Kentucky travels to Nashville, Tenn., Saturday to face Vanderbilt as the Wildcats enter a key, three-game stretch against SEC Eastern Division foes. The game tips off at approximately 12:00 p.m. ET and is televised by espn2. After the game against the Commodores, UK visits always-tough Florida before returning home to face resurgent South Carolina.
The Cats handed Vanderbilt its first loss of the season, 75-63, three weeks ago in Lexington. UK held Matt Freije, the Commodore?s leading scorer, scoreless until eight minutes into the second half and a trio of Wildcats – Erik Daniels, Kelenna Azubuike and Gerald Fitch – scored 16 points apiece.
The Wildcats have won 10-straight Southeastern Conference road games and 27 of their last 29 away from Rupp Arena. UK?s last SEC loss came at Vanderbilt?s Memorial Gym on Feb. 27, 2002.
The Vanderbilt Commodores
Vanderbilt enters the game with a 13-4 record and has lost four of its last five games, including the Jan. 10 loss to the Cats in Lexington. The Commodores only win in that stretch was an impressive 86-72 victory over Florida in Nashville. Vandy is 2-4 in SEC play, including an 0-3 league road record.
Matt Freije continues to lead the Dores and is second in the SEC with an 18.5 scoring average. He also leads the team in rebounding with 5.8 boards per game. Teammate Mario Moore also averages double figures with 10.8 ppg.
The Commodores will be without junior Corey Smith for Saturday?s game after he was ejected for fighting in Wednesday?s home loss to South Carolina. NCAA rules require a one-game suspension for fighting.
Vanderbilt coach Kevin Stallings is 198-125 in his 11th season as a head coach and holds a 75-63 record in his fifth season at Vandy.
Series History
This marks the 164th meeting between the two programs. Kentucky leads the series, 127-36, and has won four straight and 22 of its last 23 matchups against Vanderbilt.
UK won the first game in the series on Feb. 22, 1912, 28-17. The Wildcats own a 53-20 advantage in Nashville. UK is 36-18 in Memorial Gym, which includes three wins in the 1984 SEC Tournament. Kentucky owns more wins over the Commodores in Memorial than any other school.
Tubby Smith is 15-3 against VU in his coaching career, including a 13-1 mark while at UK.
Kevin Stallings earned his first win over Kentucky two years ago and is 1-9 against the Cats. Stallings also was 0-1 against the Cats while as a player at Purdue, losing to UK in the 1979 UKIT, his sophomore season. He went on to serve as an assistant at Purdue for six seasons. He moved to Kansas as an assistant in 1989.
Wildcat-Commodore Connections
Kentucky and Vanderbilt have had three common opponents this season – Indiana, Tennessee Tech and Tennessee. Kentucky is 3-0 against those teams, while the Commodores are 2-1 after falling to Tennessee on the road.
VU senior guard Scott Hundley hails from Georgetown, Ky., and attended Scott County High School, where he was named Kentucky?s Mr. Basketball in 2000.
Both Kentucky freshman Lukasz Obrzut (Gliwice) and Vanderbilt junior Dawid Przybyszewski (Torun) are from Poland.
Vanderbilt?s assistant media relations director, Andre Foushee, is a Kentucky grad and served as a student assistant and media relations intern while at UK.
Mr. Basketball Showcase
When UK and Vandy face off, three of the last four Kentucky Mr. Basketballs will be represented. VU?s Scott Hundley (Scott Co.) earned the honor in 2000, while UK?s Josh Carrier (Bowling Green) and Brandon Stockton (Glasgow) took the title in 2001 and 2002, respectively.
