South Carolina's Devan Downey was named the SEC Player of the Week after averaging 20.5 points, 4.0 assists and 3.5 steals in leading the Gamecocks to wins over Vanderbilt and at Kentucky. Downey tallied 18 points, while adding four assists and a team-best three steals in the Gamecock victory over Vanderbilt on Wednesday. Downey backed that up with one of his top performances of the season in USC's upset of then-No. 24 Kentucky at Rupp Arena on Saturday when tallied 23 points, four assists and four steals in the victory. With three seconds left, he nailed a turnaround jumper to give the Gamecocks the one-point victory.
Downey's Season Stats
PPG RPG APG BPG SPG 19.8 2.6 4.3 0.2 3.1
SEC FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK Terrico White Ole Miss G • 6-5 • 211 • Fr. • Memphis, Tenn.
Ole Miss' Terrico White was named SEC Freshman of the Week after he averaged 19.5 points, 5.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists in wins over Kentucky and at Mississippi State. The rookie point guard scored 21 points with five boards, seven assists and just two turnovers to help the Rebels to their first win over the Wildcats since 2001. He recorded 12 of his team-high 18 points in the second half to help Ole Miss come from behind in a 67-63 win in Starkville, the team's first victory there since 1998.
White's Season Stats
PPG RPG APG BPG SPG 10.2 3.2 2.1 0.0 0.9
SEC STANDINGS
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
February 3 (Tuesday) *Mississippi State at Kentucky [Raycom] 7:00 p.m. ET *South Carolina at Florida [ESPN] 9:00 p.m. ET
February 4 (Wednesday) *Tennessee at Arkansas [Raycom] 7:00 p.m. CT *Auburn at Ole Miss 7:00 p.m. CT *LSU at Georgia 7:30 p.m. ET
February 5 (Thursday) *Alabama at Vanderbilt [ESPN/ESPN2] 6:00 p.m. CT
February 7 (Saturday) *Tennessee at Auburn [Raycom] Noon CT *Ole Miss at Vanderbilt [CBS] Noon CT *Arkansas at Mississippi State [Raycom] 2:00 p.m. CT *Georgia at South Carolina [FSN] 5:00 p.m. ET
February 8 (Sunday) *Alabama at LSU [Raycom] Noon CT
February 10 (Tuesday) *Florida at Kentucky [ESPN] 9:00 p.m. ET
February 11 (Wednesday) *Arkansas at Auburn 7:00 p.m. CT *LSU at Mississippi State 7:00 p.m. CT *Georgia at Tennessee [Raycom] 8:00 p.m. ET
February 14 (Saturday) *Kentucky at Arkansas [CBS] Noon CT *South Carolina at Alabama [Raycom] 2:00 p.m. CT *Vanderbilt at Tennessee [Raycom] 3:00 p.m. ET *Mississippi State at Auburn [FSN] 4:00 p.m. CT *Florida at Georgia [ABC] 3:30 p.m. ET *Ole Miss at LSU [FSN] 6:00 p.m. CT
ALL TIMES LOCAL *SEC Game; [ ] TV Game; #Tape Delayed; FSN includes FSN South, FSN Southwest and SUN Sports; CST: Cox Sports Television; FSN: Fox Sports Net; FSNS: FSN South; Raycom: Raycom Sports; SSUN: Sun Sports.
LAST WEEK'S RESULTS
January 27 (Tuesday) *at Ole Miss 85, Kentucky 80 [ESPN] at Auburn 66, Texas-Pan American 63
January 28 (Wednesday) *at South Carolina 86, Vanderbilt 76 *at Florida 83, Georgia 57 [Raycom] *LSU 79, at Tennessee 73 [Raycom]
January 29 (Thursday) *at Arkansas 89, Alabama 80 [ESPN]
January 31 (Saturday) *Ole Miss 67, at Mississippi State 63 [Raycom] *Vanderbilt 82, at Auburn 75 *South Carolina 78, at Kentucky 77 [Raycom] *at LSU 69, Arkansas 59 [FSN] *at Alabama 75, Georgia 70 [FSN] *at Tennessee 79, Florida 63 [ESPN]
AROUND THE SEC
SEC Coaches Reaching Milestones
Three Southeastern Conference coaches have reached significant milestones this season.
SEC COMMUNITY SERVICE TEAM
Arkansas freshman Miichael Sanchez will be featured as the SEC Community Service Team Player of the Week on this week's Raycom Sports telecasts.
