Jeffery Taylor Leads Vanderbilt to 65-47 Road Win at Tennessee

College Hoops Player of the Day for Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Jeffery Taylor scored more than a third of Vanderbilt's points in the Commodores' 65-47 road win over Tennessee.

Taylor, a four year starter, pumped in a game high 23 points, making all three of his 3-pointers while going 8-for-14 from the field and 4-for-4 from the line. The 6'7" forward also collected four steals and had nine rebounds, three on the offensive boards.

Vanderbilt displayed a scrappy, disruptive defense, holding the Volunteers to just 35% shooting while forcing a ridiculous 25 Tennessee turnovers. Vanderbilt raced off to a 40-21 lead at the break and were never challenged in the second half, dropping Tennessee to 1-4 in the conference.

The 15-5 Commodores are unranked, owing to consecutive losses to Xavier and Louisville at the end of November and start of December and a 61-55 loss to Indiana State on December 17, though the squad has since won nine of their last ten and trail the Kentucky Wildcats in the SEC race by one game. Top-ranked Kentucky had a road win of their own Tuesday night, topping Georgia, 57-44, to improve to 20-1 overall and 6-0 in the conference. Vanderbilt is 5-1 in SEC play.

With Vandy and Kentucky apparently headed for a showdown, fans of the cross-border rivalry will have to wait until mid-February to see whether the Commodores have the grit to hang with the powerful Wildcats. Vandy hosts Kentucky on February 11, and then visits the wildcats on February 25.

Jeffery Taylor Pops in 30 as Vanderbilt Halts Two-Game Skid

College Hoops Player of the Day for Wednesday, December 7, 2011

The Commodores of Vanderbilt improved to 6-3 on the year with a tight, 87-83, road win over the Davidson Wildcats.

The victory was keyed by a career high 30 points from senior forward Jeffery Taylor and 22 points from junior guard John Jenkins, who leads the Commodores in scoring at 21.3 points per game.

Taylor hit 12 of 17 shots from the field, including three of four from 3-point range, leading Vanderbilt back from two straight losses - to Xavier and Louisville.

While the Commodores field a competitive team night in and night out, their three losses so far this season stem from a lack of depth. On Wednesday, Taylor and Jenkins accounted for 60% of the scoring. Add in Festus Ezeli's 15 points, playing in his first game of the season, and that's 77% of the scoring from just three players, not exactly what one might call balance.

If Vanderbilt can develop some players who can contribute off the bench, they should do very well in the SEC. Even with the scoring set-up as it is currently configured, Vanderbilt will be a competitive team in the conference, as there are only three or four teams with comparable ability.

Vandy Dumps Vols Again, Chasing Kentucky

College Hoops Player of the Day for Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Two weeks ago, the Vanderbilt Commodores stormed into Tennessee and thumped the Volunteers, 85-76. To prove that they are at least the second-best team in the SEC (after Kentucky), on Tuesday night, they hosted the Vols and chewed them up even worse, in a decidedly one-sided 90-71 smack-down.

6'7" sophomore swingman, Jeffery Taylor provided plenty of Vandy offense, scoring a career-high 26 points and assisting on 3 other hoops. He also snatched 7 rebounds as the Commodores built an insurmountable second-half lead and turned what was supposed to be a competitive game into an outright laugher.

Despite similar records (now both teams are 18-5), the Commodores weren't getting the respect they deserved in the polls, ranked #22 before Tuesday's game. Tennessee is at #12, but sure to drop following their poor showing on the road.

Vanderbilt is just a game behind 8-1 Kentucky in the SEC East, at 7-2, and will have a chance to even the score on February 20, when the Wildcats come to town. Kentucky has already beaten Vandy once, 85-72, but that was back on January 30, at Rupp Arena.

NOTABLE: Georgetown's Greg Monroe turned in his 9th double-double effort of the season in the Hoyas' 79-70 win at Providence, but the 6'11" forward's results had a different twist for a big man. while he scored 12 points, he also dished 12 assists while adding 7 rebounds. All of his other double-doubles have been of the points plus rebounds variety.