No. 6 Kentucky scored a 87-81 victory over Vanderbilt in Nashville in what was a thrilling basketball game from start to finish.
Here are some thoughts on what we learned.
1. This game was close because Vandy played excellent
It would be easy for those on the outside looking in to assume that Kentucky played awful since it only beat a .500 Vandy team by six points.
Well, you know what they say about those who assume.
The truth is that the Commodores played outstanding. Despite the quick 9-0 deficit (which was Kentucky’s biggest lead of the game), Vandy went toe to toe with one of the best teams in the country. That shouldn’t be overlooked.
“I told our guys I was really proud of them,” said head coach Bryce Drew. “We had a short turnaround (two days) and executed our gameplan very well.”
“On offense, we really got shots we wanted to get and our goal coming in was that we wanted to have an opportunity to win the game down the stretch, and we definitely had those opportunities.”
Coming into the game, I thought that Vandy would need to shoot a really high percentage from three to have a chance at winning. The Commodores shot 28%, yet still were close to victory thanks in large part to finding other ways to score.
Tuesday night’s performance would’ve beaten every other team in the SEC.
2. Kentucky doesn’t need to hit threes to win games
The Wildcats went 1-of-9 from the behind the arc. You don’t see a ton of teams in today’s college basketball landscape score 87 points and win a tough game on the road shooting 11% from three.
But that’s what Kentucky did. And John Calipari was happy with the low three-point shooting numbers.
“I told them after the game that we went 1-for-9 from three and that I was ecstatic,” Calipari said. “When you’re 1-for-9 and you still win, it proves to your team that you do not need to make threes to win.”
“Many teams in this country, if they’re not making threes, they’ve got no chance of winning. We’re not one of them.”
He’s right. Kentucky is simply so athletic that it can get to the paint at will. When Malik Monk and De’Aaron Fox were dealing with foul trouble, it was Isaiah Briscoe that proved that point. He kept attacking the rim possession after possession, and there was nothing Vandy could do to stop him.
Briscoe scored a game-high 23 points on 10-of-18 shooting, taking only one three the entire game.
Since the Wildcats are 10th in the SEC in three-point FG% (34.2%), dominating the paint will continue to be this team’s biggest strength.
3. Riley LaChance was outstanding for the Commodores
Not many people could have expected LaChance to have the game that he did. It seemed like Kentucky’s length and athleticism would be a terrible matchup for him, especially if he was forced to play the point (which he was with Payton Willis only playing 11 minutes due to foul trouble).
But LaChance delivered in a big way. He scored 19 points on the night, but his most important contribution was his dribble penetration, which led to finding teammates for open shots and scoring open looks of his own.
“In our offense we have different things built in for switches and they were switching a lot,” said Drew. “Especially at the end when they were switching their five onto Riley to try and take away Luke’s threes.”
“Riley did a tremendous job making some tough shots and getting to the free throw line and making tough plays.”
Everyone knew of LaChance’s ability to shoot since he came into the game with the best three-point shooting percentage of any player in the nation, but being able to create off the dribble was certainly his biggest asset against Kentucky.
4. Monk and Fox stepped up when they needed to
As if there was ever any doubt as to who would step up for Calipari’s team down the stretch, the usual suspects showcased their talents.
Monk scored Kentucky’s final six points, including a clutch jumper with 34 seconds remaining that gave the Wildcats a four-point lead. Fox was also huge for Kentucky in the latter part of the second half, hitting some mid-range jump shots at big moments in the flow of play.
Monk and Fox picked up two fouls each less than four minutes into the game, and that early foul trouble allowed Vandy to capitalize while they were on the bench.
But when Calipari needed them the most, they were back on the floor making life hard on the Commodores. Fox was particularly impressive in adding the mid-range element to his game.
“It’s just something that I’ve been working on, especially the past few weeks,” said Fox. “It’s shots that teams are giving me, and I just have to knock them down.”
Being able to knock down that type of shot on a regular basis would make Fox even more dangerous than he already is.
5. Vandy must capitalize on the momentum from this game
Here’s a look at Vandy’s next five games:
- vs. Tennessee
- at Georgia
- at Florida
- vs. Arkansas
- vs. Iowa State
That’s tough. There’s no guaranteed win in there anywhere. Even with Tennessee dismissing junior guard Detrick Mostella, the Vols’ young guys are talented and have shown no fear on the road this season.
The Commodores will be underdogs on the road at Georgia and Florida, and from a style of play standpoint, Arkansas and Iowa State aren’t great matchups.
Drew’s team is getting better. Consistency is still an issue, but the progress is there.
Keep in mind that this is the same Vandy team that lost at home to Bucknell in November and got completely embarrassed on the road at Middle Tennessee State in early December. The Commodores have made strides, and now it’s just a matter of using the confidence and momentum from this game to win games going forward.
Vandy’s big four stepped up on Tuesday. LaChance, Matthew Fisher-Davis, Luke Kornet and Jeff Roberson all played well. This team needs those four to all play well on the same night a lot more if they want to be successful in SEC play.
It can be a rocky transition when a team gets a new head coach.
The Commodores have hit bumps in the road this season, but even in a tough loss, perhaps this is the turning point that they were looking for.
Blake Lovell has worked in sports media for over 10 years. He currently covers SEC football and basketball for various publications.