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WATCH: Jordan Wright upsets Kentucky with last-second game-winning basket

Barkley-Truaxby:Barkley Truax•03/01/23•

BarkleyTruax

Jordan Wright
Johnnie Izquierdo / Contributor PhotoG/Getty

Kentucky fans were excited for March.

Vanderbilt‘s Jordan Wright stopped on a dime and nailed an off-balance 10-footer to give Vanderbilt the 68-66 victory and silence the crowd at Rupp Arena. Kentucky’s Antonio Reeves had a chance to win the game at the buzzer, but his attempt was short and Vanderbilt escaped with a win.

Wright had his way all night for the Commodores, scoring 23 points including going 4-of-4 from deep off the bench. The final two points were all that mattered, though. Check out Wright’s heads-up play below:

The win is good for the 10th of Vanderbilt’s SEC schedule and moves the Commodores into fifth place in the current SEC standings. They still have a chance to sneak their way into the top four of the SEC Tournament, which would give them a double bye into the quarterfinals.

For that to happen, they would need losses by either Kentucky or Tennessee this Saturday and would have to defeat Mississippi State at home for it to be considered.

Jerry Stackhouse shares message to players with NCAA Tournament chances hurting

For the first time in a while, Vanderbilt was making NCAA Tournament noise late in the season. Head coach Jerry Stackhouse had the Commodores in position to be in position but everything came crashing down on Wednesday. A brutal loss to LSU likely ends any postseason hopes in Nashville. 

Stackhouse is not all doom and gloom, however. He said there is still plenty of opportunity ahead of Vanderbilt, beginning with the game against Florida on Saturday. If there is going to be a resurgence in the final three games of the season, Stackhouse wants to have his team prepared and focused.

“We just got to find a way to pick ourselves up,” Stackhouse said. “Got to find a way to finish out strong. We can’t look past this weekend with Florida. Obviously, they’re not with (Colin) Castleton anymore. He’s out for the season but we’ve got to come back and win that game at home. It will be a great opportunity to get at Kentucky and get one there.”

Mississippi State will be the final regular season game of the year, hosting the Bulldogs in Nashville. If Vanderbilt can win out, they will finish with an 11-7 record in SEC play. A few quality wins can be picked up the following week in the conference tournament.

“I think the message is still hope to try to win out,” Stackhouse said. “Then, in the SEC Tournament, we can have a good run there. Still plenty of basketball left for us. But obviously disappointed to lose this one tonight.”