The Kentucky Wildcats are riding a five-game winning streak as they sit at 14-6 (5-2) on the season after another perfect week in SEC play. Now they turn the corner into what is likely one of the toughest
stretches any team in college basketball will face in conference play, and it all starts with the Vanderbilt Commodores in Nashville on Tuesday night.
Once the bottom dwellers of the SEC, the Commodores have been one of the surprising stories of college basketball this season. However, they have started to slip as of late, dropping three of their last four games. Now they are hoping after a 30-point win in Starkville that they can right the ship and push back towards the top of the conference.
For Kentucky, this is another major opportunity to pick up a solid resume-building win. The Commodores will likely still be a top-25 team, and with a win, it not only pushes them up the SEC standings but also likely helps lock in a tournament berth (barring a major collapse). So how do they pick up this win?
Here are three things to watch for on Tuesday night:
Continue playing great defense
Vanderbilt enters the game with one of the highest scoring offenses in the country at over 90 points per game. They will now square off with a Kentucky team that is one of the best defensive teams in the SEC in points per game allowed.
The Cats flashed that once again against Ole Miss on Saturday, but can they continue that against a team with the firepower that Vandy has? That is the major question mark, especially in the backcourt.
Tyler Tanner enters the game averaging over 17 points per game, while also being on track to potentially join the 50/40/90 club in shooting. Can Denzel Aberdeen, Collin Chandler, and Otega Oweh slow him down? If so, the Cats have a good shot at escaping Nashville with a win.
Win the turnover battle
Both teams enter Tuesday night’s game in the top 50 of teams that turn the ball over the least. Honestly, kind of shocking when you think about some of these games Kentucky has had, but nevertheless, it’s one of the better things they’ve been doing.
Building off the first point of defensive intensity for Kentucky, it will also need to win the turnover battle to really push for a win in Memorial.
Yes, that comes from defense, but it also comes into play in protecting the ball on offense. Vanderbilt is an elite offensive team, and giving them more opportunities to do what they do best (score) could really blow this one open. Going to need to be a major focus to keep this winning streak going.
Role players keep stepping up
It is no secret that once again, Mark Pope’s roster is decimated with injuries. With two players now having surgery and Jayden Quaintance still battling knee swelling, the Cats are scrambling for lineups as we enter the heart of the SEC season.
So how do they keep winning games? By everyone doing their jobs.
We have now become accustomed to seeing Oweh and Aberdeen erupting to keep the offense rolling. Chandler has also found his footing on the offensive end as well. Now is where Jasper Johnson, Mo Dioubate, Andrija Jelavic, Brandon Garrison, and Trent Noah really get to shine. The Cats don’t need each player to take over every night, but they do need them all not to be complete no-shows.
They will be tested against Vandy on Tuesday.
Players to Watch
Tyler Tanner: 17.1 PPG, 5.3 APG, 3.5 RPG, 2.5 SPG
Duke Miles: 16.6 PPG, 4.3 APG, 3.0 RPG, 2.5 SPG
Tyler Nickel: 14.8 PPG, 46.8 3p%, 3.4 RPG
Kentucky Basketball vs. Vanderbilt Commodores
- Time: 9:00 PM ET on January 27th
- Location: Memorial Coliseum in Nashville, TN
- TV Channel: ESPN
- Online Stream: WatchESPN and the ESPN app.
- Radio: Tom Leach and Jack Givens will have the call on the UK Sports Radio Network.
- Replay: WatchESPN and the ESPN network (check local listings)
- Rosters: UK | VANDY
- Stats to Know: UK | VANDY
- KenPom: UK | VANDY
- Team Sheet: UK | VANDY
- Odds: FanDuel Sportsbook has Vanderbilt favored by 6.5 points with an over/under of 157.5. ESPN (32.7%), KenPom (26%), BartTorvik, and EvanMiya (32.1%) all give the Cats less than a 40% chance of victory.
- Predictions: Haslametrics has Kentucky taking the loss in this one, 81-74. Others like KenPom (83-76), EvanMiya (83-78), and BartTorvik (85-73) also have the Cats taking an L in Nashville. This one is a coin-flip for me. Vanderbilt is an elite offensive team, and the question quickly becomes, can the Cats keep pace if this becomes a shootout? For some reason this just feels like a game Mark Pope is going to figure out how to win. Give me a 75-71 victory, Kentucky!
How do you see this one playing out? Sound off in the comments section!
