First Scouting Report: Can Kentucky avoid a letdown, continue its hold over Vanderbilt?
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Game day: Kentucky 80, Kansas 62
Click below for more of the Herald-Leader’s and Kentucky.com’s coverage of Saturday’s SEC/Big 12 Challenge game between Kentucky and Kansas at Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence, Kan.
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A look ahead to the Kentucky Wildcats’ next men’s basketball game:
The opponent
No. 12 Kentucky (17-4, 6-2 SEC) will face Vanderbilt (11-9, 3-5 SEC) on Wednesday at Rupp Arena (capacity 20,545) in downtown Lexington.
The SEC game will tip off at 7 p.m. (EST) and be telecast by the SEC Network.
Coach Jerry Stackhouse’s Commodores defeated Georgia 85-77 on Saturday in Nashville.
Series history
Kentucky leads the all-time series with Vanderbilt 152-47 and has won the past 11 meetings.
Most recent meeting
Kentucky big man Oscar Tshiebwe scored 30 points and grabbed 13 rebounds and UK overcame 32 points and four assists from Vanderbilt star Scotty Pippen Jr. to record a 78-66 victory on Jan. 11 at Memorial Gymnasium in Nashville.
Power rankings
Through Friday’s games, the NCAA’s NET Rankings had Kentucky No. 9 and Vanderbilt No. 91.
The Kenpom Rankings rated UK No. 7 and Vanderbilt No. 94.
Kentucky stood No. 8 in the Sagarin Ratings with Vanderbilt No. 96.
Know your foe
1. Since losing to Kentucky in Nashville, Vanderbilt has gone 2-3. Vandy defeated Tom Crean’s Bulldogs 73-66 in Athens four days after falling to UK, but subsequently lost to Tennessee (68-60), at Florida (61-42) and at South Carolina (70-61) before winning Saturday at home against Georgia (85-77).
2. In UK’s 78-66 win at Nashville, the Wildcats opened a 78-50 lead with 6:14 left in the game, then more or less stopped playing. That allowed Vandy to end the game on a 16-0 run to make what had been a beat down at least look more respectable.
3. In five career games against Kentucky, Vanderbilt star Scotty Pippen Jr. has played well — with no payoff in the team wins column.
A 6-foot-3, 185-pound junior, Pippen Jr. — the son of the former Chicago Bulls star and his reality TV star ex-wife Larsa — has averaged 19.2 points, 3.8 rebounds and 4.6 assists vs. the Cats.
Pippen Jr. has made 33 of 74 shots, 12 of 31 three-pointers and 19 of 28 foul shots vs. the Cats.
His best game against Kentucky came in the loss earlier this season in Nashville. In scoring 32 points, Pippen Jr. made 11 of 18 shots, six of 11 three-point tries and also had four assists and three steals.
Yet the remainder of the Vandy team only made 13 of 38 shots.
This story was originally published January 29, 2022 at 8:29 PM.
