (3-2 H, 0-0 A, 2-1 N) SEC: 0-0 (0-0 H, 0-0 A)
Head Coach: Mark Gottfried 203-127 in 11th year at Alabama 271-151 in 14th year as a head coach
The basketball team fell in overtime to Texas A&M 86-78 Saturday night at Coleman Coliseum, snapping the Crimson Tide's four game win streak ... The Tide trailed for the bulk of the second half until Ronald Steele nailed a three pointer with 6:08 remaining to tie the game at 60-60 ... With the score tied 67-67, Justin Knox completed a three-point play off an offensive rebound to give the Tide a 70-67 lead ... Alabama made 3-4 free throws in the final minute and held a 73-70 lead before A&M's B.J. Holmes sank a three with 0:02 remaining to send the game into overtime ... Four Alabama players scored in double figures led by senior Alonzo Gee's 19 points ... Gee has led the team in scoring in his last four outings ... Ron Steele stuffed the stat sheet with 11 points, seven boards and six assists ... Hillman scored in double figures for the sixth straight game posting 17 points ... JaMychal Green added 13 points in only 19 minutes as he spent the majority of the game in foul trouble before fouling out with 1:13 left in regulation ... The Tide plays its fourth straight home game Wednesday, Dec. 17 when Tennessee State pays a visit to Coleman Coliseum.
ARKANSAS RAZORBACKS OVERALL: 6-1 (5-0 H, 1-1 A, 0-0 N) SEC: 0-0 (0-0 H, 0-0 A)
Head Coach: John Pelphrey 29-13 in 2nd year at Arkansas 109-80 in 7th year as a head coach
Freshman Courtney Fortson recorded just the second triple-double in school history in the 98-70 victory over North Carolina Central on Wednesday ... The point guard had 20 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists ... He was 7-of-13 shooting overall, including 3-of-5 on threes, and added two steals in 31 minutes ... Fortson has also had 11 assists in each of the last two games with just five combined turnovers ... The only other Razorback to notch a triple-double was Alvin Robertson on Jan. 19, 1984, in a 70-66 win at Texas ... Robertson had 23 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists ... The win over NCCU extended Arkansas' non-conference home court winning streak to 38 ... The last non-conference home loss was Dec. 22, 2003 ... Michael Washington recorded his third double-double of the season and the fifth of his career with 20 points and 12 rebounds against the Eagles ... The Razorback have out-rebounded all seven opponents this season and have a margin of +12.0 ... Jason Henry is averaging 15.5 points and 5.5 rebounds over the last two games.
AUBURN TIGERS OVERALL: 4-4 (4-1 H, 0-1 A, 0-2 N) SEC: 0-0 (0-0 H, 0-0 A)
Head Coach: Jeff Lebo 61-67 in 4th year at Auburn 176-130 in 11th year as a head coach
Following last Saturday's game vs. Louisiana-Monroe, Auburn will take 10 days off before its next game on Dec. 17 when it plays host to Tuskegee, a Div. II member of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference ... After playing three straight games away from Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum, Auburn is in the midst of playing six of its next seven at home ... Freshman Frankie Sullivan scored a career-high 23 points in only 23 minutes off the bench to go along with six steals in Auburn's 81-74 loss at No. 14 Xavier Dec. 3 ... Auburn's top four leading scorers are separated by only 2.1 points per game - Korvotney Barber averages a team-high 13.5 points followed by DeWayne Reed (12.6), Tay Waller (12.5) and Sullivan (9.7) ... Reed has a 2.67 assist-to-turnover ratio on the season with 32 assists to 12 turnovers ... He has dished out 11 assists while committing only two turnovers (5.50 ratio) in Auburn's last two games.
