Previewing Vanderbilt at Kentucky

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Published Jan 4, 2021

Previewing Vanderbilt at Kentucky

Tyler Mansfield • TheDoreReport

Basketball Reporter

@RivalsMansfield

After dropping its Southeastern Conference opener to Florida, Vanderbilt will try to record a league win Tuesday as the Commodores travel to Lexington to face Kentucky.

Vanderbilt (4-3 overall, 0-1 SEC) at Kentucky (2-6, 1-0)

When: Tuesday, January 5 | 6 p.m. CT

Where: Rupp Arena | Lexington, Ky.

TV: SEC Network

KenPom prediction: Kentucky by 12

Lineups and key reserves

Vanderbilt	Pos	Kentucky

Scotty Pippen Jr., So., 6-3 32.1 mpg, 22.6 ppg, 4.6 apg 53% eFG, 39% 3PT	PG	Davion Mintz, Sr., 6-3 27.8 mpg, 9.9 ppg, 3.0 apg 48%e FG, 34% 3PT
Trey Thomas, Fr., 5-11 20.4 mpg, 6.7 ppg, 2.3 rpg 60% eFG, 42% 3PT	SG	Brandon Boston Jr., Fr., 6-7 31.6 mpg, 13.6 ppg, 5.9 rpg 38% eFG, 77% FT
D.J. Harvey, Jr., 6-6 22.3 mpg, 7.4 ppg, 3.0 rpg 45% eFG, 33% 3PT	SF	Devin Askew, Fr., 6-3 30.1 mpg, 7.1 ppg, 2.8 rpg 48% eFG, 81% FT
Myles Stute, Fr., 6-7 22.5 mpg, 10.0 ppg, 3.7 rpg 72% eFG, 57% 3PT	PF	Terrence Clarke, Fr., 6-7 31.3 mpg, 10.7 mpg, 3.0 rpg 47% eFG, 47% FT
Dylan Disu, So., 6-9 30.1 mpg, 11.4 ppg, 8.9 rpg 52% eFG, 32% 3PT	C	Olivier Sarr, Sr., 7-0 27.0 mpg, 9.8 ppg, 5.9 rpg 49% eFG, 64% FT
Quentin Millora-Brown, Jr., 6-10 16.8 mpg, 4.3 ppg, 4.6 rpg 77% eFG, 44% FT	6	Isaiah Jackson, Fr., 6-10 22.0 mpg, 5.5 ppg, 7.6 rpg 42% eFG, 42% FT
Maxwell Evans, Sr., 6-2 17.7 mpg, 4.0 ppg, 1.6 rpg 36% eFG, 63% FT	7	Jacob Toppin, So., 6-9 13.3 mpg, 4.0 ppg, 2.8 rpg 41% eFG, 67% FT
Tyrin Lawrence, Fr., 6-4 14.4 mpg, 3.3 ppg, 2.7 rpg 50% eFG, 67% FT	8	Cam'Ron Fletcher, Fr., 6-6 8.7 mpg, 2.2 ppg, 2.2 rpg 59% eFG, 0-0 FT

Vanderbilt plays its second SEC contest of the season against a Kentucky team that is 2-6 overall and coming off a 78-73 double overtime win at Mississippi State in its league opener as redshirt freshman Dontaie Allen – who'd played just 20 career minutes coming into Saturday – hit seven 3-pointers and fired in 23 points in the Wildcats' 78-73, double-overtime win.

Kentucky trailed 53-46 with 9:04 to play when coach John Calipari was ejected from the game. Allen led a comeback and helped the visiting Wildcats win with five clutch points down the stretch of the second overtime.

Kentucky was playing without starting guard Terrence Clarke, who sat out with a sprained ankle. His availability for Tuesday isn't known as of this writing on Monday.

The Wildcats, who snapped a six-game losing streak with the victory over the Bulldogs, have won eight straight meetings against the Commodores.

Vandy’s last win in the series came on February 27, 2016 at Memorial Gymnasium. Coached then by Kevin Stallings, Matthew Fisher-Davis scored 20 points, Jeff Roberson had 16, Damian Jones tallied 15 and Wade Baldwin added 14 to lead the ‘Dores to the 74-62 upset victory over the then-ranked No. 16 ‘Cats.

Kentucky has had its fair share of struggles this year — especially on the offensive end. The Wildcats are averaging just 66.5 points per game and shooting only 42% each outing. UK also averages 11.5 assists and 16.1 turnovers a night, all stats that are eye-popping considering how successful and dominant the Wildcats have been under head coach John Calipari over the years.

Vandy, which is putting up 73.0 points per game on 43.2% shooting, played a strong first part of the opening half against Florida and was tied 14-14, but the Commodores quickly lost their flow, got down double digits at halftime and ultimately lost by nearly 20.

For Vanderbilt to have a chance against UK, a team that the ‘Dores are playing at the right time and have a legitimate shot against for the first time in a while, it must take care of the basketball (currently committing 14.1 turnovers per game), have multiple players score in double digits — not just Scotty Pippen Jr. — and play with a lot of energy, from start to finish.

This will be the first of two scheduled matchups between the two teams this year, as they’ll also square off February 17 in Nashville.