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Men's pregame: USC at Vanderbilt
Posted on 02.28.09
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WHEN: 9 p.m. Saturday
WHERE: Memorial Gym, Nashville, Tenn.
TV: ESPNU
RADIO: WNKT 107.5-FM
LINE: Vanderbilt by 1½
RECORDS: USC 20-6, 9-4 SEC. Vanderbilt 16-11, 5-8
COACHES: Darrin Horn (131-54 in six seasons, 20-6 in first season at USC), Kevin Stallings (309-190 in 16 seasons, 186-127 in 10 seasons at Vanderbilt)
THREE THINGS TO WATCH
1. The matchup of the big men. Vanderbilt center A.J. Ogilvy is fully healthy, unlike last month when the Commodores lost by 10 at South Carolina. Then again USC’s Sam Muldrow is turning into a defensive star, and Mike Holmes and Dominique Archie are a better low-post supporting cast.
2. South Carolina will be in trouble if Vanderbilt’s 3-point shots are falling, and those are most likely to come from Brad Tinsley, who comes off screens, or Jermaine Beal. Small forward Jeffery Taylor will try to get his points on drives and put-backs.
3. Turnovers have been the key lately for South Carolina. In its past eight games, USC has forced 20 or more turnovers six times and won those six. The two times it forced fewer than that, the opponents won. Vanderbilt committed 22 in the first matchup, compared to 10 for South Carolina.
Key player: Dominique Archie, F, USC
It likely will be Archie’s job to rein in Taylor, Vanderbilt’s X-factor. Offensively, Archie has shown a knack for getting big points, whether it was two 3s early against Kentucky or the key put-backs at the end against Arkansas.
STARTING LINEUPS
GAMECOCKS
| POS. | HGT. | NAME | PPG |
| F | 6-7 | Dominique Archie, Jr. | 11.5 |
| F | 6-7 | Mike Holmes, So. | 10.9 |
| C | 6-9 | Sam Muldrow, So. | 6.5 |
| G | 5-9 | Devan Downey, Jr. | 20.1 |
| G | 6-0 | Zam Fredrick, Sr. | 15.3 |
| POS. | HGT. | NAME | PPG |
| F | 6-7 | Jeffery Taylor, Fr. | 11.9 |
| F | 6-9 | Steve Tchiengang, Fr. | 4.0 |
| C | 6-11 | A.J. Ogilvy, So. | 14.7 |
| G | 6-3 | Jermaine Beal, Jr. | 12.1 |
| G | 6-3 | Brad Tinsley, Fr. | 10.5 |
This is a different Vanderbilt team than the one South Carolina saw last month. But is it a better one?
— Seth Emerson
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