FLORIDA GATORS OVERALL: 7-2 (5-0 H, 0-1 A, 2-1 N) SEC: 0-0 (0-0 H, 0-0 A)
Head Coach: Billy Donovan 292-117 in 13th year at Florida 327-137 in 15th year as a head coach
Florida got back to its winning ways with a 94-60 win over Florida Gulf Coast on Wednesday night ... With the win, UF improved to 36-1 at home against non-conference opponents over the past four seasons, including 13 wins in a row ... The Gators led by eight at the half, but blew the game open by scoring 57 points and hitting 61.1 percent from the floor over the final 20 minutes ... Walter Hodge matched his career-high with 19 points, while Alex Tyus continued his torrid pace with a 19-point showing as well, hitting 9-of-13 shots and grabbing eight boards ... Over his last six games, Tyus is averaging 15.8 points and 6.8 rebounds and hitting 62.1 percent from the floor ... Dan Werner had 16 points and Erving Walker 13 points, while Nick Calathes dished out nine assists with no turnovers ... UF dominated the glass, grabbing 44 rebounds, including 17 offensive ... UF got 13 steals on 18 turnovers ... UF is off for 10 days before traveling to Jacksonville for a neutral site game with UCF at the Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena ... Florida has won 12 consecutive non-conference games in the state of Florida.
GEORGIA BULLDOGS OVERALL: 6-3 (5-0 H, 0-1 A, 1-2 N) SEC: 0-0 (0-0 H, 0-0 A)
Head Coach: Dennis Felton 81-83 in 6th year at Georgia 181-137 in 11th year as a head coach
Georgia basketball defeated the visiting Virginia Tech Hokies, 67-66, Tuesday night for its first win in its last three games ... Guard Corey Butler and forward Chris Barnes led the Bulldogs in scoring with 11 apiece, while freshman forward Trey Thompkins led the team in rebounding with nine ... Albert Jackson powered in a layup with 29 seconds left to give Georgia its winning margin ... The Bulldogs then held off Virginia Tech on one final possession, with Jackson pulling down a decisive rebound with less than a second left ... Georgia outrebounded the Hokies 41 to 36, and played their most complete game of the three-game stretch, which saw road losses to Western Kentucky and Illinois ... Georgia's bench also outscored Virginia Tech's 29-16 ... Georgia had played their two previous opponents close before letting the opposition go on a significant run, but Georgia managed to stay in the game during its duration against Tech ... Next up for Georgia are the Wofford Terriers on Dec. 20 from Stegeman Coliseum in Athens.
KENTUCKY WILDCATS OVERALL: 7-3 (5-2 H, 0-1 A, 2-0 N) SEC: 0-0 (0-0 H, 0-0 A)
Head Coach: Billy Gillispie 25-17 in 2nd year at Kentucky 125-74 in 7th year as a head coach
Kentucky defeated Indiana 72-54 Saturday afternoon in Lexington ... UK has won seven of its last eight, with the lone loss coming against No. 21 Miami on Dec. 3 ... Josh Harrellson finished with a career-high 15 points complementing seven rebounds and an assist to lead the 'Cats ... Perry Stevenson totaled 10 points and a game-high nine rebounds in 32 minutes of action ... Stevenson blocked a season-high six shots, marking his third straight game with multiple blocked shots ... Jodie Meeks finished with 13 points and two steals in 30 minutes ... Meeks has finished in double figures in 10 consecutive games ... Patrick Patterson chipped in with 12 points and eight rebounds in 25 minutes, blocking three shots and contributing three assists ... UK has now out-rebounded nine of its 10 opponents this season ... The Wildcats return to action on Saturday, Dec. 20, facing Appalachian State at Freedom Hall in Louisville.
