How to Watch the Kentucky Wildcats at #18 Vanderbilt Commodores – Sports Illustrated

In this story:
The Kentucky Wildcats are hitting the road as they get set to face the #15 Vanderbilt Commodores on Tuesday night in Nashville. Mark Pope's Wildcats have an opportunity to really make a statement coming up and extend their winning streak by picking up a Quad 1 win on Tuesday, once again without Jayden Quaintance and Kam Williams, along with Jaland Lowe who is out for the season.
Kentucky basketball has a very hard, but crucial stretch of games coming up, as over the next six games, they will face four ranked opponents, three of which on the road. The Commodores have been one of the more surprisingly good teams in college basketball this season. But, SEC play has been a bit of a wakeup call for them, as they are just 4-3 in the conference so far, After starting the conference schedule with a statement win over Alabama, but followed that up by losing three-straight, before recently picking up a 30-point win against Mississippi State. The
The Commodores still bring an electric, high-scoring offense, but head coach Mike Byington has his squad doing well on both sides of the ball. They rank 8th nationally in turnover percentage, 2nd in blocks and 1st in steals, and are then also the 11th-best scoring offense in the country. Vanderbilt also features one of the most efficient shooters in college basketball, Tyler Nickel, who is 9th in the country in effective field goal percentage, as well as 5th in true shooting percentage and 39th nationally in three-point percentage. Not just him, though, as Tyler Tanner is the highest used player on the team, and for good reason. He is actually playing the most minutes of anyone in the conference through seven games of play, and is second in the SEC in assist rate. Defensively, the Commodores are sneaky-good with their ability to create turnovers and contesting threes, but are shakiy when it comes to paint defense and rebounding.
The Wildcats will take on the Vanderbilt Commodores at 9 p.m. ET on Tuesday night and fans can watch on ESPN. You may also listen to the game on the UK Sports Network.
The Wildcats can really exploit this area in Tuesday night's game. Vanderbilt is one of the worst offensive rebounding teams in the country and in SEC play are the worst team in the conference in that category. As much as Kentucky loves to feed off getting out in transition and creating offense that way, it will be one of the team's biggest keys to coming away with the win over Vandy.
As we have mentioned, Vanderbilt has a sneaky-good defense, but they are still shaky in multiple areas, and one of those especially is two-point defense. Despite being 19th in blocks on the season and 5th in conference play, they are not a very good two-point defense overall, as since SEC play, Vandy is dead last in the conference in two-point percentage defense. Or, Kentucky can do what they did the last two games and get to the free-throw line at will. Given the Commodores being excellent at three-point defense, Kentucky will have to find efficient offense some way, and these two keys are their way of getting it done.
Can Kentucky get a massive Quad 1 road win on Tuesday over Vandy? They shocked everyone over a week ago on the road as underdogs at Tennessee.
University of Kentucky Basketball and Football beat writer.
© 2026 ABG-SI LLC – SPORTS ILLUSTRATED IS A REGISTERED TRADEMARK OF ABG-SI LLC. – All Rights Reserved. The content on this site is for entertainment and educational purposes only. Betting and gambling content is intended for individuals 21+ and is based on individual commentators' opinions and not that of Sports Illustrated or its affiliates, licensees and related brands. All picks and predictions are suggestions only and not a guarantee of success or profit. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, crisis counseling and referral services can be accessed by calling 1-800-GAMBLER.

source