Vanderbilt basketball will try to improve its NCAA Tournament resume and SEC tournament position when it travels to Kentucky on Feb. 28 (1 p.m., ESPN).
Mark Byington and the Commodores (22-6, 9-6 SEC) defeated Georgia 88-80 on senior night after losing back-to-back games against Missouri and Tennessee.
Kentucky (18-10, 9-6) has lost three of its last four, snapping a three-game losing streak with a 72-63 win over South Carolina on Feb. 24.
Vanderbilt, which rolled Kentucky in the first meeting, will finish the regular season with a three-game road swing.
Here is our prediction:
The Wildcats’ offense bottomed out in an 80-55 loss to Vanderbilt back on Jan. 27 in Nashville. Kentucky has averaged 80 points in six games since.
Watch reserve forward Mouhamed Dioubate (8 ppg, 5.5 rpg) as an X-factor. The Alabama transfer scored 12 points in a 72-63 win against South Carolina with a team-best plus/minus of +16. Kentucky is 5-0 this season when he scores at least 12 points.
The Wildcats are reaping easy points with their size advantage. They produced their largest rebounding margin, 48-28, against an SEC opponent during the South Carolina win. That translates directly to offense for the Wildcats, who had 18 offensive rebounds. Kentucky led 34-20 in points in the paint and 14-4 in second-chance points.
Vanderbilt outrebounded the Wildcats 43-37 in the teams’ first meeting and they tied (13) in offensive rebounds.
Vanderbilt’s Frankie Collins hasn’t returned since his Dec. 17 injury at Memphis, and there are questions about his status on the team. Duke Miles is averaging 14 points in two games since returning from knee surgery rehabilitation.
Kentucky’s Jaland Lowe (shoulder), Jayden Quaintance (knee) and Kam Williams (foot) all missed their ninth straight game when the Wildcats played South Carolina. Lowe is out for the season.
Vanderbilt 78, Kentucky 71.
Tyler Palmateer covers high school sports for The Tennessean. Have a story idea for Tyler? Reach him at tpalmateer@tennessean.com and on the X platform,@tpalmateer83.
He also contributes to The Tennessean’s high school sports newsletter, The Bootleg.Subscribe to The Bootleg here.
