Jan. 10, 2017
By Zac Ellis
VUCommodores.com
On campus in Nashville – Vanderbilt stood toe-to-toe with No. 6 Kentucky well into the second half on Tuesday night, but the Wildcats ultimately held on for an 87-81 win at Memorial Gym. Time to clean the glass from Kentucky’s win:
THE SKINNY: The No. 6 Wildcats wasted no time in shooting out to an early 9-0 lead against Vanderbilt. But the Commodores raced back and took a 17-15 lead on a Luke Kornet 3-pointer at 12:57 in the first half. The ‘Cats took a 45-41 edge into the half, and Vanderbilt managed to keep things close after intermission. Despite foul trouble, the ‘Dores whittled UK’s lead down to two in the final minutes after a Jeff Roberson put-back with 17.9 seconds to play. But late free throws sealed the victory for Kentucky.
TURNING POINT: Luke Kornet picked up his fourth foul with Vanderbilt leading, 53-52, with 16:43 to play. After Commodores’ head coach Bryce Drew called Kornet to the bench, Kentucky went on a quick 6-0 run. Kornet eventually subbed back in and played a more conservative game while hampered with his four fouls, but a less aggressive Kornet was a disadvantage for the ‘Dores down the stretch.
IMPACT PLAYER: Kentucky guard Isaiah Briscoe. The talented freshman led all scorers with 23 points (on 10-of-18 shooting) and chipped in seven rebounds and five assists. Briscoe scored 13 of his 23 points in the second half and also committed just one turnover.
STARTLING STAT: 46 – Points in the paint for Kentucky. The Wildcats took advantage of Vanderbilt down low with Bam Adebayo (14 points) as well as a trio of slicing guards. Briscoe, Malik Monk and De’Aaron Fox routinely knifed into the lane for layups and high-percentage shots, the bulk of which helped Kentucky shoot nearly 51 percent for the game.
WHAT IT MEANS: After starting 2-0 in SEC play, Vanderbilt has now dropped two straight league games with losses to Alabama and Kentucky.
QUOTABLE: “Our goal coming in is, we wanted to have the opportunity to win the game down the stretch. We definitely had those opportunities. The next step for us now is to try to make a few more winning plays in those last five minutes.” -Vanderbilt head coach Bryce Drew
WHAT’S NEXT: Vanderbilt welcomes Tennessee to Memorial Gym this Saturday, Jan. 14. The game tips off at 7:30 p.m. CT on SEC Network.