Five things you need to know from Kentucky’s 82-78 win over Vanderbilt
Five things you need to know from the Kentucky Wildcats’ 82-78 win over the Vanderbilt Commodores in an SEC college basketball game at Memorial Gym in Nashville:
1. Foul shooting saved the Cats. Kentucky had a 17-point lead in the first half. The Cats were up 12 at halftime.
But nothing with the 2020-21 Wildcats (7-13, 6-7 SEC) is ever easy, so of course Vanderbilt (6-11, 2-9 SEC) charged back.
The Commodores tied the game at 46 early in the second half, but UK regained control and led 71-64 with 2:58 left in the game.
Of course, game-end situations have been the Bermuda Triangle for Kentucky this season, and Wednesday night was no exception.
Bad shots and turnovers allowed Vandy back into winning contention.
When Jacob Toppin was called for fouling Vanderbilt’s Jordan Wright with 33 seconds left in the game and UK clinging to a 74-73 lead, Vandy had its golden chance.
Instead, Wright, a 76.9 percent foul shooter entering the game, missed two.
Kentucky then calmly drained eight straight foul shots to ice victory, with Jacob Toppin hitting four in a row, followed by two each from Brandon Boston and Devin Askew.
For the game, UK went 24-of-25 from the foul line.
In beating Vanderbilt by three, 77-74 in Lexington last month, Kentucky was 26-of-32.
2. Jacob Toppin is going to be a really nice player at Kentucky. Remember, the younger brother of former Dayton star and current New York Knicks rookie Obi Toppin was expected to sit out this season at UK after transferring from Rhode Island.
After the NCAA instead approved immediate eligibility for transfers in this COVID-19 season, Toppin has instead been a pleasant surprise for John Calipari’s team.
The 6-foot-9, 194-pound sophomore from Brooklyn, N.Y., had his best game as a Wildcat on Wednesday in Nashville.
In addition to his clutch foul shooting, Toppin went for 16 points, four rebounds and two assists. He also helped defend Vandy star point guard Scotty Pippen Jr. (5-of-19 shooting).
3. More daggers from Davion Mintz. The guy who hit the shot that beat Vanderbilt in Rupp Arena haunted the Commodores again.
With UK clinging to a 71-68 lead inside the final two minutes, Mintz drained a trey from the top with 1:41 left in the game that gave Kentucky just enough separation to survive.
It was the second crushing trey Mintz dropped on Vanderbilt on Wednesday night. After the Commodores had used a 16-4 run to start the second half to force a 46-46 tie, Mintz drained a momentum-shifting three-pointer from the right wing that was a huge moment in the game.
The Creighton graduate transfer has now hit late clutch shots in three straight games after putting UK ahead in the final seconds with a trey against Arkansas (in a game UK ultimately lost) and beating Auburn on Saturday with a late three.
4. Dylan Disu is a major UK problem. Vanderbilt’s 6-9, 220-pound sophomore has emerged as a major Kentucky nemesis.
Disu went for 29 points and 16 rebounds Wednesday night and consistently overpowered UK defenders at the rim.
In four career games vs. Kentucky, Disu now has had a double-double in every contest.
Earlier this season in Rupp Arena, he had 18 points and 10 boards.
Last season, the Texas product went for 13 and 11 and 12 and 10 against Kentucky.
5. Streak hits double-digits. Kentucky has now beaten Vanderbilt 10 straight. UK presently holds double-digit win streaks over three SEC foes: Mississippi State (15 straight), Mississippi (11) and Vandy.
The most interesting facet of the Wildcats’ recent domination of the Commodores is that Vandy has led at halftime in six of the past 10 games.
This story was originally published February 17, 2021 at 9:35 PM.