LSU TIGERS OVERALL: 7-0 (7-0 H, 0-0 A, 0-0 N) SEC: 0-0 (0-0 H, 0-0 A)
Head Coach: Trent Johnson 7-0 in 1st year at LSU 166-121 in 10th year as a head coach
LSU showed no ill effects of 11 days off worrying about final exams with a convincing 87-41 over Grambling State Saturday night at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center ... The win made LSU 7-0 on the season going into Wednesday's game with Nicholls State and marked the 70th straight win over a Louisiana school in the Maravich Center dating back to Dec. 8, 1988 ... Marcus Thornton led LSU in scoring for the third straight game with 18 points and five assists, while Terry Martin off the bench was almost perfect shooting, hitting six-of-seven shots, including all four three-point attempts as he finished with 16 points in 17 minutes ... Tasmin Mitchell hit for 12 points in 19 minutes ... No LSU player other than Chris Johnson played more than 20 minutes in the contest while Johnson played 22 minutes ... LSU shot 63.6 percent from the floor, hitting 35-of-55 shots with 24 assists and just 11 turnovers. LSU also hit 13-of-22 treys for 59.1 percent ... LSU did not hurt its No. 2 national ranking in field goal percentage defense, as Grambling hit just 27.1 percent from the floor (13-of-48) and 2-of-12 from the arc.
OLE MISS REBELS OVERALL: 6-3 (4-1 H, 1-1 A, 1-1 N) SEC: 0-0 (0-0 H, 0-0 A)
Head Coach: Andy Kennedy 51-27 in 3rd year at Ole Miss 72-40 in 4th year as a head coach
After a two-game road swing, Ole Miss returns to the friendly confines of Tad Smith Coliseum for a showdown against Alabama State on Monday ... The Rebels won 78-65 Dec. 6 at New Orleans, but fell Dec. 13 at New Mexico, 103-70 ... The 33-point loss was the most lopsided defeat in the Andy Kennedy era and the worst for a Rebel team since an 80-40 loss at Kentucky on Feb. 22, 2006 ... Following Monday's game against last year's SWAC regular-season champion, the Rebels will prepare for a nationally televised battle (ESPN) Thursday against the nationally-ranked Louisville Cardinals in the SEC/BIG EAST Invitational in Cincinnati ... David Huertas and Chris Warren both average more than 20 points per game and rank second and third in the SEC in scoring, respectively ... They are one of two pairs of teammates in the nation to both average 20 or more points (VMI's Chavis and Travis Holmes) ... The Rebels have won 25 of their last 26 home games against non-league foes ... Ole Miss owns a 5-0 all-time edge over Alabama State and 28-0 over SWAC foes.
MISSISSIPPI STATE BULLDOGS OVERALL: 7-3 (6-1 H, 1-0 A, 0-2 N) SEC: 0-0 (0-0 H, 0-0 A)
Head Coach: Rick Stansbury 215-118 in 11th year at Mississippi State 215-118 in 11th year as a head coach
Hot shooting and another powerful performance from star center Jarvis Varnado led the Bulldogs to a 79-60 victory against the South Alabama Jaguars Saturday evening at Humphrey Coliseum ... Varnado put up eight points, six blocks and six rebounds by halftime to finish the game just a point shy of his career high of 22 points on 9-of-11 shooting, along with eight rebounds and six blocks ... Varnado's latest accomplishment is that against Charlotte he became MSU's latest member of the 500 rebound club ... With 515 for his career, he needs just 56 more to move into the school's Top 20 alltime list ... Barry Stewart currently ranks ninth in MSU's record books with 407 attempted 3-pointers ... With one more, he'll move into a tie for 8th with Tang Hamilton (1998-2001) ... With 46 assists, Dee Bost needs just four more to move into the Top 20 of the MSU freshman record books ... Against South Alabama, MSU played a season-high 15 players ... The only player that didn't see action was senior forward Brian Johnson, who hasn't played at all this year due to a sprained foot ... Against USA, the Bulldogs changed their lineup for the first time this year, replacing forward Kodi Augustus with guard Phil Turner ... Bulldogs return to action Thursday against Cincinnati in the Big East/SEC Invitational.
