Vanderbilt embarrassed Kentucky one month ago in Nashville. Will the Cats get revenge in Round Two? KSR’s LIVE BLOG will bring you all the sights and sounds from Rupp Arena as Kentucky hosts the No. 25 Vanderbilt Commodores (2 p.m. ET, ESPN).
Vanderbilt is 3-4 since the 25-point win in Memorial Gym, beating Ole Miss, Auburn, Texas A&M, and Georgia, and losing to Oklahoma, Missouri, and Tennessee. The ‘Dores got their second-leading scorer, Duke Miles, back last weekend. He was a late scratch for the first meeting in Nashville, electing to have clean-up surgery on his knee. He came off the bench in the last two games, totaling 27 points, eight rebounds, eight assists, four steals, and zero turnovers. Vanderbilt had no problem beating Kentucky without Miles; how will having him back on the floor impact the rematch?
Every path broken down
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Today, Kentucky can get some of its pride back and improve its SEC and NCAA Tournament seeds. A win would essentially take playing on Wednesday at the SEC Tournament off the table. Will the Cats do it?
Refresh the feed below for updates, and KSR’s takes on the game from Rupp Arena and the couch. You can also join the conversation on the KSBoard Game Thread.
It’s official: the Cats beat Vanderbilt by 14 to avenge last month’s loss in Nashville and get some momentum rolling into the final stretch. Today’s win pretty much guarantees that Kentucky won’t play on Wednesday at the SEC Tournament. It’s a Quad 1 win, which will help the Cats on Selection Sunday as well. Kentucky is now 6-8 in Quad 1 games, with two more left up for grabs.
We’ll be celebrating this one all afternoon. Join us.
Kentucky is about to close the book on a massive win, friends. The Cats are now 6-8 in Quad 1 games with two remaining on the schedule. Can’t overstate how big this one is for seeding purposes and momentum heading into the final stretch.
Kentucky leads by 20 at the under-four timeout. Otega Oweh is up to 21 points after scoring just eight at South Carolina. That brings his number of 20+ point games against SEC teams to 20, breaking Antonio Reeves’ record of 19.
Can't stop, won't stop 🥵
📺 – ESPN pic.twitter.com/Nn8XTa4lum
Otega Oweh has officially bounced back from his performance at South Carolina. Oweh just scored four straight, going coast-to-coast on the second bucket to push Kentucky’s lead to 19. That’s where it remains after some back-and-forth. Oweh is up to 18 points, 12 in the second half.
The Cats have made their last seven field goals, the last by Malachi Moreno. He’s been great today too, up to 11 points and five rebounds.
4:49 2H: Kentucky 86, Vanderbilt 67
OTAKEOVER OWEH.
📺 – ESPN pic.twitter.com/SCAzJQn7SJ
Otega Oweh flex of the day pic.twitter.com/6CwYw2cdej
Kentucky leads by 19, 73-54, at the 8:18 mark. Officials are reviewing a foul on Denzel Aberdeen during the timeout. Elsewhere in the backcourt, Collin Chandler is up to 21 points on 6-9 from the field, 3-4 from the free throw line. Heck of a day for the Mormon Mamba.
Back to the game. Kentucky leads by 18 after a driving layup by Otega Oweh. He was fouled by AK Okereke and will head to the line after this timeout.
Oweh is up to 10 points. Collin Chandler has a career-high 19. Denzel Aberdeen has 13. A good afternoon for Kentucky’s backcourt.
Nobody is stopping @OtegaOweh when he's moving like this 😮💨 pic.twitter.com/g55eJzYuCZ
Two big calls just went down. What would have been Collin Chandler’s seventh three-pointer was waived off because officials said he kicked his leg out. Then, David McGlockton hit Brandon Garrison in the face when Garrison went up for a shot, snapping his head back. A foul was initially called on Tyler Nickel, but after review, a deadball technical foul was called on McGlockton. If the foul had called on McGlockton initially, it could have been elevated; however, it was not.
Annoying.
He tried to break Brandon Garrison's neck! pic.twitter.com/grfjMScEU1
Collin Chandler 3 gets waived off and he's called for the foul. pic.twitter.com/PlkHPdQ68N
We all disagree with Collin Chandler's three being waived off. pic.twitter.com/Ona8mXkjln
Captain Clutch is having a day. Chandler just drilled his sixth three-pointer of the afternoon to push Kentucky’s lead to 17.
14:33 2H: Kentucky 58, Vanderbilt 41
Collin Chandler drains his 6th 3 of the game. pic.twitter.com/7yvJ2WF8E9
BBN’s favorite announcer is calling today’s game alongside Dane Bradshaw and has not disappointed so far, finding a way to reference the Bath County meat shower on its 150th anniversary. Never doubt Tom Hart.
“Bath County meat shower!” @KSRonX @KySportsRadio
A Denzel Aberdeen three-pointer pushed the lead to 19, but Vanderbilt responded, AK Okereke hitting a three and Tyler Nickel a jumper after a turnover by Malachi Moreno. Cats by 14 with 15 to go.
Vanderbilt cut Kentucky’s 15-point lead to 12, but free throws by Denzel Aberdeen and Malachi Moreno pushed it to 16. That’s good, but Kentucky hasn’t hit a field goal in over three minutes.
16:17 2H: Kentucky 52, Vanderbilt 36
Well, that was fun. How about 20 more minutes just like it?
Kentucky pushed ahead by as many as 20 points, thanks to nine made 3-pointers from the Wildcats — five from Collin Chandler alone. He leads all scorers with 15 on 5-8 overall, followed by Denzel Aberdeen with eight (3-5 FG), Otega Oweh (3-8 FG) and Andrija Jelavic (2-3 FG) with six apiece, Malachi Moreno with five (2-2 FG), Jasper Johnson with three (1-2 3PT) and Brandon Garrison with two (1-2 FG).