The Springdale, Ark., native is a member of Arkansas' Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and has participated in several projects, including the Adopt a Street Program in which the group has taken part in the City of Fayetteville's “Curb Clutter” program by keeping a street clean and the Razorback Adopt a Child program in which the group collected donations to purchase Christmas gift cards to Toys R Us for several area elementary children. He also participated in the Boy Scouts Popcorn Drive where he and other student-athletes met with more than 300 scouts, signed autographs, posed for pictures and gave a tour of Arkansas' facilities.
In a continuing effort to recognize the accomplishments of student-athletes beyond the field of competition, the SEC has again teamed with Raycom Sports to highlight an SEC Community Service Team for men's basketball for the 2008-09 season.
A player will be highlighted on the Raycom broadcasts each week beginning in January as the SEC Community Service Team “Player of the Week” for his accomplishments in the community and in the classroom. This marks the 11th year for the SEC Community Service Team for men's basketball as well as for women's basketball and at-large teams for men's and women's sports. The SEC began this concept with a football Community Service Team in 1994.
SEC Community Service Team Player of the Week
Jan. 10-11 Jodie Meeks, Kentucky Jan. 14-18 Walter Hodge, Florida Jan. 21-24 Quantez Robertson, Auburn Jan. 28-31 Barry Stewart, Mississippi State Feb. 3-8 Michael Sanchez, Arkansas
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 2008-09 Georgia 2002-03 Kentucky 2006-07 LSU 2006-07 Ole Miss 2007-08 Mississippi State 2004-05 South Carolina 2003-04 Tennessee 2008-09 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 2008-09 128-44 (.744) 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 (February 2, 2009)
Other SEC teams receiving votes: LSU (36), South Carolina (33), Florida (24), Kentucky (2).
USA Today/ESPN Coaches Poll (February 2, 2009)
Other SEC teams receiving votes: LSU (10), South Carolina (8), Florida (6), Kentucky (3).
TEAM-BY-TEAM NOTES
ALABAMA CRIMSON TIDE
OVERALL: 13-8 (11-3 H, 0-4 A, 2-1 N) SEC: 3-4 (3-1 H, 0-3 A)
Interim Head Coach: Philip Pearson 1-1 in 1st year at Alabama 1-1 in 1st year as a head coach
Alabama never trailed in the second half and earned its first victory under interim head coach Phillip Pearson Saturday night, knocking off Georgia 75-70 at Coleman Coliseum ... The Crimson Tide extended a five point halftime lead to 10 in the first 3:30 of the second frame when sophomore Mikhail Torrance made a jumper to give Alabama a 50-40 lead ... The Bulldogs never got closer than four points from that point ... Alonzo Gee scored 20 points on just eight shots from the field to lead the Tide ... Gee went 6-8 from the floor, a perfect 3-3 from behind the arc and 5-7 from the free throw line ... Senario Hillman made an impact on both ends of the court with 19 points, three assists and five steals ... Hillman drilled 3-4 shots from three-point range, and he and Gee combined to make all six of Alabama's shots from deep ... JaMychal Green posted his third double-double of his freshman campaign, scoring 14 points and grabbing a team-high 13 rebounds ... Green also added three blocked shots to his impressive stat line ... The Tide travels to Nashville, Tenn. for its next contest against Vanderbilt on Thursday, Feb. 5 ... The game will air on ESPN2 and is scheduled to tip-off at 6 p.m. CT.
ARKANSAS RAZORBACKS
OVERALL: 13-6 (11-2 H, 1-4 A, 1-0 N) SEC: 1-5 (1-2 H, 0-3 A)
Head Coach: John Pelphrey 36-18 in 2nd year at Arkansas 116-85 in 7th year as a head coach
In the two games last week against Alabama and LSU, freshman Courtney Fortson averaged 12.5 points, 5.0 rebounds, 9.0 assists and 3.0 steals while shooting 81.3 percent (13-16) at the free-throw line ... He had just seven turnovers in the two games ... Fortson has had a season-high three steals in each of the last two games ... In the two games last week, freshman Rotnei Clarke averaged 19.0 points and 3.0 rebounds ... He was 14-of-23 from the floor (.609), including 8-of-17 on threes (.471) ... Also last week, freshman Jason Henry averaged 8.5 points and a team-high 7.0 rebounds ... Junior Michael Washington set a career high with 21 shot attempts at LSU ... He made 11 shots and finished with a game-high 24 points ... He has nine 20-point games for his career, all this year, and has led the team in scoring 14 times in his career, including 11 times this season ... As a team, Arkansas has made 36-of-46 free throws in the last two games, 78.3 percent; but its opponents went a combined 31-of-37, 83.8 percent ... The Tennessee game is one of 13 this year Arkansas plays against team which won at least 20 games last season and one of 14 against teams earning either an NCAA Tournament or NIT bid a year ago.
