GAME NOTES: With five consecutive wins in tow, the Auburn Tigers will try to keep the good times going as they play their SEC opener on Tuesday night against the Vanderbilt Commodores.

Auburn began the season at 3-5, but has turned a corner since the middle of December, winning five in a row, with the most recent being an 82-61 rout of North Alabama on Saturday. That triumph put the wraps on a five-game homestand, and the Tigers will be seeking their first win in a true road game this evening after losing their first three.

Vanderbilt enters conference play riding a three-game win streak, with its latest venture resulting in a 79-74 victory in double-overtime against visiting Yale. The Commodores have won eight of their nine home games to this point, and they sit at 10-3 overall. The team's three losses have come against foes from power conferences in Rutgers (Big Ten), Baylor (Big 12) and Georgia Tech (ACC).

Vanderbilt owns an 85-51 lead in the all-time series with Auburn, and the Commodores have won each of the last nine meetings. The Tigers last won on Vandy's home court on Feb. 16, 2000.

KT Harrell poured in 25 points and Cinmeon Bowers logged a double-double consisting of 20 points and 11 rebounds to help power Auburn to its recent win over North Alabama. Antoine Mason added 18 points for the Tigers, who made good on 47.7 percent of their field goal attempts, despite missing 17 of their 22 3-point attempts. They went just 15-of-24 at the free-throw line, but the Lions converted only 5-of-12 at the stripe while shooting 41.7 percent from the floor overall. They were also guilty of 18 turnovers, which Auburn turned into 31 points. The Tigers easily won the rebounding battle, 43-32, and used a 50-31 scoring edge in the second half to break open what had been a close game early on.

Harrell (17.9 ppg), Mason (15.4 ppg) and Bowers (13.7 ppg) are the only ones averaging in double figures for Auburn, which puts up 68.3 ppg on rather lackluster shooting efforts of .423 overall, .313 from beyond the arc, and .631 from the charity stripe. Conversely, opponents are netting 66.2 ppg in hitting 44.3 percent of their total shots, 29.6 percent of their 3-point tries, and 65.7 percent of their free throws. Turnovers have played an important role in the Tigers' success, as they goad the enemy into 16.4 miscues per outing.

In the recent clash between Yale and Vanderbilt, neither team shot the ball particularly well with the Bulldogs converting 40.3 percent of their field goal attempts, and the Commodores 41.1 percent of their's. Still, with two extra sessions there were plenty of points to be had, with Vandy putting five players in double figures, led by Damian Jones with 19 points. Shelton Mitchell tallied 15 points to go with eight assists, Riley LaChance had 14 points, Matthew Fisher-Davis 12 and Luke Kornet 10 for the 'Dores, who needed a 23-10 edge in points from the foul line to secure the hard-fought home win.

Jones (16.6 ppg, 7.1 rpg) and LaChance (13.1 ppg, 2.6 apg) are the only two double-digit scorers for a Vanderbilt squad that is putting up 73.8 ppg while permitting 61.5 ppg. The Commodores are knocking down a stellar 50.5 percent of their field goal attempts, which includes a near-40 percent effort from 3- point land (.394), while also logging a +5.1 differential on the glass. The team's defensive effort yields success on only 38.7 percent of the opposition's total shots, which includes a mere 29.8 percent out on the perimeter.

Both teams enter the fray having won a number of games in a row, but the Tigers have not performed well on the road, while the Commodores have been almost perfect at home. Vandy gets the nod, as it tips off SEC play with a solid victory.