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Big East/SEC Challenge Set: Vanderbilt to Host Villanova in Battle for "VU Hoops" Name

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The official men's basketball schedule won't come out for a few months now, but Vandy fans can make plans for December 1st of this year. The Commodores will take on Villanova in a battle of rebuilding powerhouses at Memorial Gym. The Wildcats fell to 13-19 last season to miss the NCAA Tournament for the first time in seven years. They'll be looking to improve on that despite losing junior guard Maalik Wayns to the NBA Draft. Vanderbilt will be in year one of a potential rebuilding phase after losing five seniors and junior John Jenkins in 2012. The Commodores stand to watch three players get drafted this June as the team prepares to hand the reins over to Rod Odom, Kedren Johnson, and Dai-Jon Parker. This showdown will likely be one of the highest profile out-of-conference matchups that Memorial Gym hosts in 2012-2013. It should provide a good early barometer of what we can expect in SEC play from this young team.