Vanderbilt 102, Ole Miss 76: Jeffery Taylor Has Had Enough of Your Crap.
by Christian D'Andrea on Feb 16, 2012 11:09 PM EST
in Vanderbilt Commodores Basketball
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PrintVanderbilt needed to make a statement after losing three of their last four games. Jeffery Taylor gave them one.
Taylor sprung for 23 points, including a 5-5 showing from three-point range...in the first half - to lead Vandy to an affirming win over Ole Miss in Oxford Thursday night.
Vandy put together a dominant first half, scoring 53 points and shooting 71 percent, and rode that advantage to a 102-76 victory at the Tad Pad. The loss was only Ole Miss's second at home this season. Vanderbilt retained sole position of third place in the SEC with the win. 102 points was Vandy's best road showing in the SEC since a 1968 win over LSU in Baton Rouge.
Taylor took another step towards SEC Player of the Year honors with a 28 point, nine rebound performance that included a 5-6 showing from three-point range. Vanderbilt took a 5-2 lead early on and never trailed from that point on. The Commodores hit the gas and left Ole Miss behind, going on a 31-7 run late in the first half to open up a 53-28 lead at the half.
John Jenkins added 26 points in the win, needing only five shots to better his season scoring average. I don't have a record book handy, but that may be the greatest point-per-shot average for a single game in school history.
Kedren Johnson put together his best game off the bench for the Commodores, chipping in five assists with no turnovers in the first half alone. He chipped in six points as well. Shelby Moats also put together an impressive performance from the bench, recording a pair of blocks and showing off some impressive defense in the paint.
The win inspired hope for the postseason, as the Commodores easily dispatched a bubble team Thursday night. Ole Miss had played up and down ball going into tonight's matchup, and they needed a big win to propel their March hopes. Vanderbilt squashed that early on in a hostile environment, dropping the Rebels to 5-6 in the SEC and likely paving their way to the NIT. The 'Dores will have to replicate that Sunday at Georgia to keep their tournament momentum moving in the right direction.
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Taylor
My only complaint about Taylor at this point is that he doesn’t shoot enough. And maybe raise his FT shooting percentage just a bit. He’s doing everything else exceptionally well, scoring, driving, drawing fouls, shooting, rebounding, defense – basically he’s playing like Derrick Byars on steroids. He’s making a 20 ppg scorer in John Jenkins a complementary player on offense. But now that he’s no longer beating himself up about any error he makes, he now needs to be more selfish and just take over.
At this point, any all-SEC team that doesn’t have Taylor unanimously on it is hopelessly myopic. And while Davis has already been annointed SEC POTY, the margin is much closer than everybody seems to think that it is.
Take nothing for granted
Focus on the task at hand. Anchor Down. Beat Georgia.
I like Tennessee and Vanderbilt. There aren't many like me, and they're probably better off for it.
I Admit...
I did say to my wife at the half: “How can we blow this lead.” What baffled me is that Ole Miss started pressing at the start of the game and just gave up. JT’s game aside, might have been different game had they kept it up
by VandyVern on Feb 17, 2012 9:07 AM EST via Android app up reply actions
My Statement Exactly
I said something like “We couldn’t blow a lead this big, could we?”
by foreverhopeful on Feb 17, 2012 9:36 AM EST up reply actions
Up by 25 on a team that really struggles to score
There was pretty much no way we would have lost the game, unless they held us to 20 points in the second half, which was unlikely due to their propensity to foul. I was actually able to get some work done during the second half, as it was pretty much the definition of insurmountable.
by Jason Fukuda on Feb 17, 2012 9:49 AM EST up reply actions
We didn't play UGA
like we just played UM. If we play like that against UM? Same story. And even more so at home vs. USC. If we can be 20-8 come @ UK…… Bruce Pearl said it, and damnit I say it. We WILL beat UK once this year. Maybe not at home, and maybe not even next Saturday. But it will happen.
by VandyGold28 on Feb 16, 2012 11:55 PM EST up reply actions
Daaaayyyymmnnnn.
That was sick. I agree with Jason’s comment – the more JT shoots the better.
The bench really contributed tonight, and that was very, very nice to see. Kedren played fantastic. Once we stepped up on D about halfway through the first half, this thing was over. Finally we had a night where we just couldn’t miss from 3 (like UF had against us).
by Pope Vanderbilt on Feb 17, 2012 12:10 AM EST reply actions
I missed most of this game other than the 31-7 run
But I saw the most important part: Moats’ two blocks on the same possession. I hope the second half of the UK game was us turning a corner. We could easily finish 11-5 in the SEC, which would honestly probably be good for second (assuming UF loses at Arkansas and vs. Kentucky).
JUDGEMENT NIGHT
That’s the game I’ve been waiting for since Richmond.
You will now witness the firepower of this fully operational offense…
"Well, if that ain't a show, I'll kiss your ass." - Gov. Jim Folsom Sr. (D-AL), 1948-52
Maybe not the best reference to use...
After all, didn’t the Death Star get blown up by shortly after that—mainly due to an inability to defend against smaller and more humble but quicker enemies?
by Tim in Surrey on Feb 17, 2012 6:13 AM EST up reply actions 1 recs
And thus you see the press in action...
Also, Ole Miss failed to incorporate Ewoks into their offense.
"Well, if that ain't a show, I'll kiss your ass." - Gov. Jim Folsom Sr. (D-AL), 1948-52
First Half
The most dominating performance I have ever seen from a Commodore team. Ole Miss thought they had a chance.
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