No. 9 Kentucky fell to unranked Vanderbilt on Saturday afternoon inside of Memorial Gymnasium in Nashville, Tennessee, marking the first time the Wildcats have dropped back-to-back games this season.
Coming off of a five-point loss at home to Alabama on Jan. 18, the Cats needed to get back in the win column if they wanted to stay above .500 in SEC play, but another grim first-half performance along with a lack of composure in the second half suppressed the odds of that happening.
At the break, UK trailed 41-27 and faced a tall 14-point deficit, making it now three out of four road games that it had trailed through the first 20 minutes.
Kentucky closed out the first half shooting 11-29 (37.9%) from the field and 4-14 (28.6%) from deep. Not horrific, but the problem that scythed the Cats was their start and their turnovers.
Through the first five minutes of the game, UK allowed Vandy to jump out to a 15-12 lead and also allowed Commodore junior guard Jason Edwards to fire away as he masked a 10-point start on 4-4 shooting from the field.
In the second half, the Wildcats, however, did claw back into contention and put themselves in a spot to win the game, regaining a 53-51 lead with just over 11 minutes to play in the game.
This season, Big Blue Nation has seen older, more seasoned players rock Kentucky blue for the first time in a while as six players are fifth-year seniors, four of whom are regular starters, with a toolbox full of college experience. With that stigma being tagged onto the Cats, they have been expected to go deeper in March as those types of teams typically know how to excel in pressuring, late game scenarios.
Well, with the level of experience the Cats have to their name, they still found a way to fumble a 69-68 lead with three minutes to play, allowing Vanderbilt to go on a six-point unanswered surge to close out the game.
Two turnovers on two crucial game-altering possessions were coughed up by Kentucky’s Lamont Butler and Otega Oweh, two players who have brought an immense amount of good to UK thus far, ultimately putting the team’s hopes of regaining positive traction to sleep.
UK found itself down 71-69 with under two minutes to play and Butler, a fifth-year senior, turned the ball over with 1:30 remaining, leading to a converted layup on the other end and now a four-point margin. The very next possession, with all ambitions of winning starting to float further, Oweh, a junior, turned the ball over, leading to a foul call and two awarded free-throws where Vandy was able to sink one of two, putting the game out of reach.
These two turnover incidents were indeed the most significant malfunctions of the game, but it is also worth knowing that Kentucky turned the ball over 17 times throughout the whole contest compared to the Commodores’ five.
A large takeaway is that Kentucky needs to prioritize starting strong and, from there, staying consistent throughout the game. Basketball in general, but especially college hoops, is a game of runs, however, a team has to consistently hang around if it wants the odds of coming out on top to be in its favor.
The SEC is, without a doubt, the strongest, most intense conference this season as any team can compete and have a good chance at winning on any given night. With that, Kentucky has to strengthen its beginnings and play through until the final buzzer if it wants a true shot at winning any conference matchup.
UK looks to earn a much needed victory in what will be arguably one of the toughest games of the season on Tuesday, Jan. 28, in Knoxville, Tennessee, when it faces the No. 6 Tennessee Volunteers. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. ET and that contest can be viewed on ESPN.
