With the game in the balance, it was UK’s defense that clamped down on Vanderbilt to emerge with a win. The Commodores didn’t score in the last 4:10 of play and missed their last nine shots as UK went on an 8-0 run.

But, as head coach John Calipari said, that could have been a combination of UK playing good defense and Vanderbilt just missing shots. So I checked it out, looking at video of each play and an image of where the closest UK defender was at release point:

This is Vanderbilt’s last made shot of the game, a Brad Tinsley 3-pointer in which he shook free off a screen and had plenty of space to pull up for an open look.

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With 3:30 left to play, Vanderbilt center Festus Ezeli received a lob on the left side of the basket. He wasn’t in position to finish the play in the air, however, and UK closed in on him. As he went to the right side, Doron Lamb came down and played perfect defense: trapped Ezeli on the baseline, put his hands straight up in the air, and forced an off-balance shot despite giving up 8 inches of height.

With 2:35 left, Vanderbilt guard John Jenkins put himself in an impossible spot. He picked up his dribble with a few seconds left on the shot clock, pivoted, but couldn’t find any teammates open. It was again Doron Lamb who played solid defense, getting right in Jenkins’ face and putting his hands straight up.

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With 1:58 left, Festus Ezeli tries to post up Anthony Davis, but Davis blocks his shot without much problem. After the game, Ezeli said of being guarded by Davis: “I was definitely thinking about his shot-blocking abilities, so I was trying to maneuver a little bit and I wasn’t really getting my shots.”

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With 1:52 left, Vanderbilt forward Jeffery Taylor — a player Calipari said leading into the game UK had no answer for — drives into the lane and creates space for a short pull-up jumper. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist hangs with him. He doesn’t jump with Taylor, but does get a hand in his face.

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With 0:48 left, it’s Taylor again with the shot, this time from deep. He came off a screen and UK switched — but it was Anthony Davis who switched onto Taylor, and he’s at full extension as Taylor rises to shoot. (Brilliant reader With 0:35 left, Brad Tinsley weaves into the lane and gets a good look at a layup. His shot is a little rushed, however, with Anthony Davis looming behind him. It looked more like a close-range shot put than a layup.

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With 0:32 left, Vanderbilt forward Lance Goulbourne has an open look at a 3-pointer after an offensive rebound gets UK out of position. Unfortunately, he’s not the 3-point shooter the Commodores want or need. He’s only taken 47 this year and made 15 of them.

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With 0:14 left, John Jenkins is forced to shoot it quickly. He tries a stutter-step move to create separation, but it doesn’t work. Darius Miller plays him tight and goes straight up to contest the shot.

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With 0:06 left, the game is over but UK is still playing defense. Brad Tinsley goes up for a 3-pointer, which would cut the lead in half, but Doron Lamb is right there. Another miss, and the Cats get the rebound to seal the win.

In that nine-shot stretch, I would say Vanderbilt had two that it should have made.

The rest was all UK.

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