No. 17 Kentucky vs. Vanderbilt: Preview, Odds & How to Watch

For just a second time this season out of three total, Kentucky will play the same opponent twice. The Wildcats took care of business in the first such matchup with a sweep against Tennessee while they look to avoid a sweep this time around with Vanderbilt coming to town. It’s a big one for Mark Pope’s group, severely shorthanded while trying to end the regular season with some momentum and in continued good standing with the March Madness Selection Committee after debuting at No. 10 overall in the initial release this past weekend.

What do you need to know about the rematch in Lexington? KSR has you covered.

Kentucky vs. Vanderbilt: How to Watch, Listen

• Time: 7:00 p.m. EST
• Television: SEC Network (Roy Philpott and Daymeon Fishback)
• Home Radio: UK Sports Network – 630 WLAP, iHeart Radio (Tom Leach, Goose Givens)
• Online Radio: iHeart
• Satellite Radio: Sirius 84
• 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.

Early season rewind

Kentucky: KenPom 19

• 11/4: 103-62 W vs. Wright State
• 11/9: 100-72 W vs. Bucknell
• 11/12: 77-72 W vs. No. 6 Duke
• 11/19: 97-68 W vs. Lipscomb
• 11/22: 108-59 W vs. Jackson State
• 11/26: 87-68 W vs. Western Kentucky
• 11/29: 105-76 W vs. Georgia State
• 12/3: 70-66 L at Clemson
• 12/7: 90-89 W OT vs. No. 7 Gonzaga
• 12/11: 78-67 W vs. Colgate
• 12/14: 93-85 W vs. Louisville
• 12/21: 85-65 L vs. Ohio State
• 12/31: 88-54 W vs. Brown
• 1/4: 106-100 W vs. No. 6 Florida
• 1/7: 82-69 L at Georgia
• 1/11: 95-90 W at No. 14 Mississippi State
• 1/14: 81-69 W vs. No. 11 Texas A&M
• 1/18: 102-97 L vs. No. 4 Alabama
• 1/25: 74-69 L at Vanderbilt
• 1/28: 78-73 W at No. 8 Tennessee
• 2/1: 89-79 L vs. Arkansas
• 2/4: 98-84 L at No. 25 Ole Miss
• 2/8: 80-57 W vs. South Carolina
• 2/11: 75-64 W vs. No. 5 Tennessee
• 2/15: 82-78 L at Texas

Vanderbilt: KenPom 41

• 11/4: 102-63 W vs. Maryland Eastern Shore
• 11/10: 85-76 W vs. Southeast Missouri
• 11/13: 85-69 W vs. California
• 11/16: 94-81 W vs. Jackson State
• 11/21: 73-71 W vs. Nevada
• 11/24: 76-60 W vs. Seton Hall
• 11/29: 81-70 L vs. Drake
• 12/4: 87-56 W vs. Tennessee Tech
• 12/8: 80-64 W at Virginia Tech
• 12/18: 83-74 W vs. TCU
• 12/21: 105-53 W vs. The Citadel
• 12/30: 85-55 W vs. Austin Peay
• 1/4: 80-72 W at LSU
• 1/7: 76-64 L vs. No. 14 Mississippi State
• 1/11: 75-66 L at Missouri
• 1/15: 66-63 W vs. South Carolina
• 1/18: 76-75 W vs. No. 6 Tennessee
• 1/21: 103-87 L at No. 4 Alabama
• 1/25: 74-69 W vs. No. 9 Kentucky
• 2/1: 97-67 L at Oklahoma
• 2/4: 86-75 L at No. 6 Florida
• 2/8: 86-78 W vs. Texas
• 2/11: 80-68 L vs. No. 1 Auburn
• 2/15: 81-76 at No. 5 Tennessee

Series History

Kentucky leads the all-time series 157-50 including a 86-16 record at home against Vanderbilt. The Commodores won the first matchup in Nashville with a final score of 74-69, Otega Oweh leading the way with 21 points for the Wildcats, followed by Ansley Almonor with 12 and Jaxson Robinson with 11. For Vandy, it was Jason Edwards leading the way with 18 points, followed by Devin McGlockton with 14.

Mark Byington, in his first season at Vanderbilt, is 1-0 against the Wildcats while Mark Pope is 0-2 against the Commodores — before this season’s loss, he fell by a final score of 69-67 in the 2021 Diamond Head Classic in Honolulu. As a player, Pope was 4-0 against Vandy, averaging 10.0 points and 6.2 rebounds per contest in the series.

Kentucky vs. Vanderbilt Odds

Spread: Kentucky -5.5
Total: 161.5

KenPom and Bart Torvik both project wins for UK, the former going with an 89-80 victory and the latter rolling with an 91-82 final score. ESPN’s BPI likes the Wildcats by 9.4 points while giving the home team an 81.8 percent chance to pull off the win.

