An early look ahead to the Kentucky Wildcats’ next men’s basketball game:
The opponent
No. 16 Kentucky (12-3, 2-1 SEC) will go on the road to face Vanderbilt (9-5, 1-1 SEC) at Memorial Gym (capacity 14,316) on the campus of Vanderbilt University in Nashville.
The game will tip off at 7 p.m. (EST) and be telecast by ESPN.
Coach Jerry Stackhouse’s Commodores took a disappointing 72-70 home loss to South Carolina on Saturday.
Series history
Kentucky leads the all-time series with Vanderbilt 151-47 and has won 10 straight.
Most recent meeting
Davion Mintz had 18 points, Jacob Toppin 16 off the bench and Isaiah Jackson contributed 15 points and nine rebounds as Kentucky withstood 29 points from Dylan Disu and 21 from Scotty Pippen Jr. to beat Vanderbilt 82-78 on Feb. 17, 2021, at Memorial Gym.
UK won the game with impeccable foul shooting. The Wildcats made 24 of 25 free throws, compared to Vandy’s 22 of 28.
Power rankings
Through Friday’s games, the NCAA’s NET Rankings had Kentucky No. 17 and Vanderbilt No. 69.
The Kenpom Rankings rated UK No. 10 and Vanderbilt No. 75.
Kentucky stood No. 13 in the Sagarin Ratings with Vandy No. 75.
Know your foe
1. Until the unexpected home loss to South Carolina on Saturday, Vanderbilt had been riding a wave of positive vibes.
Scotty Pippen Jr. scored the Commodores’ final 16 points in a 69-67 upset of Mark Pope and BYU in the semifinals of the Diamond Head Classic in Honolulu, Hawaii, on Dec. 23.
In Vandy’s ensuing game (the finals of the Diamond Head Classic on Christmas Day vs. Stanford were canceled), the Commodores upset Arkansas 75-74 in Fayetteville behind 22 points from Pippen Jr. and a clutch, late three-pointer from Rodney Chatman.
2. The son of ex-NBA star Scottie Pippen and his ex-wife, “Real Housewives of Miami” star Larsa Pippen, Scotty Pippen Jr. is Vanderbilt’s star. The 6-foot-3 junior guard is averaging 18.4 points and 3.7 rebounds.
On the down side, Pippen Jr. is shooting only 31.9 percent on three-point attempts and has more turnovers (39) than assists (33).
In four career games vs. Kentucky, Pippen Jr. has averaged 16 points, 4.3 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 2.8 turnovers while making 42.9 percent of his shots.
3. During last season’s 9-16 slog for Kentucky, multiple SEC teams were able to end long losing streaks vs. the Wildcats.
Mississippi snapped an 11-game skid vs. UK by beating the Wildcats in Oxford.
Georgia ended a 14-game losing streak vs. Kentucky in Athens.
In the SEC Tournament, Mississippi State halted a 15-game drought against UK.
Vandy, however, failed to get in on the streak-busting party.
The Commodores’ most-recent win over UK was on Feb. 27, 2016, in Nashville, a 74-62 victory that was the final one of Kevin Stallings’ 12 victories over Kentucky as Vanderbilt head man.
Under Jerry Stackhouse, Vandy is 0-4 vs. UK but three of the four losses have been by single-digits, including three- and four-point defeats last season.
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