KSR Today: Kentucky Shakes Off Slow Start in Vanderbilt Victory

The Senior Night ceremonies at Rupp Arena did not prevent the Wildcats from a sluggish start. Despite a lackluster first half, the nuclear Kentucky offense arrived in time to run away with a 93-77 victory over Vanderbilt.

Rob Dillingham knocked off the early rust and provided plenty of pop. Kentucky trailed for almost the entire first half until Rob turned on the shifts. Dillingham had eight points in a hurry as the Cats knocked down four straight threes to end the half, including a deep one from Antonio Reeves at the buzzer.

Dillingham led the Cats in scoring with 23 points, while Reeves tallied 20 in his final game at Rupp Arena.

This Offense is Just Ridiculous

If you weren’t watching last night, it’s hard to overstate how bad the start was for Kentucky. The Cats missed their first six threes. They didn’t reach 10 points until there was a 12 on the game clock. The offense was cold with only 29 points at the 3:32 mark.

Despite all the bad, they still entered the halftime locker room with 45 points and scored 90+ for a fourth-straight game. Kentucky shot 50.7% from the field and 40.7% from behind the three-point line.

This team’s ability to score quickly is astonishing. At one point in the second half, they turned a 3-point lead into an 11-point lead in about three minutes. Anytime their defensive guard was let down long enough for Vanderbilt to potentially creep back into the game, the Cats ripped off three straight scoring possessions.

This team has faults, but scoring a bunch of points in a hurry is not one of them.

WATCH: Postgame Reaction from the Kentucky Win

It was a late night at Rupp Arena. Here’s what you missed from the press conferences and more.

• John Calipari’s Postgame Press Conference
• Senior Night Ceremonies at Rupp Arena
• Reeves, Wagner, Sheppard Speak after the Win
• Highlights from the Victory
• The KSR Postgame Show with Ryan and Billy

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

Kenny Payne’s Recruiting Lifeline was in Lexington

I doubt most of you are keeping up with the unending silly soap opera happening with Louisville basketball. This iteration under Kenny Payne is more sad and embarrassing. The latest chapter includes Rick Bozich caping for his guy, selling fans on the possibility that Payne could land a pair of top 15 recruits to save the program, Karter Knox and Joson Sanon.

Sanon finally made it to UofL’s campus for an unofficial visit this week. The picture he shared with Payne was awkward and drew many hostage jokes. Hours later Sanon was taking pictures at Rupp Arena. Thanks for giving him a ride, Kenny!

Tennessee Clinches SEC Regular Season Title

The Vols were victorious at South Carolina. Dalton Knecht had 26 points in the 66-59 victory in Columbia, clinching Tennessee’s first outright SEC regular season title since 2008. With nothing to play for Saturday at Thompson-Boling Arena, it’d be a real shame if they came out flat and got molly-whopped by the Cats, a real shame. Kentucky needs a W in Knoxville to be the No. 2 seed in the SEC Tournament or they could fall back to the No. 5 seed.

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— No Context College Basketball (@ContextFreeCBB) March 7, 2024

CBB Scores, Daytime Basketball

• #1 Houston 67, UCF 59
• #2 UConn 74, #8 Marquette 67
• #6 Iowa State 68, #20 BYU 63
• Texas A&M 75, Mississippi State 69
• Arkansas 94, LSU 83
• Seton Hall 66, Villanova 56
• Butler 72, Xavier 66

Conference Championship Week is loaded with mid-major games on ESPN+. The Sun Belt, Missouri Valley, ASUN, Patriot League, Horizon League, and West Coast Conference are all in action today, starting at 12:30 pm EST on ESPN+. Drink it up and check out the complete schedule.

Kentucky WBB Stays Alive in SEC Tournament

Kyra Elzy is only one game over .500 as the Kentucky women’s basketball coach, but she’s now 7-1 in the SEC Tournament over the last three seasons. Despite a lackluster fourth quarter, the Cats prevailed 64-50 over Georgia in the opening round of the 2024 SEC Tournament. We’ll find out if they’ve got some magic in them for another run in Greenville when they take on Tennessee today at 2:30 pm EST on the SEC Network.

Kentucky Baseball, Softball Win Close Calls

A night after run-ruling EKU, the Kentucky baseball team had to squeak out a W against the Colonels. Rueben Church’s eighth-inning double off the wall with the bases juiced was the difference-maker, propelling the Bat Cats to a 5-2 victory to remain perfect in mid-week games.

The No. 21 Kentucky softball team held their home opener on a dreary day at John Cropp Stadium. The Cats fell behind Bellarmine early, but the instate foe couldn’t get anything going down the stretch thanks to 15 strikeouts from Sydney Langdon. Kentucky secured the home win 3-1.