2001-2001
Men's Basketball Schedule Announced
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here for the 2001-2002 schedule in pdf format
August 20, 2001
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - At least eight 2001 NCAA Tournament teams and
road trips to Connecticut, Tulane and the Thanksgiving Classic tournament
in Hawaii highlight the 2001-2002 Vanderbilt men's basketball schedule.
The Commodores will play
27 regular-season contests this season,
including 16 home games. After the Nov. 16 home opener against Liberty,
Vanderbilt will travel to Connecticut for the first-ever meeting between
the two teams. The Commodores then travel to Hawaii to participate
in the
Thanksgiving Classic.
Vanderbilt's Dec. 2 game
versus Western Kentucky will be a home
game with a different flair. The game will be played at the Gaylord
Entertainment Center in downtown Nashville as the second half of a
doubleheader with the Vanderbilt women's team. The Commodores will
wrap up
the non-conference slate with five more home games and a road trip
to
Tulane, which will renew a rivalry that hasn't been contested since
1966.
"The scheduling process
is beginning to take shape in terms of the
kinds of teams that we hope to have on our schedule," said Head
Coach Kevin
Stallings. "Obviously, by starting a series against teams such
as
Connecticut and Tulane, our goal is to bring SEC-caliber opponents
to
Memorial Gym for our fans.
"This year, because
of various contracts, we didn't accomplish all
that we had hoped to in the home portion of the non-conference schedule.
That will be alleviated from this point forward. After this season
we will
have completed all prior contracts with the exception of next year's
road
game at Notre Dame."
The SEC season for Vanderbilt
tips off Jan. 5 at Georgia. Unlike
the past two seasons, the Commodores will make use of the time off
and not
play a non-conference foe on their Jan. 23 SEC bye date. Vanderbilt
is
scheduled to have at least three games televised by Jefferson-Pilot
Sports,
including home games Jan. 26 against Georgia and Feb. 27 against Kentucky
and the Feb. 23 game at Tennessee.
"I've always said
the most important element of scheduling is to
schedule to the ability of your team," Stallings said. "Hopefully
with the
tournament in Hawaii and games against Western Kentucky, Connecticut
and
Tulane, we've done that."
