
Kentucky Basketball
The Wildcats looked to bounce back from a 5 point loss last Saturday to Alabama with a trip to Memorial Gym to take on the Vanderbilt Commodores. Vanderbilt had other ideas. Vanderbilt was looking to win a second straight game at home over a top 10 team after beating No. 6 Tennessee last Saturday.
What started as a back and forth game the first 12 ½ minutes, with neither team having more than a 4 point lead, turned into a 14 point halftime deficit for Kentucky after a 20-4 run for Vanderbilt to end the first half. In a half plagued by sloppy play and missed shots, the final 7 ½ minutes of the first half magnified it. 7 of Kentucky’s 10 first half turnovers occurred during that stretch and Vanderbilt was able to take advantage of them.
Vanderbilt would score 6 points off those turnovers and also make 2 threes during that run. It turned a 23-21 deficit to a 41-27 lead. Jason Edwards would come out firing for Vanderbilt. He scored 10 of their first 12 points and 12 in the first half on 5-7 shooting and 2-2 from 3. It was a balanced attack for Vanderbilt after that, as nobody else would put up more than 7 points. As a team, Vanderbilt would knock down 7-18 first half 3s, with 6 different
players knocking down a 3 point shot.
Where Vanderbilt got into a rhythm, Kentucky faltered. After taking the 23-21 lead, the Cats would score just 4 more points the rest of the half. For a team that came in averaging about 11 turnovers/game in conference play, 10 first half turnovers was unexpected. No Kentucky players would put up more than 6 points in the first half, Jaxson Robinson on 2 made 3s and Brandon Garrison, but it was the turnovers that hurt the most. Garrison and Lamont
Butler, who probably played his worst game as a Wildcat, would combine for 6 of those 10 turnovers with 3 of Garrison’s coming during that decisive run to end the half.
Things didn’t look good for Kentucky going into half, but they came out a different team after. Led by Otega Oweh, Kentucky would open the 2 nd half with an 11-0 run. Oweh would put up 5 points in that span, along with 3s by Ansley Almonor and Butler.
What was a 14 point deficit, would grow to a 7 point lead in the midst of a 31-10 start to the second half. Kentucky was aggressive driving to the basket and on the defensive end. A completely different look from the first half. Oweh, who had just 4 first half points, would put up 9 during that run. Kentucky would also hit 4 of their 5 second half 3s in that span. What looked to be like Kentucky starting to run away with the game, would change dramatically over the final 8 minutes, yet again.
It started with Jaylen Carey’s 2 nd three of the game to cut it to 58-54 and then coming out of the under 8 timeout, McGlockton would knock down his second on the night to make it a 1 point game. The race to the finish was on.
Oweh continued his strong play in the 2 nd half. He would score 8 of Kentucky’s final 11 points, but it wasn’t enough. Vanderbilt made all the plays down the stretch to secure the win, capitalizing on more sloppy play from Kentucky.
Four of Kentucky’s 7 second half turnovers came in the final 4 minutes, effectively ending their chance to win. Kentucky’s final lead of the game would come with 2:56 left at 69-68 on an Oweh drive and layup. Tyler Nickel, who went 3-6 from 3, would put Vanderbilt back on top for good with a corner 3 on the next possession.
Vanderbilt would secure the 74-69 victory for their 2 nd straight top 10 win at home. They were led by Edwards (18 pts, 6-11, 2-4 from 3), McGlockton (14 pts 6-10, 2-5 from 3), Nickel (11 pts 4-7, 3-6 from 3) and Carey (10 pts 4-7, 2-4 from 3).
Kentucky was led by Oweh (21 pts 8-14, 5-7 FTs, 17 in the second half), Almonor (12 pts 4-5 from 3) and Robinson (11 pts 4-8, 3-5 from 3). Butler, who has been banged up since the A&M game, struggled putting up just 6 points (all in the 2 nd half), just 2 assists and 6 turnovers. The 17 turnovers as a team, led to Vanderbilt getting 12 more shots up than Kentucky, although Kentucky would shoot better from the field, free throw line, 3 point line and pull down 13 more rebounds.
It doesn’t get any easier for Kentucky, who travel to Knoxville to take on a Volunteers team that has now lost 2 of 3 after losing to Auburn Saturday night. Hopefully, for Coach Pope and the Wildcats, they’re able to bounce back against one of the top teams in the country. It will be tough, as they were already without Kerr Kriisa due to his foot injury, but now will most likely be without Andrew Carr, who missed the Vanderbilt game with a back injury. This coming off of 3 games he was listed as questionable on the availability report.
In a year where there are no easy games in the SEC, it’s more important now than ever, to turn the page and move on to the next game. Tip is scheduled next Saturday for 7:00pm on ESPN.
