Scouting South Carolina
South Carolina enters the game with an overall record of 7-11 and a 1-7 mark in the SEC after suffering a 71-58 loss Wednesday at LSU. After earning a 55-49 win over Ole Miss to start the conference season, the Gamecocks have dropped seven straight. They also have yet to win a game on the road this season, coming in at 0-8 away from The Carolina Center.

Sophomore Carlos Powell leads the team in scoring with 13.6 points per game despite not starting two of the past three games. He is followed by senior Chuck Eidson (11.2) and junior Kerbrell Brown (10.6). Junior Rolando Howell leads the team in rebounding with 6.2 boards per game, while Eidson is the squad’s top assist man with 4.8 assists per contest.

The all-time series between the two schools is tied 15-15. South Carolina has claimed three of the four games the past two seasons, including both games in Nashville. All-time in Nashville, the Commodores hold a slim 8-6 advantage.

Three...Dot...Data
Vanderbilt has climbed to No. 40 in the RPI rankings, which puts the Commodores seventh in the SEC...Matt Freije is fourth in the SEC in scoring (17.9) and third in SEC games only (19.4)...Of the top three scorers in SEC games, Freije is the only one to be ranked in the top-10 in scoring (3rd), field goal percentage (4th), free-throw percentage (1st) and three-point field goal percentage (2nd)...Freije was featured on espn.com as part of the “Big Man on Campus” poll that listed five players who had great performances this past week...Adam Payton, who got his most playing time in SEC play with 16 minutes, scored six points on 2-of-2 shooting from three-point range...VU did not shoot a free throw in the first half, but then was 8-of-11 in the second...All five of MSU’s starters scored at least 11 points...Martin Schnedlitz played four minutes at MSU, which is his first action since the Dec. 15 High Point game...As a team, VU had just six assists and 21 turnovers versus MSU...VU is now 1-7 when trailing at the half...In six of the past seven games, VU has recorded seven offensive rebounds.

Common Opponents
Vanderbilt and South Carolina have played seven common opponents
with Vanderbilt owning a 2-5 record and South Carolina having a
2-6 record versus those teams.

Opponent VU USC
ETSU W, 86-75 W, 71-66
Auburn L, 59-62 L, 60-67
Kentucky L, 52-74 L, 55-62
L, 69-87
Tennessee L, 66-71 L, 56-60
Florida L, 75-87 L, 75-77
Ole Miss W, 76-68 W, 55-49
Miss. State L, 60-82 L, 48-64

Freije Earns Player of the Week Honors
Matt Freije was selected as the SEC Player of the Week after leading the Commodores to wins over No. 15 Georgia and Ole Miss this past week. Freije scored a career-high 31 points and grabbed nine rebounds in Vanderbilt’s 94-91 win over Georgia. The junior forward led Vanderbilt to a 76-68 home victory over Ole Miss Saturday night. Freije scored a team-high 20 points, pulled down five rebounds and pocketed a career-high five steals.

This marks the second SEC Player of the Week honor for Freije. He was tabbed SEC Player of the Week last season on January 21, 2002 after scoring a then-career-high 29 points versus Auburn and helping VU to a road victory at South Carolina. This also marks the ninth time a Vanderbilt player has received this honor since the 1993-94 season.

Commodores Top Scorers Against Georgia & Ole Miss
In back-to-back games, Vanderbilt put up the most points its opponent had surrendered all season.

The 94 points VU scored against Georgia topped the previous high of 83 points that Georgia Tech and Gonzaga had scored against the Bulldogs. The 94 points also was the highest Vanderbilt point total versus an SEC opponent since scoring 101 against Georgia March 1, 2000.

The Commodores then scored 76 points on Ole Miss, which topped the previous high of 69 that Evansville had scored against the Rebels. The 76 points also was the most Ole Miss had allowed in 13 games against SEC opponents.

Hundley Makes Most of Opportunity
With Corey Smith unavailable, Scott Hundley has been given more of an opportunity to help the Commodores and he has made his mark.

Playing a then-career-high 24 minutes versus Georgia, Hundley scored a then-season-high 14 points, grabbed four rebounds and pocketed a career-best four steals. He also had an 8-of-9 performance from the free-throw line. His 4-of-4 shooting from the charity stripe in the final 10 seconds of the game secured the Vanderbilt victory.

Hundley then turned in an even better effort against Ole Miss despite battling illness throughout the game. He scored a season-best 18 points and pulled down a game-high seven rebounds, while playing a career-high 33 minutes. Again, he was solid at the charity stripe, making 8-of-10 free-throw attempts.

Vanderbilt Playing Nation’s Sixth Toughest Schedule
As of Monday, CollegeRPI.com has Vanderbilt’s schedule ranked as the sixth toughest in the nation. Only Georgia (1) and Arkansas (4) have tougher schedules in the SEC.

This season VU has played eight teams ranked in the Top-25 of the national polls, including Connecticut (12), Indiana (6), Notre Dame (6), Alabama (4), Kentucky (16), Florida (5), Georgia (15) and Mississippi State (23).

Good as Gold
The Commodores are 4-0 this season when wearing gold uniforms. The team has three sets of uniforms — white, gold and black. While white uniforms have been the standard home attire, Vanderbilt has earned home victories over Alabama A&M, College of Charleston, Georgia and Ole Miss in the gold uniforms.

Complete Notes