Kentucky Projected Starters

#11 – Travis Perry
6-1 – 188 – GUARD – FRESHMAN
2.1 PPG, 0.7 RPG, 0.5 APG

#00 – Otega Oweh
6-4 – 215 – GUARD – JUNIOR
16.0 PPG, 4.6 RPG, 1.5 SPG

#4 – Koby Brea
6-7 – 215 – GUARD – GRADUATE STUDENT
10.5 PPG, 3.1 RPG, 1.0 APG

#15 – Ansley Almonor
6-7 – 244 – FORWARD – SENIOR
6.3 PPG, 1.9 RPG, 0.4 APG

#22 – Amari Williams
7-0 – 262 – CENTER – GRADUATE STUDENT
10.5 PPG, 8.8 RPG, 3.0 APG

Vanderbilt Projected Starters

#1 – Jason Edwards
6-1 – 175 – GUARD – JUNIOR
17.6 PPG, 2.0 RPG, 1.4 APG

#11 – AJ Hoggard
6-4 – 210 – GUARD – GRADUATE SENIOR
10.5 PPG, 2.7 RPG, 4.6 APG

#5 – Tyler Nickel
6-7 – 200 – GUARD – JUNIOR
10.0 PPG, 2.4 RPG, 0.9 APG

#30 – Chris Mañon
6-5 – 215 – FORWARD – GRADUATE SENIOR
5.0 PPG, 3.0 RPG, 1.2 APG

#99 – Devin McGlockton
6-7 – 220 – FORWARD – JUNIOR
10.8 PPG, 7.8 RPG, 0.9 APG

Statistical Comparison

(via Kentucky’s game notes)

Interesting stats from UK’s game notes:

• Kentucky was selected as the No. 10 overall seed in the NCAA Bracket Preview Show on Feb. 15. The Cats were projected as a No. 3 seed with one month to go until Selection Sunday.
• Otega Oweh’s double-figure scoring streak continues, going for 10-plus points in every game this season — the only player in the SEC to do so. He’s also just one of 11 players in Division I to earn that achievement, the first Wildcat since Malik Monk to score in double figures in 25 straight games. He currently leads the team in scoring at 16.0 PPG.
• The Wildcats have been stung by the injury bug this season playing just seven games at full strength this season. Kerr Kriisa has missed every game since December 11 while Lamont Butler, Andrew Carr and Jaxson Robinson have also missed time.
• Amari Williams’ eight double-doubles is good for second in the SEC behind only Johni Broome.

Pregame Storylines

A REMATCH AFTER THE LOSS IN NASHVILLE

Four players scored in double figures for Vanderbilt as it upset Kentucky in Nashville back on Jan. 25. The Commodores used a 13-2 run in the last five minutes of the first half to take a 41-27 lead before closing out the game on a 23-11 lead in the last eight minutes. Jason Edwards led the way with 18 points followed by Devin McGlockton with 14, Tyler Nickel with 11 and Jaylen Carey with 10 while the team forced 17 turnovers overall and 10 steals. Lamont Butler (6), Otega Oweh (4) and Brandon Garrison (4) combined for 14 of those 17 turnovers alone. The Wildcats shot 48.1 percent from the field and 39.1 percent from three, but the self-inflicted errors were too much to overcome.

AVOIDING A SWEEP

Vanderbilt is looking to earn its first regular season sweep of the Wildcats since 2007 and just the seventh sweep in program history in the regular season series. No first-year coach for the Commodores has ever swept Kentucky, but Mark Byington could change that. On the flip side, UK should view this one as a must-win — the second-worst potential loss remaining on the schedule as a Quad 2 second to the Quad 3 against LSU on March 3. The rest? All Quad 1s with three coming on the road in the final six games.

AVOIDING TURNOVERS (AGAIN)

Turnovers were the No. 1 issue for the Wildcats in Nashville. The Commodores entered the matchup forcing 15.7 per game (No. 19 nationally) with a turnover margin of +5.6 (No. 6 nationally) and still managed to exceed those numbers against top-10 competition, forcing 17 with a margin of +12. Entering this matchup, Vanderbilt now ranks No. 10 overall in margin, No. 32 in forced turnovers and No. 29 in defensive turnover rate. “We want to protect the ball and have as little turnovers as possible,” Travis Perry said of the rematch.

CATS CAN’T GET HEALTHY

Andrew Carr missed that first matchup against the Commodores in Nashville with a lingering back injury. Lamont Butler played, but clearly wasn’t back to full strength while navigating that shoulder injury. As things stand going into the rematch, Butler and Jaxson Robinson (wrist) are both out while Carr is a shell of himself. That’s not even considering Kerr Kriisa’s extended absence as the focus turns toward his medical redshirt rather than a return this season. If Kentucky struggled with pressure in the first round, how do the Cats respond down three ball handlers — Travis Perry is the team’s starting point guard for the foreseeable future? They have no choice but to figure it out.

UNDERSIZED, BUT EXPERIENCED

Something physically impossible to change about the Commodores entering this one? Their size and age — other than the fact they’re now older than they were before. Like they were a few weeks ago, Vanderbilt has no scholarship player taller than 6-8, ranked No. 302 nationally in terms of average height. Byington also had to rebuild this roster from scratch, bringing in seven brand-new players with no previous connection to the school or staff making, 11 incoming transfers in total. This team is still undersized (No. 209 in rebounding average) and old.

Join The Discussion on KSBoard

Want to interact with the KSR crew during the game? Consider joining the conversation on KSBoard, where we’ll be sharing live updates as your eyes and ears inside Rupp Arena while also answering questions and providing real-time analysis (and probably complaining about the officiating).

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Rapid Reaction on the KSR YouTube Channel

Miss the game? KSR’s got you covered with a Rapid Reaction live on the KSR YouTube Channel. We’ll also have wall-to-wall postgame coverage on the website, including highlights, comments from Mark Pope and the players, stats, and takeaways.

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