Spring Break Day 1

Here's a quick Friday morning recap:

My girl Merideth Marsh dropped 19 on the Lady Tigers of Auburn last night. Jessica Mooney poured in 19 as well as the 'Dores rolled 73-56 on the road.

The Music City Classic is set to begin this afternoon after a rain delay caused the first game between Xavier (1-2) and Iowa (1-2) to be pushed back from the noon scheduled start to 2:30 pm. Immediately afterwards the visiting Kansas Jayhawks (2-4) will take on the host Commodores (3-1). Sophomore Mike Minor(1-0, 1.5 ERA) is schedule to take the mound. Nick Czyz (0-1, 11.57 ERA) is the scheduled starter for the Jaychickens.

Men's head basketball coach Kevin Stallings spoke to the national media yesterday during the SEC's Thursday Teleconference. You can listen to all the coaches here, or check out transcripts from Stallings' and Arkansas head coach John Pelphrey here.

Saturday's game at Arkansas is set to tip off at 1 pm CT. Raycom Sports will be broadcasting the game regionally, and Joe Fisher and Tim Thompson will call the game on 104.5 The Zone.

I haven't had a chance to take a good look at Arkansas this year. The Razorbacks are 18-9 overall and boast a 7-6 SEC record. The Hogs have lost 4 of their last 5, with all of those losses coming on the road. Arkansas suffered their most recent setback at the hands of Alabama.
Sonny Weems leads the team in scoring averaging 15.4 points a game. Last year's SEC Freshman of the Year Patrick Beverly is second, chipping in 11.2 and leads the team in rebounding , pulling down nearly 7 boards a game.
The Razorbacks beat Vanderbilt in back to back games in 2007 as Arkansas won in Nasvhille 82-67 and 72-71 in Atlanta.
ESPN's Bubble Watch has Arkansas listed as a team with "work left to do". A win over the nationally ranked and white-hot Commodores would be an excellent addition to the Hogs tournament resume. Conversely, the 'Dores need to play with the same sense of urgency they showed Tuesday night against UT. Jamie Graham set the defensive tone early in that game, and look for Stallings to do the same thing tomorrow afternoon. A.J. needs to have a strong outing against Arkansas to regain some confidence after a poor showing Tuesday. A.J. played 12 minutes and scored 4 points against UT, as he was the victim of some questionable calls early in that game.

I'll be in Panama City starting tomorrow as it's Spring Break here at Vandy. I should be able to watch the game, although the availability of internet access in my accommodations has yet to be determined, so if there aren't any updates early next week, you'll know why. Also, the Vandy ticket office has seats available in the student section for next Wednesday's game with Miss. State. since none of the students will be here. Someone has got to pick up the slack and go yell for the 'Dores.

Until next time,
Go 'Dores!