Jan. 9, 2017
By Zac Ellis
VUCommodores.com
On campus in Nashville -This week, Bryce Drew hasn’t enjoyed film study as much as he normally does. Vanderbilt’s first-year head coach has been preparing his team to welcome Kentucky to Memorial Gym on Tuesday. But as Drew faced reporters on Monday, he admitted that flaws are hard to come by in the Wildcats’ game tape.
“If there’s a weakness, you guys can let us know,” Drew joked.
No. 6 Kentucky (13-2, 3-0 SEC) will serve as the first marquee matchup of Drew’s short tenure at Vanderbilt. The Wildcats again boast a bevy of future NBA players and a head coach, John Calipari, well-versed in utilizing that talent. Plus, Kentucky has already faced a handful of premier programs in nonconference play such as Michigan State, North Carolina and UCLA.
Now, as the Commodores (8-7, 2-1 SEC) wade through what has been an up-and-down season, the ‘Cats could offer a measuring stick with which Drew’s squad can evaluate its place in the SEC.
“It’s definitely a good test for us,” center Luke Kornet said. “We’ve had some tougher tests earlier in the year, so I guess it’s a good place to reevaluate and definitely have a litmus test to see our progress so far.”
The Commodores entered SEC play following a 6-6 nonconference record and immediately strung off two league wins over LSU and Auburn. It was the first time Vanderbilt had started 2-0 in SEC play since 2011-12. But Drew’s program fell short of a third straight win last Saturday at Alabama, which rallied from a 12-point second-half deficit to escape, 59-56.
This week Kentucky stands to pose an even greater challenge to Vanderbilt. College basketball analyst Ken Pomeroy’s adjusted efficiency ranking tabs the Wildcats as the No. 1 team in the country. Freshman guard Malik Monk is a volume scorer who leads the SEC at 21.9 points per game. Da’Aaron Fox (an SEC-leading 6.7 assists per game) and Isaiah Briscoe (15.2 points per game) are impact players on the perimeter, while 6’10” forward Bam Adebayo is a double-double threat down low.
Drew said Kentucky’s roster is brimming with “NBA talent,” a group that demands a more disciplined effort from the Commodores. That includes in turnover margin, where Vanderbilt ranks 11th (-1.8) in the SEC, and rebounding, a battle Alabama won 50-35 last weekend. But improving those stats against a loaded Kentucky squad will require a complete game, Drew says.
“They can beat you in a lot of different ways,” Drew said. “They can beat you inside, they have shooters who can beat you outside, they can beat you in transition, they can beat you with offensive rebounding. A key for us is going to be sustained energy. We’re going to have to have energy for 40 minutes. Your margin of error is very small against a lot of teams. Against them, it’s even smaller.”
But even despite Saturday’s loss at Alabama, Vanderbilt players saw growth in their first 15 games of the season. Drew opened his tenure with a deflating 95-71 loss to Marquette on Nov. 11. Since then, four of the ‘Dores’ five losses have come by 10 points or fewer.
Moreover, a tweak of Vanderbilt’s offense by Drew’s staff over the holidays has played to the roster’s strengths. That’s particularly true from downtown, where Kornet, guard Matthew Fisher-Davis and company average 13.3 made 3-pointers per game in SEC play. Pomeroy notes Vanderbilt as a top-60 team in adjusted offense and a top-15 program in 3-point shooting.
Now the Commodores can test their growth against a dangerous Kentucky squad. But in many ways, Vanderbilt feels it is finding its groove at the right time.
“From where we were at the beginning of the season to now, I think we’ve shown a lot of grit,” Kornet said. “We’re just playing for the full 40 minutes and competing. That’s something that we hope to carry forward for the rest of conference play.”
