Since beating Kentucky, Vanderbilt has struggled to close out games

Kentucky’s loss at Vanderbilt on Jan. 25 marked the first time this season that the Cats lost back-to-back games. Since then, Kentucky has been on a roller coaster due to injuries, going 3-3 with some big highs (wins over Tennessee) and low lows (losses to Arkansas, Ole Miss, and Texas). Vanderbilt has also been through the wringer, losing four of its last five games, the sole win being vs. Texas in Nashville.

Three of those losses were to top-ten opponents (Florida, Auburn, Tennessee); the other is by far the most jarring, a 30-point drubbing by Oklahoma in Norman just one week after the win over Kentucky. After leading 40-36 at the end of the first half, the ‘Dores were outscored 61-27 in the second, which resulted in Oklahoma’s third SEC win. The Sooners haven’t won a game since.

Blowing halftime leads is kind of Vandy’s thing lately. The ‘Dores led Florida at halftime and took an early second-half lead vs. Auburn before allowing a 15-4 run that killed the momentum. On Saturday, Vanderbilt led Tennessee by 13 at halftime in Knoxville. The Vols ultimately won 81-76, outscoring the Dores by 18 in the second half to avenge their loss in Memorial Gym last month.

Will Kentucky follow Tennessee’s lead and win round two vs. the ‘Dores? To do it, the Cats will have to take care of the ball. Kentucky turned it over 17 times in Nashville, one reason the ‘Dores jumped out to a big halftime lead (41-27). Vanderbilt forces the second most turnovers in the SEC (14.6 per game), while Kentucky forces the least (9.8). The Cats turned it over 15 times at Texas on Saturday. Assuming Kentucky will be without Lamont Butler and/or Jaxson Robinson on Wednesday, the makeshift backcourt must protect the ball better than the Cats did in Nashville.

The good news is that Vanderbilt is only 1-5 on the road this season during SEC play. As Adam Luckett outlined yesterday, that’s in part because of their defense, which ranks last in the SEC in KenPom’s defensive efficiency ratings during conference play. Kentucky isn’t much better, ranked just ahead of Vanderbilt at No. 15. The Cats are much more comfortable at Rupp, averaging 91.8 points per home game. Koby Brea is the best example of that, averaging 12.7 points per game at Rupp vs. 6.7 points per game on the road. Coming off the Texas game in which he failed to score a single field goal, a bounce-back performance is almost required.

Both teams need this one, Kentucky to get back in the win column and avoid a costly home loss and Vandy to remain in the NCAA Tournament conversation. Hopefully, Kentucky wants it more or we’ll once again be staring at back-to-back losses heading into a monster game against a top-five team on the road.

Vanderbilt and Kentucky Since 1st Meeting

Vanderbilt’s Last 5			Kentucky’s Last 6
DATE	OPP	RESULT	DATE	OPP	RESULT
BYE			1/28/25	at Tennessee	W 78-73
2/1/25	at Oklahoma	L 97-67	2/1/25	vs. Arkansas	L 89-79
2/4/25	at Florida	L 86-75	2/4/25	at Ole Miss	L 98-84
2/8/25	vs. Texas	W 86-78	2/8/25	vs. South Carolina	W 80-57
2/11/25	vs. Auburn	L 80-68	2/11/25	vs. Tennessee	W 75-64
2/15/25	at Tennessee	L 81-76	2/15/25	at Texas	L 82-78