AUBURN TIGERS
OVERALL: 13-8 (11-3 H, 2-3 A, 0-2 N) SEC: 2-4 (1-2 H, 1-2 A)
Head Coach: Jeff Lebo 70-72 in 4th year at Auburn 185-135 in 11th year as a head coach
This is the 117th meeting between the Tigers and Rebels with Auburn holding a 70-46 advantage ... Ole Miss holds a 33-23 series lead in Oxford, including a 27-15 record in Tad Smith Coliseum. Auburn has won two of the last three games in Oxford ... The Auburn-Ole Miss series has been swept alternately by the Tigers and the Rebels each of the last four seasons ... Auburn won both games in 2008 and 2006 with Ole Miss taking the pair in 2007 and 2005 ... Auburn has been outrebounded in six of its eight losses and is 1-6 in games on the year when it has been outrebounded ... The only game the Tigers won that they were outrebounded in came in a 77-72 victory over Alabama State ... Auburn is in the midst of playing five of six games in Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum ... The Tigers have defeated Texas-Pan American and lost to Vanderbilt and play at Ole Miss Feb. 4 ... The Tigers then play three straight SEC home games against Tennessee Feb. 7, Arkansas Feb. 11 and Mississippi State Feb. 14 ... The Tigers are 11-3 at home this season ... Auburn ranks fifth nationally and leads the SEC averaging 9.9 steals per game.
FLORIDA GATORS
OVERALL: 18-4 (12-0 H, 2-3 A, 4-1 N) SEC: 5-2 (3-0 H, 2-2 A)
Head Coach: Billy Donovan 303-119 in 13th year at Florida 338-139 in 15th year as a head coach
Florida fell to 5-2 in SEC play with a 79-63 loss at Tennessee ... The Gators scored just 22 first half points and could never dig out of a 17-point first-half deficit ... Nick Calathes led all scorers with 21 points, knocking down three three-pointers, while Chandler Parsons had 15 points ... Calathes scored 15+ points for the 10th straight game and is averaging 21.4 points, 6.8 rebounds and 6.1 assists in that time ... Parsons is averaging 17.0 points per game over his last four outings and is hitting 71.1 percent from the floor in that time ... The Gators allowed an opponent to score more than 70 points for the first time since Dec. 22 and after holding its opposition to just 5.3 three-pointers per game in league play, allowed UT to knock down 12 three-pointers ... UF returns to action on Tuesday night against South Carolina in Gainesville ... The Gators have won 14 in a row at home dating back to last year and are 12-0 at home this year.
GEORGIA BULLDOGS
OVERALL: 9-12 (8-5 H, 0-5 A, 1-2 N) SEC: 0-6 (0-3 H, 0-3 A)
Interim Head Coach: Pete Herrmann 0-1 in 1st season at Georgia 63-111 in 7th season as a head coach
Georgia was led by Trey Thompkins' 22 points and career-high 14 rebounds, but it wasn't enough to get past Alabama as the visiting Bulldogs fell to the Crimson Tide 75-70 Saturday night at Coleman Coliseum ... It was the first game for the Bulldogs since Pete Herrmann took over as interim head coach earlier this week ... The Bulldogs would keep the deficit within 10 for most of the second half and closed the gap to six at 71-65 with just under two minutes to play ... After an Alabama layup, Dustin Ware hit a deep three-pointer from the top of the key to bring Georgia within five at 73-68 with 20 seconds to play, but could get no closer ... Georgia finished the game shooting 40 percent from the floor and also turned the ball over 20 times, which led to 25 Alabama points ... Thompkins' 22 points led all scorers, while Woodbury added 15 and Ware chipped in 11 ... Thompkins' 14 rebounds were the most by any Georgia player this season ... Up next, Georgia will face LSU Wednesday at Stegeman Coliseum ... Tipoff for that game is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
KENTUCKY WILDCATS
OVERALL: 16-6 (10-3 H, 3-3 A, 3-0 N) SEC: 5-2 (2-1 H, 3-1 A)
Head Coach: Billy Gillispie 34-19 in 2nd year at Kentucky 134-77 in 7th year as a head coach
Kentucky dropped its first SEC game at home, a 77-78 setback against South Carolina Saturday afternoon ... Kentucky shot 52.1 percent from the field ... It is the 12th time in 22 games this season that the Wildcats have made at least half of their shots ... This marked the first time in almost four years that UK played a game decided by one point ... The last one-pointer was on March 12, 2005, a 79-78 overtime win over LSU in the SEC Tournament ... After scoring just two points in the first half, Jodie Meeks finished with 20 ... Patrick Patterson tallied 28 points, his ninth 20-point game of the season, and his most ever in an SEC game ... Perry Stevenson had four blocked shots, the 10th time in his career he has had at least three rejections in one contest ... He also tied his career high for assists with four ... Kentucky returns to action Tuesday night at home vs. Mississippi State ... The game is at 7 p.m. ET and will be regionally televised by Raycom Sports.