The Cats are shooting 54.8 percent overall and 56.3 percent from three.
Going up by 20 with 3:46 to go in the first half, Kentucky has allowed Vanderbilt to cut it to 13 just two minutes later with the Cats leading 42-29.
Don’t give the Commodores life, please. Foot back on the gas.
The Comeback Cats will not be needed on this beautiful Saturday to end the month of February — barring an absolute disaster. That’s because Kentucky leads by 20 against Vanderbilt, doubling up the Commodores 40-20 with five minutes to go in the first half.
Are we back, folks? This feels like the glory days of this program again and I love it.
The rain is falling in @Rupp_Arena ☔️
📺 – ESPN pic.twitter.com/LujayW6L7b
Kentucky is 13-21 overall (61.9% FG), 7-11 from three (63.6% 3PT) and 1-1 at the line (100% FT) for a red-hot first 12 minutes and change here against Vanderbilt.
Collin Chandler leads all scorers with 12 on 4-5 from deep — why was he on the bench for five minutes? — followed by Otega Oweh and Andrija Jelavic with six each, Denzel Aberdeen with five, Jasper Johnson with three and Malachi Moreno with two.
Vanderbilt is shooting 42.1 percent from the field (8-19) and 25 percent from three (2-8).
That’ll do.
Otega Oweh just got a steal-and-score to put Kentucky up 15 at the midway point of the first half and Big Blue Nation is having a good time here in the Rupp Arena matinee.
Cats can’t miss and the defensive stops are coming. Things are going about as well as they could be against the No. 25 team in the country.
As Kentucky looks to make its own Final Four push over the next month, how about bringing in the girls who just did it themselves? The 2025 national runner-ups are in the house, Craig Skinner’s volleyball team honored at midcourt during the most recent TV timeout.
The national runner-up Kentucky Wildcats are in the house pic.twitter.com/gwh5DshCzZ
Can we recreate that in March, please?
CAPTAIN CLUTCH CAN’T MISS, FOLKS!
Collin Chandler is already up to nine points on 3-4 shooting from three to lead all scorers, putting Kentucky up 21-14 with 14:10 to go in the first half.
.@collinchand13r is piping HOT 🥵🔥♨️
📺 – ESPN pic.twitter.com/rvCsulk0zE
Andrija Jelavic has six quick points, too, while Otega Oweh has four and Malachi Moreno has two.
Keep it flying, Cats.
Good grief, Cats. Save some buckets for the full 40 minutes, would ya?
Kentucky is off to a 5-7 start overall and 2-4 from three to take a 13-8 lead in the first three minutes of the game, led by a pair of triples from Captain Clutch himself, Collin Chandler.
Andrija Jelavic has an and-one while Malachi Moreno and Otega Oweh have two each. AK Okereke has five and Duke Miles has an early three to make up the three baskets for the Commodores.
Good start for the good guys.
UK asked for the Big Blue Nation to color-code Rupp Arena for today’s game — and they pulled it off! We’ve got a half-blue arena and half-white arena.
Solid job by the BBN today pulling off the Blue-White Out. pic.twitter.com/I2fACyB9Wv
It’s the usual starting five for the Cats. Duke Miles has moved into the starting lineup for Vanderbilt after coming off the bench for two games following his return from knee surgery.
Kentucky Starters
Vanderbilt Starters
Brace yourself; monitor reviews are coming. Today’s officials are Doug Shows, Byron Jarrett, and Wil Howard.
It’s the second-to-last Saturday in the regular season. In turn, there is a LOT at stake when it comes to the standings/SEC Tournament seeding. Kentucky is tied with Vanderbilt, Missouri, and Texas A&M for fifth in the standings with three games to go. Texas is lurking, one game back at 8-7. Using tiebreakers, the Cats would currently be the No. 7 seed in the SEC Tournament.
Here’s today’s slate:
As @AdamLuckettoutlined earlier this week, there are a lot of scenarios that could still play out. Kentucky still has a path to the double bye — or, it could end up playing on Wednesday based on how the next three games go. The next two (Vandy, Texas A&M) are huge.
For today, here’s what needs to happen for Kentucky to improve its seed:
1. UK to win – Obviously. A win would push Kentucky over Vanderbilt in the standings (for now) and negate the ‘Dores’ head-to-head tiebreaker. This is also the most winnable game left on Kentucky’s schedule, in my opinion.
2. Missouri (Mississippi State), Tennessee (Alabama), and Arkansas (Florida) to lose: Missouri has a tiebreaker over Kentucky, so cheer for Mississippi State in the first game of the day. The Tigers have games vs. Oklahoma and at Arkansas to close the season.
Kentucky owns tiebreakers over Tennessee and Arkansas, but both are ahead of the Cats in the standings. If Kentucky can end up on the same line as the Vols and/or Razorbacks in the standings, they’ll have the advantage come tiebreaker time. Both are projected to win their final two games, so cheer for Alabama and Florida today. If Tennessee loses today, there is a scenario in which Kentucky can still get the No. 4 seed.
It’s almost that time. Join Jack Pilgrim, Zack Geoghegan, and Steven Peake as they walk to Rupp and share their thoughts on the rematch with the Commodores. They’ll also deliver their Parlour Pizza Pregame Predictions.
We’ve got our favorite broadcasting team on the call tonight, Tom Hart and Dane Bradshaw. If this game were on the SEC Network and not ESPN, I guarantee Tom would throw it to “Peter Bones” in the studio at halftime.
Here’s the schedule for another loaded day of college hoops, the second to last in the regular season:
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Every path broken down
on Kam Williams and JQ.
Will play SC on Friday
is BACK
Candidates to replace Mitch
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