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Men's Basketball

Kentucky vs. Vanderbilt, Round 2: TV/Streaming Info, Keys to the Game, and Predictions

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The Kentucky Wildcats will look for the season sweep against Vanderbilt as they travel to Rupp Arena on Senior night.
© Denny Simmons / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK

Riding a three-game win streak, their longest of 2024, the Kentucky Wildcats will play their final home game on Wednesday against Vanderbilt. The Commodores played spoil to Kentucky’s senior night last year, but with a weaker team this season that doesn’t seem very likely.

Since playing Kentucky in Nashville, back in January, the Commodores are just 2-5. Their two wins have come by a combined four points, over two of the most disappointing teams in the SEC, Arkansas and Texas A&M. Fan discontent with head coach Jerry Stackhouse continues to grow, despite his reported $14 million buyout.

Kentucky, on senior night, against one of the worst teams in the SEC, should get an easy win. That said, let’s take a look at the matchup.

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Three Point Advantage

To put it simply, Vanderbilt is not a good shooting team. In fact, they are in the bottom ten in the country in three-point percentage at just 28.1 percent. Meaning, that Kentucky needs to prioritize staying between their man and the basket, as Ezra Manjon and Tyrin Lawrence will look to attack the paint. Rim protection will be key here as well.

As bad as Vanderbilt is at shooting threes, they are just as bad as allowing threes, allowing their opponents to shoot 37.5 percent. In comparison, Kentucky is first in the country in three-point percentage at 40.8 percent.

As John Calipari has said of his team multiple times this season, “We shoot it so well, that should be our advantage.”

Transition

In their first matchup earlier this season, Kentucky never trailed Vanderbilt. A big reason for that is pushing the ball and capitalizing on early transition chances. For the game, they had 30 fastbreak points.

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The game plan will likely be similar this go around, looking to force the Commodores into difficult shots, using defense rebounds and outlet passes to get some easy looks. I would expect the Wildcats to use a little bit of pressure at times as well, just as they did back in January. Making Manjon and Lawrence uncomfortable and lean into making some mental mistakes, combining for seven turnovers last time.

Gain Confidence

The Wildcats have just two games remaining on the schedule. With a highly anticipated showdown against Tennessee in Knoxville on Saturday, Vanderbilt provides a good opportunity for Kentucky to gain some confidence beforehand, if they can take advantage.

Individually, Tre Mitchell returned in Kentucky’s last game against Arkansas, but struggled. This could be a good opportunity to give him some extended minutes to help him regain some comfort. It could be a similar opportunity for Aaron Bradshaw, whose play has improved as late, or even Jordan Burks, who recorded a career-high against Vanderbilt on the road.

G Ezra Manjon 6-0, 170 lbs

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  • 14.3 PPG (16th in SEC)
  • 3.6 APG (11th in SEC)

G Tyrin Lawrence 6-4, 200 lbs

  • 13.7 PPG (18th in SEC)
  • 4.8 RPG

Kentucky Basketball vs. Vanderbilt Commodores

  • Time: 9:00 PM EST
  • Date: March 6th, 2024
  • Location: Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center in Lexington, KY.
  • TV Channel: SEC Network
  • Online Stream: WatchESPN and the ESPN app.
  • Radio: Tom Leach and Jack Givens have the radio call on the UK Sports Radio Network.
  • Replay: WatchESPN and SEC Network (check local listings).
  • Rosters: UK | VU
  • Stats to Know: UK | VU
  • KenPom: UK | VU
  • Team Sheet: UK | VU
  • Odds: No DraftKings spread just yet, so check back Tuesday evening. ESPN’s matchup predictor has Kentucky as a near lock, giving them a 98.1% chance of victory. KenPom is the next most confident in the Wildcats at 97%. Followed by EvanMiya at 96.6%, and BartTorvik at 96%
  • Predictions: With such a high percent chance of victory, it is no surprise that the score projections expect a 20-point margin in Kentucky’s favor. Haslametrics has the Cats winning 90-68. Followed by Bart Torvik, 91-70, and KenPom, 89-69. EvanMiya is going with an 88-69 win in Kentucky’s final home game.