SOUTH CAROLINA GAMECOCKS OVERALL: 6-1 (5-0 H, 1-1 A, 0-0 N) SEC: 0-0 (0-0 H, 0-0 A)
Head Coach: Darrin Horn 6-1 in 1st year at South Carolina 120-49 in 6th year as a head coach
South Carolina improved to 6-1 with victories over Princeton (84-58) and Furman (72-48) last week in non-conference action ... The 48 points posted by the Paladins marked the lowest for a Carolina opponent this season ... Junior point guard Devan Downey led all scorers in both games, posting 22 points against Princeton and 19 against Furman ... He also tied a career high with seven steals against the Tigers ... Senior guard Zam Fredrick posted solid numbers against Princeton, hitting 7-of-11 shots from the field to contributed 20 points in the win ... The effort marked the 10th career game (at South Carolina) that Fredrick has tallied at least 20 points ... Junior forward Evka Baniulis continues to post solid numbers off the bench ... Baniulis contributed a season-high 15 points against Princeton and 12 vs. Furman ... Sophomore forward Mike Holmes continues to lead the SEC in offensive rebounds (4.6), while he ranks third in total rebounds with 9.3 per contest ... South Carolina will play three games prior to the Christmas holiday, beginning with a Tuesday night matchup against NC Central at 8 p.m. ... The Gamecocks will also host The Citadel (Dec. 20, 5 p.m.) and Presbyterian (Dec. 23, 7 p.m.) prior to the holiday break.
TENNESSEE VOLUNTEERS OVERALL: 6-2 (3-0 H, 1-1 A, 2-1 N) SEC: 0-0 (0-0 H, 0-0 A)
Head Coach: Bruce Pearl 83-26 in 4th year at Tennessee 400-110 in 17th year as a head coach
Tennessee suffered its second loss of the season last week as it dropped an 88-72 contest at Temple on Saturday in Philadelphia, Pa. ... The Vols never led in the game and were outrebounded for just the second time this season (37-33) ... Tyler Smith led the Vols in points (17) and assists (4) while also grabbing six rebounds ... Bobby Maze scored a season-high 15 points at Temple, and post Wayne Chism added 10 points ... UT was without the services of J.P. Prince, who suffered a left ankle injury during practice Friday and did not dress against the Owls ... Tennessee fell victim to a 36.5-percent shooting performance, while the Owls shot 55.4 percent from the floor ... Smith is the only player in the SEC to rank among the top 18 in the league in points, rebounds and assists per game ... Brian Williams ranks sixth in the league in rebounding following his nine-point, eight-rebound effort Saturday ... The UT bench has outscored the opponent's bench in all eight games this season ... Tennessee's schedule this week features a clash with Marquette Tuesday as part of the SEC/Big East Invitational ... On Saturday, the Vols host Belmont at Thompson-Boling Arena, where UT has won a school-record 35 straight games (third-longest active homecourt win streak in the nation).
VANDERBILT COMMODORES OVERALL: 6-3 (4-2 H, 0-1 A, 2-0 N) SEC: 0-0 (0-0 H, 0-0 A)
Head Coach: Kevin Stallings 176-119 in 10th year at Vanderbilt 299-182 in 16th year as a head coach
Vanderbilt ended a two-game losing streak with a 78-55 victory over Alabama A&M on Wednesday night in Nashville ... Jeffery Taylor scored a career-high 18 points on 8-9 shooting ... Taylor has now scored in double figures in eightof-nine games. The 8-9 shooting was a season-high for Taylor ... Vanderbilt shot a season-high 59.1 percent from the floor (26-44) ... Vanderbilt had three players score in double figures Taylor (18), Ogilvy (17) and Beal (14) ... Vanderbilt outscored Alabama A&M 36-18 in the paint ... Vanderbilt had 21 bench points while Alabama A&M had nine ... Vanderbilt outrebounded the Bulldogs 34-30, despite being outrebounded 14-6 on the offensive glass ... Vanderbilt is 6-0 this season when outrebounding its opponent ... Ogilvy pulled down a game-high eight rebounds in the win ... Beal added five while Tchiengang tied a career-high with four boards ... Vanderbilt was 21-29 (72.4%) from the free throw line, while Alabama A&M was 10-12 (83.3%) ... Ogilvy tied a season-high with nine made free throws, going 9-12 (75%), while Beal was 5-6 from the line.