Short-handed Kentucky steamrolls Vanderbilt, 82-61

Ben Roberts, Lexington Herald-Leader on Feb 19, 2025

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

LEXINGTON, Ky. — The Kentucky Wildcats got back in the win column Wednesday night.

UK ran away from Vanderbilt in the second half to claim an 82-61 victory over the Commodores, who defeated the Cats earlier this season and kept things close for the first 20 minutes of the rematch in Rupp Arena.

The No. 17 Cats improved to 18-8 (and 7-6 in the SEC) with the victory. Vanderbilt dropped to 17-9 and 5-8 in the league. The Commodores were looking for their first regular-season sweep over Kentucky since 2007, which was Tubby Smith’s final year as head coach.

The win for Mark Pope’s team came four days after a disappointing loss at Texas and despite the Cats’ ongoing injury issues. Lamont Butler, Kerr Kriisa and Jaxson Robinson — the team’s top three point guard options — were all sidelined with injuries Wednesday night.

Others stepped up in their place.

After a first half that remained close throughout, the Wildcats came out firing in the second half.

Clinging to a one-point lead at the break, UK went on a 6-0 run to begin the second half, then — after a couple of Vanderbilt buckets — followed that with a 9-0 flurry.

Andrew Carr hit a 3-pointer in the corner to cap that run, which gave Kentucky a 56-44 lead and forced Vanderbilt to call a timeout. The margin was never in single digits after that.

Travis Perry buried a 3-pointer with about four minutes left to give UK a 76-56 lead.

Otega Oweh led Kentucky with 20 points and seven rebounds. He has now scored in double figures in all 26 games this season. Amari Williams had 17 points, six rebounds and four blocked shots.

Koby Brea added 12 points, and Carr scored 11, his highest total in more than a month.

Vanderbilt beat Kentucky, 74-69, in Nashville on Jan. 25. Butler played his worst game as a Wildcat in that one — the left shoulder injury he suffered a week and a half earlier clearly bothering him — and he ended up sitting out Kentucky’s next three games.

Butler tied his career worst with six turnovers in the first matchup with the Commodores, and Kentucky had 17 as a team that day, its highest total this season.

Carr rejoined the starting lineup Wednesday night for the first time since being sidelined with a back injury last month. He came off the bench in each of UK’s last six games, but he was out there with Perry — making his second career start in place of the injured point guards — Brea, Oweh and Williams.

Freshman guard Collin Chandler was Kentucky’s first sub of the game. Chandler, who played just 13 total minutes over the Cats’ previous four games, came in for Perry with 16:41 left in the first half and nailed a 3-pointer before the first TV timeout. Chandler had scored only two points since Nov. 29 before making that shot. He finished the game with seven points.

Chandler’s 3-pointer was part of an opening barrage that saw the Cats go 4 for 5 from deep and open up a 21-15 lead a little more than five minutes into the game. But UK endured an ugly stretch from the field shortly thereafter, missing eight of nine shots at one point.

And after starting 4 for 5 from long range, the Cats went 1 for 10 on 3-pointers to close the first half, a skid that included missing seven in a row from deep going into halftime.

UK led for more than 18 minutes in the first half — and trailed for only 46 seconds — but the Cats never got out to more than a six-point advantage and were up by just one point, 41-40, at the break, setting up their quick start to the second half.

Kentucky’s next assignment is about as difficult as it gets in the regular season. The Wildcats will travel to Tuscaloosa to play No. 4 Alabama on Saturday (6 p.m. EST on ESPN) in a rematch from last month.

The first meeting was a shootout, with Nate Oats’ Crimson Tide getting the 102-97 victory over the Cats in Rupp Arena on Jan. 18. After that, Alabama won six more games before losing to No. 1 Auburn over the weekend.

The Tide took a 21-4 record and 10-2 mark in the SEC into a game at Missouri late Wednesday night. On Saturday afternoon, the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee revealed that Alabama was the No. 2 overall team in its early 2025 March Madness bracket.

The Wildcats are expected to be sizable underdogs this weekend, especially if they remain shorthanded in the backcourt.