GAME NOTES: A pair of top-25 teams meet up in SEC action this evening, as the sixth-ranked Tennessee Volunteers welcome the 16th-ranked Vanderbilt Commodores to Thompson-Boling Arena. The Vols are 14-1 on the year, with the lone loss coming against Texas on November 24th (97-78). Since then, UT has strung together nine consecutive victories, including opening up SEC play with wins over Ole Miss (85-83) and South Carolina (80-56). The Volunteers have not opened an SEC slate 3-0 since the 2000-01 campaign. The Commodores have been just as impressive, winning 16 of their first 17 games. Vanderbilt won its first 16 games, but showed a chink in the armor, with last weekend's 79-73 double-overtime setback to Kentucky in Lexington. This is the 172nd all-time meeting between these two longtime intrastate rivals. Tennessee owns a significant advantage all-time (105-66) and its 105 victories are the most by the Vols over any opponent. Tennessee has won three of the last four meetings overall and is 64-16 all-time when playing the Commodores in Knoxville.

Although Kentucky has struggled this season, the Wildcats more than made up for it over the weekend, topping an undefeated Vanderbilt squad in double-overtime. The Commodores were abused on the boards (45-23) and were outscored in second- chance points, 18-2. Of course, 22 turnovers didn't help either, but at least that was tempered by Kentucky's 23 miscues. Shan Foster once again led the Commodores in the scoring column, hitting four three-pointers en route to a 20- point effort. A.J. Ogilvy poured in 16 points, followed by Alex Gordon and Darshawn McClellan who chipped in 12 and 10 points, respectively. The Commodores have been better offensively on the season. The team is averaging a robust 86.0 ppg, getting it done on .487 from the floor and .439 from behind the arc. Foster has been outstanding, shooting .532 from the floor and .511 from long distance, leading to 20.6 ppg. Ogilvy has been dominant in the paint, averaging 19.4 ppg, while grabbing 7.1 rpg. Gordon is a reliable third option at the offensive end, adding 10.6 ppg.

The Volunteers will have no problem turning this game into a shootout, as they are one of the few teams nationally that can match the Commodores basket-for- basket. Tennessee is shooting .466 from the floor and is putting up 86.7 ppg. The team definitely possesses scoring depth, with four players currently averaging double figures. Seniors JaJuan Smith and Chris Lofton form quite a backcourt duo, averaging 14.9 and 13.5 ppg, respectively. The pair have combined for 85 of the team's 146 three-pointers. Sophomores Tyler Smith (13.3 ppg) and J.P. Prince (12.2 ppg) add to the scoring punch. In the 24-point win over South Carolina last weekend, the Vols shot just .426 from the floor, but turned up the heat defensively, winning the battle on the boards (43-31) and forcing 17 turnovers. In addition, the Gamecocks were held to just .373 from the floor, including 5-of-21 from behind the arc. JaJuan Smith led four Vols in double figures with 15 points. Wayne Chism added 13 points, while Tyler Smith and Prince finished with 11 points each.

The Commodores faltered on the road against Kentucky and winning in Knoxville won't come any easier. The Volunteers have won 24 straight at home and will add to that with a hard-fought victory here.