LSU TIGERS
OVERALL: 17-4 (15-1 H, 2-2 A, 0-1 N) SEC: 5-1 (3-0 H, 2-1 A)
Head Coach: Trent Johnson 17-4 in 1st year at LSU 176-125 in 10th year as a head coach
As LSU celebrated its 100th Anniversary of Men's Basketball on Saturday, the Tigers gave a sold-out Pete Maravich Assembly Center packed with alumni a great show ... The Tigers built a 23-point halftime lead and held off a second-half Arkansas run to win, 79-69 ... The Tigers saw a huge lead cut to five with less than four minutes to play ... However, consecutive baskets by Tasmin Mitchell including a three-pointer from the top of the key sealed the win on the historic afternoon ... Mitchell, who struggled offensively throughout the game, finished 4-of-13 from the field for 11 points -- none bigger than his final five ... He completed the double double with 10 rebounds ... Bo Spencer led the Tigers with 21 points including 5-of-6 from beyond the arc ... Chris Johnson added 18 points, 11 rebounds and seven blocked shots, while Marcus Thornton had 18 points and eight rebounds.
OLE MISS REBELS
OVERALL: 12-9 (9-2 H, 2-4 A, 1-3 N) SEC: 3-4 (2-1 H, 1-3 A)
Head Coach: Andy Kennedy 57-33 in 3rd year at Ole Miss 78-46 in 4th year as a head coach
Ole Miss heads into Wednesday's contest against Auburn riding a two-game winning streak, which included its first win over Kentucky since 2001 and its first victory at Mississippi State since 1998 ... The Rebels improved to 1-1 against ranked teams this season with the 85-80 triumph over the 24th-ranked Wildcats ... The trio of David Huertas, Terrico White and Malcolm White all scored 20 or more points in that contest, the first time a Rebel trio has accomplished that feat since the 2006-07 season ... The win snapped a three-game losing skid ... Ole Miss then took its show on the road and defeated MSU 67-63, overcoming a 37-33 halftime deficit ... Terrico White scored 12 of his 18 points in the second half to help the Rebels to their second road win of the year and first in league play ... Ole Miss faces Auburn in Oxford on Wednesday before traveling to Vanderbilt on Saturday for a nationally televised game on CBS.
MISSISSIPPI STATE BULLDOGS
OVERALL: 14-7 (10-3 H, 3-1 A, 1-3 N) SEC: 4-2 (2-1 H, 2-1 A)
Head Coach: Rick Stansbury 222-122 in 11th year at Mississippi State 222-122 in 11th year as a head coach
Mississippi State travels to Kentucky on Tuesday looking to beat the Wildcats three times in a row for the first time in series history. ... Against Ole Miss, the Bulldogs lost for the first time this year when leading at the half. They were 13-0. ... In all six SEC contests, MSU has been out-rebounded. ... Junior forward Jarvis Varnado had 15 rebounds against the Rebels to give him 610 for his career, as he became the 19th player in school history to eclipse the 600 mark. ... MSU currently sports a regular-season record of 50-54 against Eastern Division foes since the divisional format was introduced in 1992. ... The Bulldogs' SEC road record of 29-54 during the last 11 years is tops in the West. ... In the last 20 years, MSU is 79-73 in the month of February. ... Junior guard Barry Stewart is 46 points shy of becoming the 30th Bulldog player to score 1,000 for a career.
