Vanderbilt 96 Georgia 94 F/OT: RECAP

Jeez, where to start. That was quite the roller coaster of a game, I'm not sure whether I should be happy we escaped with a win, or pissed off that it took a miracle and then overtime to beat Georgia. Well, in the NCAA tournament they use the phrase "survive and advance" so I guess in that respect it's good to learn how to do that. I also don't think Georgia is that bad of a team, 12-14 is definitely not indicative of the way they have played this year. They beat Tennessee at home, beat us at home, and have lost a number of games by slim margins.

We led 36-31 at halftime after what was a pretty good first half, not great. We led by 8 at a point and I thought to myself, god it would be great to push this lead to 15. However, Georgia knocked down a pair of three pointers and basically told us they wouldn't be an easy out. The second half was pretty miserable, as Georgia just kept knocking down 3's, highlighted by Ricky McPhee's shot clock beating three with 10:00 left, to put UGA up by 5. However, when we really needed it we got consecutive buckets from Jermaine "Dolla" Beal, and my man Andre Walker nailed a 3 to make it 77-75. Finally, with 10 seconds left AJ Ogilvy tipped in a loose ball to tie the game at 77. The ensuing possesssion was a bit of a "mish-mosh" and it resulted in Lance Goulbourne stepping up with a big blocked shot to force overtime. I was sweating at that point. In overtime, the team basically took the memo from the crowd and willed their way to victory. Key shots from Beal, Walker and Jenkins, and free throws from basically everybody secured our 21st victory of the year and moved us to 10-3 in the SEC.

What did we learn today? We learned that Jermaine Beal is a superstar, he scored 28 points and had 7 assists, and he had two three pointers go in and out. We learned that John Jenkins is going to be a really good player once he gets the spotlight; he knocked down a much needed three in overtime. And of course, we learned that the ever so valuable ANDRE WALKER, is SO FUCKING VALUABLE. The guy just does it all. Normally he is good for a number of rebounds, assists, blocks, steals, and some buckets here and there. Tonight though, he gave us 17 points, none bigger than the three pointer he hit towards the end of regulation to pull the game within 2.

I didn't think Taylor or Ogilvy had their best games, but they certainly contributed at points, and Festus definitely lended his hand for a well played 19 minutes.

A few stats for you: we shot 35-39 (90%) from the free throw line. You know what Vitale always says, the teams that shoot the free throws down the stretch win close games. Look at Memphis in 2007-08, they couldn't knock down free throws and it came back to bite them in the national championship game.

We shot 7-16 (44%) from three point range, an astounding improvement from the 10% we shot last game.

You can break down all of the stats you want, but I guarantee if you talk to Coach Stallings, he will tell you, the raucous Memorial crowd inspired the Commodores down the stretch. The stadium atmosphere was relatively dead for most of the game. But when it mattered most, the fans came alive, and pushed Vandy to a much needed victory. Coach showed the students his appreciation after the game when he came over and thanked us, always cool.