Misery leads to opportunity for Kentucky team desperate for a spark

It’s just Vanderbilt. Yes, we know. No, it doesn’t matter. The Commodores stink, firmly in the running for worst in the SEC. They entered the matchup ranked No. 225 in the NET and just three wins since Thanksgiving. You’re not going to get any hyperbolic championship takes from me because the final score says 109-77, Kentucky‘s largest margin of victory dating back to — well, Thanksgiving, actually.

The Wildcats gave up 78.4 points per game up to this point (No. 319 nationally) and flirted with that number again. The Dores average just 66.4 per contest (No. 325 nationally) and beat it by double digits. 11 3-pointers allowed, three double-figure scorers, highlighted by a 20-point effort from Evan Taylor.

And guess what? It still doesn’t matter. Because Kentucky won a true road game in SEC play by 32, scoring the second-most points of the season (109) and second-most against conference foes in the John Calipari era. The only better offensive performance? A 110-75 win vs. Auburn during the historic 2014-15 season.

An all-around beatdown

Look, the Cats shot 55.4% overall (41-74), 57.7% from three on 15 makes and 100% at the line (12-12). Six different players scored in double figures while nine total scored, led by Antonio Reeves with 24 and Rob Dillingham with 20. Those two combined for 10 made threes on their own with four total misses — they went nuclear. As a team, Kentucky earned 56 points off the bench, 48 points in the paint, 26 second-chance points, 30 fastbreak points while scoring 1.493 points per possession on 73 possessions. They won the rebounding battle 50-28, almost doubling up the Commodores on the glass.

And if we’re calling a spade a spade here, Vanderbilt still shot just 35.5% from the field on 1.069 PPP while having a plus-18 advantage at the free-throw line (yet Jerry Stackhouse almost lost his pocket square whining to the stripes about a missed call). The defense has to keep taking baby steps forward, but keep in mind that the Dores only had 60 possessions in a 68-61 win over Missouri on Saturday. They had the Cats’ historic pace to thank for their 72 possessions tonight.

Justin Edwards breaks through

But that’s not the focus. The focus here is DJ Wagner and Tre Mitchell missing the win due to injury and who stepped up in their place — and the confidence those players managed to find in the blowout win.

Look, no one needed a moment more than Justin Edwards. His performance has become somewhat of a taboo topic as of late with his coaches, teammates and fans alike seemingly willing his production into existence. Reed Sheppard said he was “in the best frame of mind he’s been in since he’s been here.” Adou Thiero added that “everything will be fine” with him.

“He’s just gotta keep getting in,” Calipari said. “Gotta break through.”

That was in the last two weeks alone. You could fill a Hallmark with the number of inspirational quotes directed toward Edwards over the course of the season. And it was for this moment, this breakthrough.

His last double-figure outing coming at Louisville back on Dec. 21, the No. 2 overall recruit out of high school finally arrived on the scene in the form of a career-high 17 points on 5-10 shooting and 6-6 at the line to go with three assists and two steals in 20 minutes. He was active and aggressive on both ends, looking to turn defense into offense while attacking the basket en route to his best performance in a Kentucky uniform.

Jordan Burks proves he’s got a role

Not too far behind him? Jordan Burks with 13 points of his own on 6-6 overall and 1-1 from deep while adding five boards in 15 minutes — all career highs. And ironically, he’s probably been the other name brought up most by Coach Cal since the start of SEC play as a guy who deserves a shot to carve out a role.

Admittedly, it sounded crazy every time Calipari brought it up. Burks was awesome in his end-of-bench role when the Cats needed frontcourt depth early in the season, but was that sustainable with a trio of 7-footers now taking up those minutes? Come on, now. Let’s not get carried away.

And then he earns every second of those 15 minutes and every point of those 13. “One guy’s misery is another guy’s opportunity.” That’s Jordan Burks. The 6-8 freshman got his shot and played his ass off, deserving of every ounce of praise he has coming his way.

“I was really proud of both of them,” Calipari said of Edwards and Burks. “Jordan especially because he hadn’t had a chance. And then we’re trying to get Justin to play a little bit different and it’s helping him. … (Edwards) is a difference-maker.”

Big Z and AB step up in the frontcourt

How about the 7-footers, too? Aaron Bradshaw added 12 points and seven rebounds while Zvonimir Ivisic went for the most hilarious 11 points, seven rebounds, two assists, one block, three turnovers and five fouls in 12 short minutes you’ll ever see. The latter was all over the place, throwing filthy passes — including a ridiculous lob to the former for a dunk — and scoring at will around the basket while drilling a three, too. Sure, he committed bad fouls and silly turnovers, but it’s easy to see the vision there.

His debut felt like a movie, but this was more realistic on day-to-day production. He didn’t do anything otherworldly, just played very solid (albeit quick) basketball. And Bradshaw just played his game, too. Clean-up buckets and tough rebounds, made free throws. Exactly the performance you’re looking for out of him.

Back on the right track

There was a fair and obvious concern entering this matchup without Wagner and Mitchell. The Cats were 0-3 without the former and the latter had been the straw that stirred the drink all season, arguably the team’s most valuable player. The numbers don’t lie: when the fifth-year senior has struggled, the team has struggled. He’s only shot above 50% in one of Kentucky’s six losses this season, that game only on eight attempts.

Vanderbilt is terrible, but the Commodores won back-to-back matchups a year ago with two core threats from those upsets looking to make it three straight. And the Wildcats had been playing at their worst entering the day, losing three of four and two in a row at home. It would’ve been easy to overlook Stackhouse’s one-win squad in league play and leave Nashville embarrassed, postseason hopes taking a serious hit.

“One of the things I said was, ‘You’ve got to play like you have nothing to lose because that’s every team playing us.’ Every team that plays us, they play like they have nothing to lose,” Calipari said. “I said, ‘You’ve got to do the same.’”

Sure enough, it was Kentucky doing the embarrassing, as they should. And those folks who used others’ misery to take advantage of their opportunity deserve credit for helping make it happen.