SOUTH CAROLINA GAMECOCKS
OVERALL: 16-4 (13-1 H, 3-3 A, 0-0 N) SEC: 5-2 (4-0 H, 1-2 A)
Head Coach: Darrin Horn 16-4 in 1st year at South Carolina 127-52 in 6th year as a head coach
South Carolina owns a four-game SEC win streak for the first time since the 2006 season and for the first time in strictly regular-season play since the 2004 campaign ... The Gamecocks most recently upset then-No. 24 Kentucky 78-77 at Rupp Arena, breaking a 12-game home SEC win streak for the Wildcats ... The win marked just the second-ever at Rupp Arena for the Gamecocks in 23 tries ... Devan Downey led Carolina to two SEC East Division wins last week ... Carolina defeated Vanderbilt, 86-76, on Jan. 28 in Columbia, breaking a five-game losing streak to the Commodores, and followed with the victory at Kentucky on Jan. 31, breaking a four-game losing streak to the Wildcats ... Downey averaged 20.5 points, 4.0 assists and 3.5 steals during the two-game stretch, while he's averaged 20.8 points, 4.3 assists and 3.3 steals during the four-game league win streak ... Sam Muldrow has started the last four game for Carolina, averaging 7.8 points and 7.0 rebounds per game ... Mike Holmes (10.5 ppg/8.3 rpg) and Dominique Archie (10.0 ppg/4.0 rpg) have also been clutch for the Gamecocks during the four-game win streak... South Carolina travels to Florida on Tuesday for its first appearance on ESPN this season.
TENNESSEE VOLUNTEERS
OVERALL: 13-7 (7-4 H, 3-2 A, 3-1 N) SEC: 4-2 (2-2 H, 2-0 A)
Head Coach: Bruce Pearl 90-31 in 4th year at Tennessee 407-115 in 17th year as a head coach
Tennessee tangled with two of the league's top teams last week, splitting contests with LSU before posting a convincing home win over a hot Florida squad ... The Volunteers continue to rank third nationally in average attendance, drawing 20,783 fans per game to Thompson-Boling Arena ... The Big Orange have posted wins over four teams that currently occupy a top-50 position in well known analyst Jeff Sagarin's college basketball ratings (Marquette, Georgetown, Florida and South Carolina) ... Tennessee's seven losses have come against teams that combine to boast an average Sagarin ranking of No. 30 ... UT's bench has outscored the opponents bench in 18 of 20 games this season, and the scoring margin among non-starters has been 18 points or greater in favor of the Vols in 10 different games ... Tennessee also continues to lead the SEC in scoring with 80.7 ppg and rebounding with 40.5 rpg ... After allowing an average of 76.3 ppg prior to Jan. 17, UT has allowed an average of 64.8 ppg in its last four contests ... The Vols hit the road this week to face SEC Western Division foes Arkansas and Auburn on Wednesday and Saturday, respectively ... UT is 2-0 in SEC road games thus far, with victories at Georgia and Vanderbilt.
VANDERBILT COMMODORES
OVERALL: 13-8 (8-4 H, 2-4 A, 3-0 N) SEC: 2-5 (1-2 H, 1-3 A)
Head Coach: Kevin Stallings 183-124 in 10th year at Vanderbilt 306-187 in 16th year as a head coach
With the win at Auburn, Vanderbilt improves to 13-8, 2-5 in SEC play ... Auburn drops to 13-8, 2-4 in the SEC ... The win against Auburn ended a four game losing streak and the first road SEC win for the Commodores this season ... Vanderbilt is now 2-5 in designated road wins in 2008-09, and 1-3 in SEC competition ... Vanderbilt shot 60.9% from the floor (28-46), a season best from the floor for the Commodores ... The Commodores also converted a season-best 58.8% from three (10-17) against the Tigers ... Vanderbilt won for the first time at Auburn since February 16, 2005 ... The Commodores have won five out of their last six meetings with the Tigers ... Jermaine Beal led all Vanderbilt scorers with a career-high 21 points on seven made three pointers ... The seven made threes for Beal is a new career high – he was 7-for-8 from beyond the arc and 7-for-10 from the floor ... A.J. Ogilvy and Jeffery Taylor each scored 14 points for the Commodores ... Brad Tinsley's 13 point game was his 14th double-digit game of the season, and his second consecutive game in double figures.