Jordan Wright recalls go-ahead basket against Kentucky

Jordan Wright came up clutch in Lexington on Wednesday night with a game-winning jumper to help Vanderbilt overcome Kentucky. Even so, he says that wasn’t actually the Commodore’s plan to start with.

During Vandy’s press conference, Wright pointed out that, to start, they were hoping to take advantage of a fake timeout in order to get to the rim. However, he then demanded the ball and capitalized on his great performance with the biggest make of the night.

“Originally, Coach wanted to get a fake timeout there to get Ezra (Manjon) downhill and catch them off guard. But they were kind of ready for it,” said Wright. “After that, I just told Ezra to give me the ball. Coach trusted me in that moment, I got to my spot, and I made the shot.”

Wright’s jumper gave him a season-high of 23 points off the bench in 28 minutes. He was hot from the start and never stopped rolling as he finished 8-12 from the field while making all four of his attempts from distance. Pair that with four rebounds, two assists, and a steal and it was very obviously Wright’s night off the pine.

Considering how he played in the first matchup, it was quite the improvement as his efforts gave Vanderbilt their first win in Rupp Arena since 2007 and their first victory over Kentucky overall since 2017.

Now, with Senior Night at Vanderbilt coming up on Saturday night against Mississippi State, Jerry Stackhouse and the Commodores will hope to see Wright keep it rolling in that one as they head into the SEC Tournament next week.

Stackhouse waiting for update on Liam Robbins

Vanderbilt secured their first victory in Rupp Arena since 2007 thanks to a last-second Jordan Wright basket. The Commodores left Lexington with a win, but not in full health. Vandy’s star big man Liam Robbins left the game early due to an injury and never returned.

Then, after the win, head coach Jerry Stackhouse was asked if he had any updates on Robbins.

“Not yet, tomorrow he’ll get reevaluated. He had a lower leg injury. But right now we’re just gonna hold off and get back and get more results tomorrow,” Stackhouse said.

Robbins had to be helped off of the floor just four minutes into the game after suffering his injury. He still managed to score a basket in his limited time, but he would be a huge loss for Vanderbilt moving forward with SEC Tournament play right around the corner.

Robbins is Vandy’s leading scorer and rebounder, averaging 15 points and 6.8 rebounds per game this season. He’s also a huge part of the Commodores’ defensive presence in the paint, ranking No. 2 in the nation and No. 1 in the SEC in blocks per game averaging 3.2 per contest.