National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Vanderbilt 87, Mississippi St. 81
When: 10:00 PM ET, Friday, March 11, 2011
Where: Georgia Dome , Atlanta, Georgia
Officials: # Anthony Jordan, # Joe Lindsay, # Antinio Petty
Attendance: 17096
Where: Georgia Dome , Atlanta, Georgia
Officials: # Anthony Jordan, # Joe Lindsay, # Antinio Petty
Attendance: 17096
John Jenkins poured in 29 points and No. 24 Vanderbilt will get a third crack at No. 12 Florida after edging Mississippi State 87-81 in an SEC quarterfinal Friday in Atlanta.
The Commodores (23-9) will try to avenge two regular-season losses when they face the Gators (25-6) in Saturday’s semifinals.
Mississippi State had no answer for Jenkins, the SEC's leading scorer. The sophomore guard was 5 for 9 from 3-point range, and his four-point play pushed Vanderbilt’s lead to 83-78 with 1:36 left.
Jeffery Taylor added 20 points on 9-of-16 shooting for Vanderbilt.
Renardo Sidney had 22 points and seven rebounds, and Ravern Johnson scored 18 for Mississippi State (17-14).
Top Game Performances
| Vanderbilt | Mississippi St. | |
| John Jenkins 29 | Scoring | Renardo Sidney 22 |
| Brad Tinsley 6 | Assists | Dee Bost 11 |
| John Jenkins 4 | Rebounds | Renardo Sidney 7 |
| Festus Ezeli 4 | Free Throws Made | Ravern Johnson 3 |
| Jeffery Taylor 2 | Steals | Dee Bost 1 |
| Festus Ezeli 2 | Blocks | Brian Bryant 1 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
| Vanderbilt | 87 | 50.0 | 11-23 | 20-22 | 14 | 24 | 3 | 5 | |
| Mississippi St. | 81 | 50.8 | 9-19 | 8-8 | 17 | 30 | 1 | 1 |