Men's Basketball

Kentucky vs Vanderbilt: Postgame Recap

Published

2 years ago

March 2, 2023

On Wednesday night, Kentucky hosted Vanderbilt for their final home game of the season. It was Senior Night and six Kentucky seniors were honored in the pregame ceremony. Unfortunately, Kentucky wasn’t able to capitalize on the hype surrounding the evening as the Wildcats fall 68-66 to Vanderbilt.

Kentucky came into the game on a four game winning streak, including a blowout win over Auburn just four days prior.

The Wildcats were playing their best basketball of the season and getting hot at the right time. But Wednesday night’s loss served as a road block that few saw coming.

Thankfully, Kentucky is no longer at risk for missing the NCAA tournament. However, following Wednesday’s loss, Kentucky’s seeding for the big dance is up in the air.

Additionally, Kentucky’s seeding for the SEC tournament is in limbo. If they would’ve been able to avoid the loss to Vandy, they would’ve locked themselves into the 3 seed and a double-bye for the conference tournament. The 3-seed is still a possibility, but multiple things need to occur for that to happen.

I have added odds based on KenPom projections to this chart. The most likely scenario is UK earns a 3-seed either by beating Arky, or by Mizzou and Tennessee losing.

However, there are relatively even odds between a 3, 4, and 5 seed. Gonna be a "fun" Saturday of SEC basketball pic.twitter.com/i2hdVfIK8v— WT – Don't Switch Up (@WildcatsTongue) March 2, 2023

Let’s look at what unfolded to lead to Kentucky’s unfortunate Senior Night loss.

Offensive Woes

After the hot shooting that occurred on Saturday vs Auburn, the Cats couldn’t seem to find the bottom of the net on many occasions Wednesday night. Kentucky only shot 32.2% from the field going 19-59. They only saw three three-pointers go through on 19 attempts. Free throw shooting was average as they went 25-35 from the stripe.

Of Kentucky’s 59 shot attempts, 30 of them came from the mid-range. In the postgame press conference, KY Insider asked coach Cal if that was the shot he was wanting his team to take.

“We took 19 threes. And we wanted the mid-range shots, yes” Cal responded. “Because that’s how they play and it’s one of the things we do so well. We missed a bunch of them today. Just missed a bunch. That’s a shot we make, as a matter of fact, we play to get those, too.”

John Calipari was asked about shooting 30 of their 59 shots from mid-range, if that's what they wanted.

"We wanted the mid-range shots, yes… It's one of the things we do so well. We missed a bunch of them today. That's a shot we make."

Adds, "We play to get those too." pic.twitter.com/4IlvzzTvrC— Tristan Pharis (@TristanUda) March 2, 2023

Meanwhile, Vanderbilt shot 40.3% from the field, 33.3% from three, and 76.9% from the free throw line.

Vandy’s guards Jordan Wright and Tyrin Lawrence filled up the stat sheet, combining for 44 points. Collectively, they shot 17-26 from the field and 6-7 from three. Wright went 4-4 on three point attempts. Wright also hit the go-ahead fade-away in the final moments of the game.

Oscar Tshiebwe was Kentucky’s bright spot in the disappointing loss. The ever-reliable forward went for 21 points and 20 rebounds for his 17th double-double of the year.

As bitter as the loss was, it was impressive that Kentucky only lost by two after such a poor night of shooting.

Injuries

Just four minutes into the game, Vanderbilt forward, Liam Robbins went down with a lower leg injury and had to be helped off the court. Robbins would not return to the game. In a post game interview, Vanderbilt head coach Jerry Stackhouse said that Robbins would “probably” miss the rest of the season.

Robbins also missed the previous matchup vs Kentucky in Nashville on January 24th. This was during a stretch of four games in which he had to miss with an ankle injury. Robbins was averaging 15.5 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 3.2 blocks per game prior to his injury Wednesday night.

Just shy of two minutes into the second half, Kentucky starting point guard Cason Wallace went down, also with a lower leg injury. Wallace was able to limp off the floor without assistance and made his way to the locker room to be further examined. Unfortunately, Wallace would be ruled out for the remainder of the game.

