KSR Staff Predictions: No. 9 Kentucky at Vanderbilt

After a brief break, Kentucky is back in action on the road in the SEC. The ninth-ranked Wildcats will travel to Nashville to take on Vanderbilt tomorrow at 2:30 p.m. EST. One week ago, Kentucky fell at home to Alabama, while Vandy students stormed the court after upsetting No. 6 Tennessee. Will the Wildcats bounce back or will Mark Byington get his second Top 10 win of the season? The KSR crew weighs in.

---

Adam Luckett

Kentucky wants to play with tempo and shoot threes. Vanderbilt wants to play with tempo and shoot threes. Each team will spread the floor. You could say that this game is the Spiderman meme.

The Wildcats have a better roster. That should lead to a road victory.

New Vanderbilt head coach Mark Byington is going to want to push the pace and does not have much size in the frontcourt. That should give Mark Pope’s team some advantages. Expect a fun game at Memorial Gym with buckets coming in bunches.

Vanderbilt’s three-point defense (No. 268 nationally) has been bad all season and that will matter on Saturday. Kentucky wins the three-point volume battle and controls the game even if it gets a little tight down the stretch.

Score: Kentucky 90, Vanderbilt 85

---

Nick Roush

Part of me is worried that Memorial Magic has returned. Not only did the Commodores get the win over the Vols, they got a put-back with less than a second left to knock off South Carolina. Here’s the thing about that gym — Kentucky hasn’t lost there since 2011.

The teams that give Kentucky fits on the road in SEC play are the ones who like to slow it down and play a knock-down, drag-em-out style. Vandy wants to play just as fast as Kentucky. They want to shoot a lot of threes. If they hit a bunch, the Cats might be in trouble, but these are similar teams with very different levels of talent. Kentucky will just be too much for Vanderbilt to handle in a high-scoring affair.

Score: Kentucky 101, Vanderbilt 90

---

Zack Geoghegan

Vanderbilt’s only home loss this season came against No. 14 Mississippi State. The Commodores stunned No. 6 Tennessee 11 days later in Nashville. The magic in Memorial Gym might be back with first-year head coach Mark Byington exceeding expectations, but Mark Pope won’t let the arena’s aura impact his team. Vandy has dropped three of its last five SEC games.

Byington has his team playing smart basketball. The ‘Dores rarely turn the ball over and do an excellent job of forcing opponents into mistakes. They like to play fast the same way Kentucky does but don’t shoot as often or as efficiently from deep as the Wildcats. North Texas transfer guard Jason Edwards is going to get up plenty of shots. This is a transfer-heavy group that goes nine players deep. Both teams are coming off losses to Alabama. There are plenty of similarities to Pope’s first season.

The one major difference? Talent. Kentucky has more from top to bottom. AJ Hoggard is a solid veteran guard and Devin McGlockton is a rebounding fiend (8.2 RPG) at 6-foot-7, but UK can match them and then some. Keeping Vanderbilt to under 20 free throw attempts will be key. A full week off from games will have the ‘Cats healthy as they’ve been in weeks as they cruise to a feel-good road win.

Score: Kentucky 84, Vanderbilt 77

---

Tyler Thompson

After upsetting No. 6 Tennessee last week, Vandy will try to recreate more Memorial Magic vs. No. 9 Kentucky, but I feel good about the Cats’ chances coming off the midweek bye and with Big Blue Nation taking over Memorial. Blue always gets into Vandy, but with this game taking place on a Saturday and excitement high under Mark Pope, I’m expecting an especially loud and proud contingent of Kentucky fans in the funky old opera house.

The ‘Dores have been impressive this season and are in the conversation for the NCAA Tournament, but the Cats are fresh and will be eager to get the taste of the loss to Alabama out of their mouths. As my coworkers have said, both teams play a similar style, which should lead to a high-scoring game; in those scenarios, take the team with more talent, and that’s Kentucky.

Vanderbilt will make some runs and give its fans chances to get loud, but ultimately, the “Go Big Blue” chants will be louder. Kentucky wins, building some momentum heading into another Tennessee road trip next week.

Score: Kentucky 90, Vanderbilt 83

---

Jack Pilgrim

In my first trip to the Crow’s Nest, the goal is to kill any chance at Memorial Magic the Commodores hope to recreate after pulling off the upset win over Tennessee. Had they lost that in-state battle, I’d probably be a lot more nervous than I am — same vibes as the Alabama game. Just as the Crimson Tide played with heart and desperation looking to get back on track at Rupp Arena following a double-digit home loss, you’d rather Vanderbilt be coming off an emotional home upset that led to a court storming their last time in Nashville over a tough loss, hungry to make a statement.

Mark Byington is very good, constructing his debut roster from scratch following Jerry Stackhouse’s departure. It’s similar to Coach Pope’s takeover, tirelessly hitting the portal to find culture and system fits that work well together rather than the best individual talent. That’s led to the program’s best start in a decade and a half, undersized but plenty of positional versatility and skilled, and they’re probably going to the NCAA Tournament because of it.

Kentucky is a bigger, better, more talented version of that, though, and that’s going to be something Vanderbilt can’t overcome — even with a sold-out Memorial Gym working in its favor. It’s going to be a fun and entertaining game with a ton of points, maybe one that stays tight longer than one would hope, but the Wildcats will spread it out at the end and head home with a comfortable win.

Score: Kentucky 98, Vanderbilt 89

---

Drew Franklin

Memorial Gym has been hot lately, with two thrilling wins for Vanderbilt the last two times the Commodores played at home. However, the magic will wear off Saturday when Kentucky comes to town in a bounce-back opportunity for the Wildcats. Mark Pope’s first UK team has been good at those. Kentucky is 3-0 after a loss this season, with two top-15 wins in those three instances. I expect Pope has again collected the proper data, made the necessary adjustments, and said all of the right things to inspire his team to rebound again.

Jaxson Robinson is my predicted high scorer for the game. Robinson scored 27 points the last time he went on the road in the SEC, and I think that night in Starkville gave him the confidence to do it again. He’ll have 20+ in a Kentucky win in Memorial Gym.

Score: Kentucky 86, Vanderbilt 79

Kentucky vs. Vanderbilt: How to Watch, Listen

• Time: 2:30 p.m. ET
• Television: ESPN (Karl Ravech, Jimmy Dykes)
• Home Radio: UK Sports Network – 630 WLAP, iHeart Radio (Tom Leach, Goose Givens)
• Online Radio: iHeart
• Satellite Radio: Sirius 160 or 191
• Live Stats: StatBroadcast

You can also follow the game via our new LIVE BLOG on the website, which will begin an hour before tip-off, or join the conversation on KSBoard.