Kentucky fans make Vanderbilt’s gym home in bounce-back game
Sometimes you just need a fun night in Nashville. After losing three of the last four, including back-to-back games at Rupp Arena, the Kentucky Wildcats needed a win; the Big Blue Nation did its part to help them get it. With an overwhelmingly Kentucky Blue crowd cheering them on in Memorial Gym, the Cats ran over the Vanderbilt Commodores 109-77. Vanderbilt may be one of the worst teams in the SEC, but Kentucky took care of business and then some, notching a feel-good win that included highlights from almost every Wildcat.
I witnessed the 32-point victory from the Crow’s Nest high atop Memorial Gym. Blue getting into Vanderbilt’s arena is an annual tradition; however, the urgency of a must-win game made the vibes a little different this year. Traffic led to a slow-arriving crowd, but BBN made its presence known with a booming “Go Big Blue” chant after Antonio Reeves hit Kentucky’s eighth three-pointer of the night at the 6:47 mark of the first half. After a depressing week, that chant warmed my soul.
At that point, Kentucky was already up by 20 and the good times rolled. If you closed your eyes, you’d think you were in Rupp Arena on a big game night. Each big play by Zvonimir Ivisic was followed by a “Zzzzzzz!”. Each questionable call was met with vocal displeasure. The “Go Big Blue” chant following Justin Edwards’ windmill dunk was so loud the banners in the rafters rippled. Edwards and Jordan Burks, who had four dunks of his own, each received ovations in the second half, with fans getting to their feet to applaud Edwards as he checked out for a breather.
“It was good,” Edwards told KSR of the standing ovation he received. “It really felt like a home game, just how all the fans came out to support us.”
As you might expect, Vanderbilt fans didn’t stick around for the end of the party. When Kentucky’s walk-ons checked in during the final minute, each was encouraged to “Shooooooot!”. When Kareem Watkins finally did, the crowd groaned playfully when it fell short of the basket. When asked if it was poor sportsmanship for Kentucky to keep shooting when the result was well in hand, Vanderbilt coach Jerry Stackhouse shrugged it off, telling reporters he didn’t have the energy to get upset.
“I said on the radio, our fans, they’re unbelievable,” John Calipari said afterward. “It’s part of the reason I imagine we’ve had some success up here. We walk in and half the building is blue. And they’re really into basketball and really into Kentucky, so that’s amazing. We’ll go to a road game and all of a sudden it’s ‘How did these people get in?’ And they figure out, if we’re winning at the end, you hear ‘Go Big Blue. Go Big Blue. Go Big Blue.’ And they’re like, ‘How did they get tickets?’”
Helping matters was the fact that Vanderbilt fans are so apathetic that tickets were readily available and affordable. Yesterday, you could get a decent seat for $45, well below the sky-high prices on the secondary markets for home games at Rupp.
Justin Edwards on support from fans: “It’s a real feeling”
No one needed a confidence boost more than Justin Edwards. The five-star freshman has struggled this season and didn’t have the best start last night, totaling only three points in 10 minutes in the first half. After encouragement from John Calipari and injured point guard DJ Wagner, Edwards regrouped to score 14 points in the second half, finishing with a career-high 17, much to the crowd’s delight.
“It just shows how much they support us,” Edwards said of the fans. “Most of them probably drove two or three hours to come see us play so we played for them. Just play for them and know that they’ve got our backs. It’s like it’s a real feeling, you know?”
Antonio Reeves — who finished with a game-high 24 points, 16 in the first half — said Memorial Gym provided a reset as Kentucky heads into the final third of the season.
Top 10
- 1
SEC fines LSU
SEC levies fine for Death Valley field storm
- 2New
AP Poll Top 25
Top 10 shakeup in AP Poll
- 3Hot
Coaches Poll shake up
Top 25 sees big movement
- 4
Graham Mertz injury
Latest on Florida QB
- 5Trending
Kirby shoves MSU QB
The UGA coach is going to regret this
“Just getting our mojo back coming off two losses. It was devastating but we just stayed in the jump, stayed focused and collected as a group, just made sure we communicated out there as well. Just try to do as much as we can on defense.”
Reed Sheppard makes a young fan’s night
The TV cameras captured lots of fun moments from the game, but the most adorable may be Reed Sheppard waving to a young fan at the end. When Reed checked out with 36 seconds out, DJ Wagner made sure his teammate saw the little girl, who was desperately trying to get his attention.
Thanks to Larry Vaught, we know more. The uncle of the young girl shared a picture of her sign, which reads, “My mom loved Jeff, now I love Reed!” and a plea for Reed to shake her hand. The girl met DJ Wagner before the game, and Wagner made sure to help Reed find her.
Similarly, if you think you’ve heard loud noises before, try standing next to the tunnel with Kentucky fans when Reed Sheppard walks to the locker room. My right ear is still ringing.
Other Notes from the Crow’s Nest
— What is it like to cover a game at Memorial Gym? You have to climb a lot of steps, but you get a great view of their women’s basketball All-American, SEC Player of the Year, and NCAA Final Four banners.
— The play on the floor wasn’t the only fun part of the night. Red Panda lived up to her very high expectations. She dropped three bowls on her first big toss but rebounded like a pro.
This picture by Christopher Hanewinckel captures it much better than my grainy iPhone video:
— Vandy’s in-game contests are…unique. During one timeout, a student crawled around the court blindfolded (with his own t-shirt, meaning he was shirtless) to find one of the large VISA gift card cutouts on the floor. In another, a fan played cornhole with Moe’s burritos.
I’m pretty sure she got to keep the burritos afterward. Stay weird, Vandy.
Discuss This Article
Comments have moved.
Join the conversation and talk about this article and all things Kentucky Sports in the new KSR Message Board.
KSBoard