Recap: Vanderbilt vs Auburn

A.J. Ogilvy poured in a career-high 27 points and grabbed five rebounds to help 18th-ranked Vanderbilt to a 93-82 victory over Auburn in the first round of the Southeastern Conference Tournament.

Shan Foster added 26 points while Alex Gordon donated 14 and Ross Neltner ended with 10 for the Commodores (26-6), who will play Arkansas in the quarterfinal round on Friday.

“I thought our team did a good job of moving the ball and being patient with it and getting it inside,” said Vanderbilt coach Kevin Stallings. “I thought our guys really bought into the game plan and executed it very well.”

Rasheem Barrett had 20 points while Frank Tolbert added 17 for the Tigers (14-16), who closed out their season with five consecutive losses. Lucas Hargrove donated 16 points and eight boards in defeat.

The kids battled hard, but their two big guys really hurt us in this game,” said Auburn coach Jeff Lebo. “Offensively it wasn’t an issue for us, it was just having a hard time stopping them on the other end.”

Trailing by 11 points to start the second half, Auburn later cut its deficit to six on a layup from Quantez Robertson about 3 1/2 minutes in.

Vanderbilt, while holding a five-point edge after Hargrove drained a three at the other end with 11:35 to play, scored 10 unanswered points and held a 71-56 lead on a pair of free throws from Gordon with 8:20 remaining.

Auburn was able to get back to within 10 points on a Barrett slam with a bit over three minutes to play, but the team couldn’t pull any closer as Vanderbilt held on for the win.

Ogily scored the first six points of the game and Foster’s three-pointer later helped the Commodores take a 17-6 lead a little less than five minutes in.

The Tigers bounced back and cut their deficit to four points, 21-17, on Quan Prowell’s three-pointer with 12:52 left in the first half.

Vanderbilt later reeled off nine consecutive points, however, with Ogilvy netting the last four. That made it 35-22, and the team eventually took a 47-36 advantage into the locker room.

Vanderbilt beats top ranked Tennessee

Shan Foster scored 32 points as Vanderbilt University beat No. 1-ranked Tennessee 72-69, one day after the Volunteers moved atop the AP college basketball poll for the first time in school history.

Jermaine Beal added 17 points last night for 18th-ranked Vanderbilt, which has won seven straight games and improved its home record at Memorial Gym in Nashville, Tennessee, this season to 18-0.

The Commodores are 24-4 overall, including a 9-4 record in the Southeastern Conference.

Vanderbilt has now won four straight games against opponents that were ranked No. 1 in the AP poll. The Commodores most recently beat top-ranked Florida 83-70 on Feb. 17, 2007.

Tennessee, which is about 200 miles from Vanderbilt’s campus, had a nine-game winning streak snapped to fall to 25-3 overall and 11-2 in the conference. Chris Lofton scored 25 points to lead the Volunteers, who moved atop the national polls following a 66- 62 win over previously unbeaten Memphis.

Getting Inside Vanderbilt

It’s a simple but often overlooked fact: What happens on the defensive end of the floor is often predicated by a team’s offensive efficiencies. And just as Vanderbilt has started taking care of the ball, its defensive effectiveness has grown in quantum leaps.

From Nov. 24 until Feb. 6, a span of 18 games, the Commodores gave up fewer than 67 points just once, that coming in a 76-58 win over a Rice team that’s now 3-19. But suddenly, Vandy has held its last three opponents…Georgia, South Carolina and Kentucky, to 59, 65 and 52 points, respectively.

Looking for a common denominator? VU has turned the ball over nine, 10 and six times, respectively, in those three games.

VANDERBILT 93, KENTUCKY 52: Vanderbilt’s domination of Kentucky was so complete, even coach Kevin Stallings was at a loss for words to describe it. VU led 41-11 at the half, started the second half on a 15-3 run, and handed UK its worst loss ever in Southeastern Conference play.The Commodores out rebounded UK 35-30 after getting whipped 51-27 on the boards by the Wildcats last month in Lexington, a game the ‘Cats won 79-73 in double overtime. VU shot 55.4 percent for the game and committed just two turnovers until the game’s final 4:13, when Stallings cleared the bench and played three walk-ons for much of the stretch.

Shan Foster led Vandy with 20 points, and outscored UK by himself in the game’s first 26:52. A.J. Ogilvy added 19 points and 12 rebounds.

GAME PREVIEW:

vs. Florida, Saturday, Feb. 16, 3:00 PM, on Raycom Sports

vs. Georgia, Saturday, Feb. 23

IN FOCUS: The Commodores have a golden opportunity with all these home games, but if they keep playing the way they did Tuesday night, they’ll be unstoppable.

Vanderbilt loses second straight

Vanderbilt’s turnover and rebounding woes are not new, but now the Commodores can’t find their shooting touch either.

The Commodores, the nation’s leading 3-point shooting team a week ago, missed their first 11 from behind the arc in an 80-60 loss at Tennessee on Thursday. Vanderbilt finished just 3-for-21, 14 percent.

It was the Commodores’ second consecutive loss after a 16-0 start.

Vanderbilt also is struggling from the foul line after shooting over 75 percent most of the season.

Freshman center A.J. Ogilvy, who was averaging over 19 points a game coming into Thursday’s game, has not asserted himself at the start of games lately. That allows opponents to close out on Vanderbilt’s shooters.

Oglivy scored just two in the first half Thursday and finished with 12.

TENNESSEE 80, VANDERBILT 60: After winning its first 16 games, Vanderbilt lost its second straight.

The visiting Commodores shot just 36 percent from the field, committed 22 turnovers and were outrebounded 43-38.

The Volunteers’ unheralded center, Wayne Chism, got the best of Vanderbilt freshman A.J. Ogilvy. Chism torched Vandy for 18 points and 18 rebounds, and hit two 3-pointers to fuel a 32-15 Tennessee run in the first half.

Guard Shan Foster led Vanderbilt with 14 points, but he made just one of 11 from behind the arc.