Jordan Wright playing his best basketball at the perfect time for Vanderbilt

The last time Jordan Wright faced Kentucky, he put together one of the best performances of his college career. In fact, it was easily his best outing of the year, justified by a season-high 23 points and the go-ahead, game-winning shot in the closing moments. The 6-foot-6 senior drilled all of his four three-pointers, also a season-high, but it was his fadeaway jumper from the free throw line with the clock running down that stole headlines.

That was just nine days ago, when Vanderbilt came into Rupp Arena and spoiled Kentucky’s unusually emotional Senior Night. With the score knotted at 66-66 and the ball in Wright’s hands, he drove right at Chris Livingston, slammed on the breaks at the nail, and spun around for a tough jumper — splash. Vanderbilt leads by two with 2.6 seconds left.

Kentucky had a clean look on the other end that would have won the game, but failed to convert, ending the Wildcats’ four-game win streak.

JORDAN WRIGHT GIVES VANDERBILT THE LEAD ON KENTUCKY WITH 2 SECONDS TO GO 😱

(via @VandyMBB)pic.twitter.com/OIkH5BrFWC

— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 2, 2023

Wright hasn’t slowed down since then. He closed out the regular season with 19 points, six rebounds, and three assists in 33 minutes during Vanderbilt’s 77-72 win over Mississippi State. Then, in the first round of the SEC Tournament on Thursday night, Wright dropped 15 points and a career-high 15 rebounds in another 33-minute outing, a 77-68 victory against No. 14 seed LSU.

Much like Vanderbilt as a whole, Wright is playing his best basketball at the perfect time.

“Jordan was just all over the boards,” Vanderbilt head coach Jerry Stackhouse said after the win over LSU. “I thought he was good on the offensive boards as well having three and then 12 big defensive boards. He’s capable of doing that. He wears a lot of hats for us and I think when he’s not focusing on scoring or assists or anything, just playing the game — you don’t really have to call a lot of plays for Jordan. He’s a guy that’s just gonna find a way to make things happen and he’s been doing that in a positive light for the last four or five games. He’s on a good stretch right now.”

Wright is no stranger to facing Kentucky, either. Now in his fourth year with the Commodores, he’s played the Wildcats nine times over his career, tied for the most against any opponent (Florida). While he hasn’t always performed at a high level against UK and the ‘Dores have only come away victorious in one of those games, he has shown the ability to turn it up when Vanderbilt needs him the most.

Not only did Wright put a damper on Senior Night earlier this month, but he also played arguably the best game of his college career in last year’s SEC Tournament against Kentucky when he dropped 27 points (one off his career-high) and six rebounds on 10-12 shooting.

Kentucky still snuck out with that win, but Wright certainly made the ‘Cats work for it. If his recent stretch is any indication, he’ll be ready to give UK fits once again.

“He’s an upperclassman that has played well against us, has been playing extremely well here on the run that they’ve been,” Kentucky assistant coach Orlando Antigua said of Wright on Thursday night. “They’ve won nine out of their last 10 games and probably the hottest team in the country right now. He had a really good game at Rupp so we’re gonna have to do a couple of different things to make his catches difficult, to stay in front of him, and to keep him off the glass.

“I thought he was phenomenal (Thursday night) on the glass. 15 rebounds, 16 rebounds, something like that.”

Kentucky will head into Friday night’s matchup against Vanderbilt as the clear favorite, but it would be foolish to overlook Wright and the Commodores’ recent hot streak. Vanderbilt’s NCAA Tournament hopes still hang in the balance — beating the ‘Cats would all but lock up their spot in the field of 68.