The Vandy-Mississippi St. Open GameThread will open up an hour before the start of the Kentucky-Tennessee game.
OMJ - OH MY JENKINS! John only had 3 points heading into halftime. I'm sure Stallings will never go out of his way to take credit for what happened (that's just the way he is), but in the locker room he cornered John:
"Coach was telling me to go out there and be more aggressive," Jenkins said. "That’s what I did. The first half I came out kind of slow, trying to get myself in it. Second half, I just really let loose."
The second half is legend, as they say. John "Legend." Mark Fox's biggest coaching mistake of the game came when, after John Jenkins had buried a couple threes in quick fashion, he decided to leave Ricky McPhee (who was giving up at least 2 inches in the matchup) assigned to guarding Jenkins instead of moving over the more athletic Travis Leslie, who is more Jenkins height, and putting McPhee on Sir Lance Goulbourne. Now, Ricky McPhee is a fine player. Unfortunately, his strength is not height, defense or athleticism, and that's what Georgia needed to stop John.
Though Travis Leslie obviously went off for 34, Vanderbilt's defensive gameplan was extremely effective: shut down Trey Thompkins, who has been shooting up NBA Mock Draft boards all season and the thorn in the Commodores side in both matchups this season. It worked, too, as Thompkins did not score in the first half and was frustrated into shooting many outside shots. When he did get good looks deep in the paint, Vanderbilt did an excellent job of double teaming him and even blocking some of his shot attempts. Though he did end up in double-figures late in the game, the damage had already been done. Leslie wasn't going to beat us on his own. The Commodores knew this and didn't panic.
Due to the short turnaround, I haven't had time to calculate any of the normal postgame statistics. I will be attending both the semi-final SEC Tourney games today, so I will hopefully be able to post that information later on this afternoon.
There's no time to celebrate the first post-bye Commodore victory in the SEC Tournament. Mississippi State is next and they're looking to improve their spot on the bubble by upsetting the Commodores.
VU-UGA game stories, VU-MSU game previews and VU-MSU player stats after the jump...
Traditional Statistics - Mississippi St. Bulldogs
Traditional Statistics - Vanderbilt Commodores
Game Stories/Previews
MBB punches ticket to SEC Semifinals - VANDERBILT OFFICIAL ATHLETIC SITE
Vanderbilt has a hit in John Jenkins | The Tennessean
Joe Biddle: Vanderbilt peaking at right time | The Tennessean
SEC Tournament: Jenkins triples up as Vanderbilt thumps Georgia | Nashville City Paper
VUcommodores.com Blog: Jenkins steals the spotlight
By Georgia, They Did It! VU 78, UGA 66 | VandyMania.com (Scout)
Jenkins bites Bulldogs at SEC Tournament | VandySports.com (Rivals - Premium)
and the piece de resistance...
VUcommodores.com Blog: Photo of the Game: This is The Future