Another Evansville? Maxey, Richards say no, rally Kentucky past struggling Vanderbilt
Instant analysis from No. 13 Kentucky’s 71-62 win over Vanderbilt:
How the game was won
Tyrese Maxey and Nick Richards combined to score 18 straight points (nine each) down the stretch as Kentucky rallied from 10 down in the second half to avoid an embarrassing home-court loss to struggling Vanderbilt.
Who’s hot
1. Nick Richards. In a game in which fouls limited the UK big man to 22 minutes of playing time, the 6-foot-11 junior still had 15 points and 11 rebounds. Kentucky was plus-16 with Richards in the game.
2. Tyrese Maxey. After a rough showing at Texas Tech, the UK freshman needed a “bounce-back” game — and got one (17 points, four rebounds).
3. EJ Montgomery and Johnny Juzang. As Kentucky rallied in the second half, Montgomery (nine points, four rebounds) and Juzang (a key bucket and a key steal) had some big plays.
4. Dylan Disu. Vanderbilt’s 6-9 freshman (13 points, 11 rebounds, five blocked shots) will never forget his first game in Rupp Arena.
Who’s not
1. Kentucky three-point shooters. The Cats were 3-of-10 from distance and are clearly a team that are not able to rely on a long-distance attack.
2. UK ball handlers. Kentucky’s lead guards, Ashton Hagans (five) and Tyrese Maxey (three) combined to commit eight turnovers.
3. Vanderbilt. For one of the rare SEC universities considered “a basketball school,” these past two seasons have just been brutal (see below).
Key number(s)
Twenty-five. The loss to Kentucky was Vanderbilt’s 25th straight in SEC regular-season games. It set a league record for futility, eclipsing Sewanee’s 24-game SEC losing skid in 1938-40.
The ‘Cat-mosphere’
1. Kentucky players wore special shirts in warm-ups to honor the late Kobe Bryant. Several UK players, including Tyrese Maxey, Immanuel Quickley and Nate Sestina also honored the former Los Angeles Lakers star on their game shoes.
2. Paws & Listen, a University of Kentucky all-female a capella ensemble, performed an uplifting version of the national anthem.
3. UK recognized athletes inducted into the Frank G. Ham Society of Character, a group that included swimming star Asia Seidt and football starting offensive linemen Luke Fortner and Landon Young.
4. Vernon Hatton, one of the stars of Kentucky’s 1958 NCAA championship team (the “Fiddlin Five”), was “the Y.”
Up next
No. 13 Kentucky (16-4, 6-1 SEC) will go on the road to face No. 17 Auburn (18-2, 5-2 SEC) on Saturday (Feb. 1) at 6 p.m. (EST) in a game telecast by ESPN.
Vanderbilt (8-12, 0-7 SEC) will play Florida (12-8, 4-3 SEC) on Saturday night at 8:30 p.m. (EST) in Nashville.
This story was originally published January 29, 2020 at 8:41 PM.
