Takeaways From Vanderbilt Basketball's 80-55 Win Over Kentucky – Sports Illustrated

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Vanderbilt basketball just blew out a blue blood program with the most expensive roster in the sport.
The Commodores led by as much as 28 on the way to an 80-55 win over Kentucky on Tuesday night and made a statement as to what it takes to win in college basketball these days and its ability to do it. Here's a few takeaways from the win.
A statement win for Vanderbilt basketball
Vanderbilt was on a three-game losing streak this time last week, now it’s rolling after two games in which it ran its opponent off the floor. 
The Commodores took down Kentucky by 25 on Tuesday night with a big-blue crowd on hand, led by as much as 28, held the Wildcats to 32.2% shooting from the field, scored 1.194 points per possession itself and ended the five-game winning streak that had quieted the hot seat conversation surrounding Pope. It did it without starting guard Duke Miles and consistent ballhandler Frankie Collins. 
Vanderbilt reasserted itself as one of the SEC’s best on Wednesday. 
How about Vanderbilt’s defense?
That didn’t look like the SEC’s worst defense. 
Vanderbilt was ranked last in the league in defensive efficiency through the first 16 games of the season and was searching for answers on that end prior to Saturday’s win against Mississippi State. All of a sudden, it has seemingly all of those answers. 
Kentucky scored just 55 points on Tuesday and shot just 32.2%, 25.0% from 3-point range and just eight assists in comparison to its 15 turnovers. 
That’s more like the Vanderbilt defense that everyone around these parts knows. 
A win for fit, role allocation and the underdogs
Vanderbilt ran up on the most expensive roster in college basketball on Tuesday, and it didn’t appear to be shaken whatsoever. That showed up in the result. 
How’d it do it? By playing the same way that Pope’s team did a season ago when it was rolling–playing fast, sharing it, knowing defensive coverages, running good actions and demonstrating clear role allocation. This isn’t about Vanderbilt’s big-picture commitment to athletics or its increased investment in the basketball program, this is about basketball. Vanderbilt has a better coach and although its roster may not be more talented than Kentucky’s, it was better on Tuesday.
NIL couldn’t win that game. Neither could rev share. That was about systems and fit. 
Vanderbilt needed Tyler Tanner to be extraordinary, and he was
Without Duke Miles and Frankie Collins on the floor on Tuesday, Vanderbilt needed Tanner to be the best player on the floor if it was going to find a way to win. 
If it indicates anything, Tanner was outscoring Kentucky 8-4 at one point and had the Wildcats tied in points at the 8:12 mark of the first half. The speculation pregame inside Memorial Gymnasium was that Tanner would have to play all 40 minutes if Vanderbilt was going to win on Tuesday. Tanner didn’t quite play 40 minutes–he played 36 instead–but his effort was herculean nonetheless. 
Tanner finished Tuesday with 19 points on 6-for-16 shooting, five assists, four steals and a plus-24 plus-minus. Forgot Tanner was one of the SEC’s best point guards heading into Wednesday? Now it’s easier to remember. 
If there was ever a question of energy, it was quickly silenced
It’s hard to think there could’ve been any sort of let-down spot here, especially when Vanderbilt got out to a 29-12 lead after completely blitzing Kentucky prior to the under-eight media timeout. 
Vanderbilt was shorthanded on Tuesday, but it got enough from its stars to find put a cover on the lid of the Kentucky basket early and to run away with this thing early. 
How about this? 
Vanderbilt coach Mark Byington was seemingly trying to kill some time with a lineup that included Mike James, Chandler Bing and Jayden Leverett.  Then it happened. 
That lineup–behind a borderline posterizer from Leverett and a corner 3 from Bing–went on an 8-0 run that put Vanderbilt up 19 points on Kentucky in the first half. It’d be somewhat of an overreaction to say that the stretch was a testament to Vanderbilt’s depth–although it decidedly is a deep group–because it wouldn’t likely play Leverett, but it changed the outlook of this game. 
In a stretch that Vanderbilt just had to survive, it pushed out a bigger lead on Kentucky.
Joey Dwyer is the lead writer on Vanderbilt Commodores On SI. He found his first love in college sports at nearby Lipscomb University and decided to make a career of telling its best stories. He got his start doing a Notre Dame basketball podcast from his basement as a 14-year-old during COVID and has since aimed to make that 14-year-old proud. Dwyer has covered Vanderbilt sports for three years and previously worked for 247 Sports and Rivals. He contributes to Seth Davis' Hoops HQ, Southeastern 16 and Mainstreet Nashville.
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