Jerry Stackhouse believes Kentucky is "primed for a big run" this postseason

Kentucky has only played a handful of teams twice this season. Vanderbilt is one of them, and head coach Jerry Stackhouse is likely praying there isn’t somehow a third matchup in next week’s SEC Tournament.

In two games against the Commodores, Kentucky has scored a combined 202 points on 53 percent overall shooting. The Wildcats hit 26 of its 53 attempts from deep, good enough for an elite 49 percent clip. Vanderbilt scored 77 points in both outings — nearly 11 points higher than their per-game average — but everything they did well on offense was unraveled by their inability to slow down UK.

It’s not all Vanderbilt’s fault though. Kentucky has been doing this to teams all season long. Wednesday night was the 11th time in 2023-24 that the ‘Cats have dropped at least 93 points in a single game. UK ranks third in the country in points per contest. In Stackhouse’s mind, this is the best that Kentucky’s offense has looked since he took over as Vandy’s head coach in 2019.

“I thought that was really highly contested game you know. Kentucky is really really good, talented offensive team. The best that I’ve seen I think since I’ve been here,” Stackhouse said after Kentucky won round two in Lexington, 93-77. “Just down the line multiple guys that step behind the three — I think they probably had seven guys tonight with at least three made field goals. They’re tough to cover… But just again, tough team that I think is primed for a big run this year.”

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Stackhouse is correct: Kentucky did have at least seven guys make three field goals against Vanderbilt. Rob Dillingham led the way with 23 points while Antonio Reeves wasn’t far behind with 20 of his own. DJ Wagner and Justin Edwards also reached double figures while Reed Sheppard, Adou Thiero, and Zvonimir Ivisic all hit a trio of shots of their own.

The offensive wealth was spread across the court.

“Very, very talented team,” Stackhouse added. “I know they’re talking about trying to get better defensive and I think they’re doing that. That’d be a challenge for them in a tournament but offensively they’ve been able to score with anybody.”

Stackhouse pointed to Kentucky’s flurry of three-pointers near the end of the first half as a key moment in the night. It was a run that, in hindsight, won the game for the ‘Cats. Trailing by one point with under 2:00 before the intermission, Kentucky made back-to-back-to-back-to-back shots from deep — one from Sheppard, two from Dillingham, and one more from Reeves just before the buzzer.

“Four or five feet behind the line for those guys isn’t too far out and they made us pay for it,” Stackhouse said. “I think they had four consecutive 3s. We had an opportunity to really have some momentum going into the half but we went down five just because of their ability to step up and make big shots. Not just from one guy, but multiple guys made those shots.

Just like that, Kentucky took a five-point lead into halftime. Another scoring rush from Dillingham in the second half put the final nail in Vanderbilt’s coffin. In the blink of an eye, the Wildcats’ offense can go from sluggish to otherworldly — that’s what Stackhouse thinks makes UK such a dangerous team once the NCAA Tournament rolls around.