Men's Basketball

Kentucky Basketball Players Say They Think About Winning National Championship “Every Second”

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Kentucky basketball players celebrate after their big over Duke.
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The expectations at Kentucky are the highest of any school in the country, and there is good reason why. The winningest college program ever. Eight national titles, under five different coaches. Seventeen Final Four appearances. You get it, a lot of success.

Fans want the players to have those same expectations. Despite not having the elite talent or preseason hype of great Kentucky teams past, this year’s team still has their eyes set on doing something “people will remember forever”, winning a national championship.

Asked on social media, if hanging banner #9 was all the players thought about “every second”, Ansley Almonor had a response.

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“We do.”

It takes a lot to win a national championship, including some luck, but this team is certainly going to be loved for their desire to live out their dream of playing at Kentucky and their unselfishness. Those two things can take them a long way this season .

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Men's Basketball

Kentucky AD Mitch Barnhart Seemingly Takes Shot at John Calipari, “Anybody Can Recruit”

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Mitch Barnhart sitting next to basketball coach John Calipari.
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John Calipari and Kentucky Athletic Director Mitch Barnhart had their differences over fifteen years, but success can hide a lot of things. Not that they hated each other, but they each had vastly different personalities. As that success weaned towards the end of Calipari’s tenure, those issues started to be noticed publically.

If you need evidence of that, despite their efforts to dispute it, there is the infamous press conference where Barnhart talked about “entitled” coaches, shortly after Calipari publicly called for a new practice facility. Then, there were multiple times when Calipari expressed that the administration was not on the same page and that he was facing “headwinds”.

That said, Calipari is now at Arkansas, but those differences and some disdain remain. During an interview on the Kentucky Football pregame show, Barnhart seemingly took a shot at Calipari when asked about Mark Pope’s recruiting philosophy and prioritizing fit.

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“I tell people all the time, ‘Anybody can recruit, not everybody can evaluate,’” Barnhart said. “You can recruit. You can be phenomenal at bringing people to your program. But if it does not fit you, it’s really not helpful.”

Of course, Calipari is one of the best, if not the best, recruiters in college basketball history. At times, he prioritized talent and athleticism over fit.

Quite the coincidence.

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Men's Basketball

ESPN’s Jay Williams Gives Message to Kentucky Fans, “You’re Not Going to Like It…”

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ESPN college basketball analyst Jay Williams gives a message to Kentucky fans after the Wildcats win over Duke. "You won't like it."
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Back in April, opposing fanbases like Duke, told Kentucky fans to “cope with Pope” following the hire of Mark Pope and the corresponding initial shock. On Tuesday, those same fanbases had to watch as Mark Pope outcoached Jon Scheyer and Duke in the final minutes of the Champion’s Classic to get his first marque win in just his third game at Kentucky.

Of course, shortly after the game, Duke fans began to rationalize the loss by highlighting their team’s youth. While true, it sounded like an echo chamber of what Kentucky fans said for years under John Calipari. One notable example was former Blue Devil Jay Williams.

At halftime, while Duke was leading 46-37, Williams called this year’s Duke team the most talented since the 2001 team that he was a part of at halftime. To his credit, he complimented Kentucky on the comeback victory, specifically on their offense and maturity, but then 36 hours later he posted a message to Kentucky fans on social media.

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“Let me put you on to something,” Williams started. “Whether you like it or not, networks are going to sell Cooper Flagg. He’s going to be the number one pick in the draft. You’re going to talk about whether he won the or whether he lost the game, regardless of the outcome.”

“You’re not going to like it. There should be more kudos to Mark Pope and Kentucky,” Williams continued. “Regardless of whether you won the game or not, they’re still going to sell Cooper Flagg because he is selling the sport. Sorry.”

William’s statement is true. That said, it comes off as ‘sour grapes’ about losing. Cooper Flagg is a great talent and will likely be the first pick in the NBA Draft, but most Kentucky fans would say they would much rather have the win than the marketing.

Futhermore, Kentucky and its ‘brand’ has raised the level of multiple players and coaches, and will continue to do so. A deeper impact than Cooper Flagg will have on Duke in just one season.

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