NUMBERS CRUNCH, presented by Justice Dental: How Vanderbilt Matches Up with Kentucky

KSR’s postseason coverage is presented by our good friends at Justice Dental. Visit one of their two Lexington locations by scheduling an appointment online or by calling (859) 543-0700. You can even send a text message to one of their friendly team members at the same number to ask a question or make an appointment. 

Now is a great time to schedule your dental cleaning. Dr. Justice, Dr. Thompson, Dr. Pratt, and Dr. Warren look forward to seeing you soon!

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Kentucky will face Vanderbilt for the third time tonight in the Wildcats’ opening game of the SEC Tournament. John Calipari’s Cats are a double-digit favorite after defeating the Commodores twice already in the regular season. The numbers are on Kentucky’s side in this matchup. Let’s bust out the calculator and show you how the Wildcats win.

.767 — Kentucky’s winning percentage (33-10) when facing a team for the third time in the postseason.

2 — Vanderbilt players average double figures in scoring, Scotty Pippen Jr. and Jordan Wright. UK has five players that average 10+ points per game.

5 — Times Kentucky has lost to Vanderbilt in the SEC Tournament. On four of those occasions, UK swept Vanderbilt with two regular season wins.

6 — SEC Tournament titles in 11 appearances by John Calipari. He is 23-4 in the SEC Tournament, good enough for an .851 winning percentage. Alabama is the only school with more SEC Tournament titles (7) than Coach Cal.

6.9 — Assists per game by Sahvir Wheeler, the most in the SEC and third-most in the entire NCAA.

11 — Point win prediction for the Wildcats by KenPom, giving Kentucky an 83% chance to win. ESPN’s BPI is even more confident in the Cats, giving Kentucky an 87.8% chance to win.

11 — Points scored by Oscar Tshiebwe in the last outing against Vanderbilt. Liam Robbins’ length and the Commodores’ physicality gave him problems, limiting the UK big to just 2-of-5 from the field.

13 — Straight double-doubles by Oscar Tshiebwe.

26.5 — Points per game Pippen Jr. has scored in six career contests against the Cats. He is the SEC’s leading scorer, averaging 20.5 points per game.

474 — Rebounds by Oscar Tshiebwe are the third-most in a single season in UK history, the most since 1952. If he continues grabbing more than 15 a game, he can break Bill Spivey’s record in six games.

Numbers You Need to Know