Before beating the Vanderbilt Commodores (6-16, 1-8) 109-77 in Memorial Gymnasium in Nashville on Feb. 6, the Kentucky Wildcats were struggling.
Kentucky had won just two out of its last five games prior to playing the Commodores, with two of the losses coming on its home court to the Florida Gators and Tennessee Volunteers.
The Wildcats then headed south to Nashville and used the struggling Commodores as an opportunity to get back on track and regain confidence as they stapled 109 points on them with six different players reaching the double digit points mark.
One of those players reaching double digits was freshman Justin Edwards.
Scoring in double figures was something he had not done since Dec. 21 against Louisville, but something he needed to do as he has been struggling, averaging just 8.1 points per game this season.
Prior to the start of the season, the Philadelphia native came to Kentucky as a five-star recruit with extremely high expectations as he was listed as one of the key pieces to this young team as well as one of the main lottery picks in the 2024 NBA Draft.
Despite that, Edwards’ draft stock has fallen due to his lack of execution, but against Vanderbilt Kentucky fans witnessed his potential in what became known as the “Justin Edwards breakout game,” though this is obviously subject to change depending on how he performs moving forward.
In the win, Edwards dropped a career-high 17 points while going 5-10 from the field, 1-3 from behind the three-point arch and 6-6 from the free-throw line, reincarnating Kentucky fans’ faith in him as they gave him a standing ovation when he subbed out.
While playing a major role in the win, Edwards also threw down a windmill dunk, sparking Kentucky’s bench and electrifying the Kentucky fans that got into Memorial Gymnasium that night.
Edwards and the Wildcats look to build off of their performance on Feb. 10 at 4 p.m. when they host the Gonzaga Bulldogs (17-6) at Rupp Arena. The out of conference matchup can be viewed on CBS.
