KSR Gameday: No. 9 Kentucky takes on Vanderbilt in Nashville

ZGeogheganKSR

Kentucky players huddling - Dr. Michael Huang, Kentucky Sports Radio

Good morning, folks! After a full week off from games, your No. 9 Kentucky Wildcats are back in action this afternoon.

On the docket today is another tough SEC road challenge. Kentucky is in Nashville to take on the surprisingly good Vanderbilt Commodores, led by first-year head coach Mark Byington. After successful stops at Georgia Southern and James Madison, Byington has Vanderbilt playing smart and fun basketball. The ‘Dores sit on a 15-4 record with a 3-3 mark in the SEC. Vandy was picked to finish last (16th) in the league this season but this misfit group of transfers has them thinking about the NCAA Tournament over halfway through the season.

That being said, Kentucky comes to Memorial Gym as the favorite. FanDuel has the Wildcats as 2.5-point favorites as of this morning while KenPom calls for an 86-83 Kentucky victory with a 60 percent chance of pulling off the win. For those wanting to put some coin down on this game, keep in mind that UK is 3-4 outright and just 2-5 against the spread (ATS) as single-digit favorites this season.

Vanderbilt will roll out a roster made up almost entirely of transfers. Although not to the same level Mark Pope had to deal with in Lexington, Byington built his team from practically nothing. He did an excellent job by bringing in Jason Edwards (North Texas) and AJ Hoggard (Michigan State) to man the backcourt. 6-foot-7 center Devin McGLockton (Boston College) is a load inside while Tyler Nickel (Virginia Tech) stretches the floor in the frontcourt.

“They start with five guys on the floor that really shoot it, and they’re really, really mobile, so they force you to guard a lot of space — all of those challenges that come with it,” Pope said Thursday. “They’re also really physical on the glass. I mean, one of the top rebounders in the league is their undersized starting center, right? No. 99 (McGlockton) is — he’s unbelievable, he’s a second-hit guy.

We’ll see a somewhat familiar style of play from Vandy today. Byington wants his guys to play fast and take tons of shots. The ‘Dores rarely turn the ball over and do a good job of forcing the opposition into mistakes. Edwards and Hoggard are going to take the bulk of the shots. Kentucky can easily outscore Vanderbilt, but holding them to 70 or fewer points is the goal. Vandy is 1-3 this season when scoring 70 points or less.

Kentucky also expects to have a mostly roster ready to roll. Lamont Butler was not listed on the initial Availability Report released last night. Andrew Carr, however, was on it once again as questionable. This is the fourth straight game his back injury has put him on the report. That being said, he’s played the last three games and will likely give it a go again today. Backup point guard Kerr Kriisa remains out.

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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. While you wait for tipoff, dive into our pregame content below, along with Pope’s thoughts on the matchup from Thursday’s press conference.

Subscribe to the KSR YouTube Channel for press conferences, interviews, original shows, fan features, and exclusive content.

Saturday’s Top 25 CBB slate

TIME/TV	MATCHUP
1:00 PM (SEC Network)	No. 14 Mississippi State @ South Carolina
1:30 PM (CBS)	No. 8 Michigan State @ Rutgers
2:00 PM (ESPN+)	No. 3 Iowa State @ Arizona State
2:30 PM (ESPN)	No. 9 Kentucky @ Vanderbilt
2:30 PM (ESPN2)	No. 13 Texas A&M @ Texas
3:30 PM (SEC Network)	Georgia @ No. 5 Florida
4:00 PM (BTN)	No. 15 Oregon @ Minnesota
4:30 PM (ESPN)	No. 2 Duke @ Wake Forest
6:00 PM (SEC Network)	No. 16 Ole Miss @ No. 22 Missouri
6:00 PM (CBSSN)	No. 23 West Virginia @ Kansas State
6:30 PM (ESPN)	No. 7 Houston @ No. 12 Kansas
8:00 PM (FOX)	No. 19 UConn @ Xavier
8:30 PM (ESPN) *COLLEGE GAMEDAY*	No. 6 Tennessee @ No. 1 Auburn
8:30 PM (SEC Network)	LSU @ No. 4 Alabama

In Nashville and need postgame entertainment?

We know the Big Blue Nation loves a good trip to Nashville. With the 1:30 local time tipoff, you’ll have plenty of time after the game to enjoy what the city has to offer. If you want that fun to be Kentucky-themed, we’ve got you covered. There are a couple of postgame parties for UK fans on Broadway at Whiskey Bent Saloon (6-10 PM CT) and Tootsies (5:30-6:30 CT) with musical appearances from A Common Wealth Band and Brent Penny Band, respectively.

Top 20 Men’s Tennis showdown in Lexington

The annual ITA Kickoff Weekend is in Lexington for the third straight season as the No. 12 Kentucky Wildcats welcomed No. 20 Arizona State, Nebraska, and Santa Clara to the Hilary J. Boone Tennis Complex in Lexington. The Wildcats already knocked off Santa Clara in a 4-0 sweep yesterday to improve its record to 3-1. Up next? The nationally ranked Sun Devils.

Arizona State knocked off Nebraska on Friday to join Kentucky in the championship round. Today’s match begins at 4:00 p.m. EST and is available through the live stream link here. A win for the ‘Cats would push the program to its 24th all-time appearance at the ITA Indoor National Championships.

Devin Booker is Forrest Gump

Sometimes, AI video editing can be good. A prime example is this clip of Devin Booker being edited onto Tom Hanks’ face from the movie Forrest Gump. I’m not sure how Paramount Pictures feels about all of this, but Booker gladly accepted the free marketing for his new shoe, the Nike Book 1 ‘Forrest Gump’ — the same shoe worn by Hanks in the film. Booker even signed a pair of shoes just for Hanks.