In the post game press conference, Coach Cal gave an update on Wallace’s status.

“Cason got X-ray’d, he’s fine. Didn’t swell. I’m hoping he’s OK for Saturday, but we’ll see,” Cal said.

Sahvir Wheeler Misses Senior Night

Six Kentucky seniors were honored Wednesday night. One senior, however, was absent from the festivities. Point guard Sahvir Wheeler had to undergo a medical procedure that caused him to have to miss his senior night recognition. Other seniors recognized include Oscar Tshiebwe, Jacob Toppin, CJ Fredrick, Antonio Reeves, and Brennan Canada.

John Calipari’s wife, Ellen, came out in a #2 jersey in recognition for Sahvir Wheeler due to his absence. Wheeler has missed several weeks at this point due to a lingering ankle injury. However, the procedure that he had was related to a tail-bone injury, per reports.

Ellen Calipari coming out in a #2 jersey to honor the absent Sahvir Wheeler for senior night! #BBN @KyInsider pic.twitter.com/6UD66m9PIA— Tanner Leigh (@LaceEmUpBBN) March 2, 2023

In coach Cal’s announcement of Wheeler’s absence, he stated that “he will be out for a bit.” So it is unclear as to when or if he will return to play this season.

Men's Basketball

La Familia’s Lexington Regional Bracket Revealed

Published

16 hours ago

June 24, 2025

Kai McClelland

Israel Schill | KY Insider

Kentucky’s alumni team, La Familia, has officially unveiled the bracket for The Basketball Tournament’s (TBT) Lexington Regional.

The No. 1 seeded alumni will face off against Stroh’s Squad (Bowling Green) in the opening round on Friday, July 18 with a late 9:00 p.m. ET tip time.

BREAKING; Kentucky’s alumni team, La Familia, has officially unveiled the bracket for TBT’s Lexington Regional!

La Familia will face off against Stroh’s Squad (Bowling Green) in the opening round! #BBN #LaFamilia #TBTTournament pic.twitter.com/pNJGeCfCof— Kai McClelland (@fourwal1) June 24, 2025

The Lexington Regional will take place at Memorial Coliseum from July 18-22, where Kentucky will host a plethora of teams looking to grab some gold.

Familiar teams, such as Eberlein Drive, who former Wildcat Archie Goodwin used to play for and who have been around since the beginning of TBT, will lead the bottom of the bracket. In the second round, Big Blue Nation may see a way-too-early SEC matchup, technically, with the Auburn Tigers’ alumni team, War Ready.

The name is definitely fitting, obviously a play on Auburn’s “War Eagle” call, but as a whole defines the type of play that the TBT unleashes against every competitor.

When asked about who the “alpha dog” will be on this year’s team, someone who is going to be ready to go to war, general manager Twany Beckham admitted he emphasized finding guys like that during the offseason.

“That was one thing, you know when we lost last year, I feel like that Ohio State team, I’m not gonna say punked us because our guys played extremely hard,” said Beckham before head coach Sean Woods budded in and said “they were more physical.”

“When I sat down after the season was over last year I sad to myself, ‘I want nine to 10 dogs’, and I think we did that with this roster,” Beckham added.

The winner of the Lexington Regional will play the winner of the Louisville Regional in the quarterfinals on Monday, July 28, at 6 p.m. ET on FS1, the team also announced recently.

Below is the entire bracket for the 2025 tournament:

🚨TBT’S 2025 BRACKET🚨

Catch all of the action starting July 18th on @FOXSports or TBT’s YouTube Channel (https://t.co/g6SI3JLVdP) pic.twitter.com/9O6LjT3RBu— TBT (@thetournament) June 24, 2025

Men's Basketball

Top Guard Prospect Taylen Kinney Takes Official Visit to Kentucky

Perhaps the most highly touted guard in the 2026-27 class, Taylen Kinney has begun his visit to Kentucky – Mark Pope is on the clock.

Published

22 hours ago

June 24, 2025

Lane Mills

Taylen Kinney takes his official visit to Kentucky.

USA TODAY NETWORK

Directly following his involvement with Mark Pope and Jasper Johnson at the USA U19 basketball camp, Taylen Kinney has taken an official visit to Kentucky.

One of the top guards in the nation, Kinney is a native of Newport, Kentucky. As a result, naturally, both Louisville and Kentucky are in strong pursuit — among pulls on both sides, one potential advantage Kentucky has over their in-state rivals is Kinney’s extensive past ties to the aforementioned Jasper Johnson.

The two blue bloods manned the backcourt together for the Overtime Elite RWE team during the 2024-25 season. With Johnson being the first to pull the trigger in taking on the blue and white, the onus is on Kinney to potentially rekindle the duo’s dominant guard play in a new setting.

Given Jasper’s potential for multiple years in Lexington, the likelihood that he could impact Kinney’s recruitment is all the more tangible.

The 6-foot-2 floor general stayed firmly put in the 2026-27 class, despite rumors of a reclassification, ranking atop national lists across the board as arguably the best available at his position. And while a timetable for Kinney’s ultimate decision hasn’t yet shaken out, it’s clear that the blue and red rivals each hold a powerful stake in his recruitment.

Regardless of the rumors, if Mark Pope gets a guy on campus, there’s a solid shot the Cats can capitalize on a commitment. When one battle ends for Kentucky’s staff, the next begins — if nothing else, it’s clear that the team has already started working towards as solid a roster next season as they put together for the one that’s about to begin.

Men's Basketball

History Made: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Crowned NBA Finals MVP

Published

2 days ago

June 23, 2025

Isaiah Pinto

Associated Press

For the first time ever, the Oklahoma City Thunder have reached the mountain top, beating the Indiana Pacers in a win or go home game seven, becoming NBA Champions.

Superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander hoisted the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy and the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player award in front of more than 18,000 fans in Oklahoma City after leading the Thunder with 30.3 points, 4.6 rebounds, 5.6 assists, 1.9 steals and 1.8 blocks in the Finals.

The former Wildcat posted 29 points, 12 assists, and five rebounds in the series defining game where the Thunder won 103-91. Gilgeous-Alexander led the NBA Finals in points.

Not only is Gilgeous-Alexander making NBA history for becoming only the 11th player to win league MVP, the NBA Finals and Finals MVP, but he joins an exclusive club of Hall of Famers, consisting of Willis Reed, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Moses Malone, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Kareem Olajuwon, Shaquille O’Neal, Tim Duncan and LeBron James.

James was the last “triple-crown” winner in 2013 as a member of the Miami Heat.

Gilgeous-Alexander made Kentucky history by becoming the first ever former Kentucky player to win Finals MVP. Last month, Gilgeous-Alexander made history by becoming the first Kentucky alum to earn league MVP.

This was an incredibly impressive feat considering Gilgeous-Alexander is one out of 137 ex-Kentucky players to play professional basketball, and now is the only one to claim those honors.

Another fellow Wildcat, Cason Wallace, joined Gilgeous-Alexander in a historic list of fellow Kentucky products to win the NBA Finals. The most recent players consist of Jamal Murray in 2023, Anthony Davis and Rajon Rondo in 2020, Jodie Meeks in 2019, and Rondo’s first ring in 2008, respectively.

Wallace averaged six points and 2.6 rebounds in the season-defining series.

This NBA Championship is technically the second in the organization’s history, with the first coming in 1979 as the Seattle SuperSonics defeated the Washington Bullets in five games. However, this marks the first time the franchise has boasted an NBA Championship as the Oklahoma City Thunder.

In 2008, the SuperSonics, with a rookie Kevin Durant, left Seattle and relocated to the midwest and rebranded as the Thunder. Five years later, the Thunder, led by future MVPs Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden, would lose in five games to the Miami Heat.

It has truly been an unforgettable season for Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder. Oklahoma City accomplished the unthinkable, winning the most games in it history with an NBA-best 68-14 record.

The Thunder swept the Memphis Grizzlies in round one, beat the Denver Nuggets in a seven-game series and bested the Minnesota Timberwolves in five games to win the Western Conference Championship en route to their NBA Finals victory.