College basketball final: Kentucky 77, Vanderbilt 70 at Rupp Arena
Kentucky has earned high praise for its win at Kansas last Saturday. A dangerous trip to Alabama is on the agenda for Saturday. So could Wednesday night’s game against visiting Vanderbilt be the definition of a trap game? We’re about to find out.
The now fifth-ranked Wildcats play host to the Commodores at 7 p.m. at Rupp Arena. The SEC Network has the telecast. Kentucky won the first meeting between the two teams, 78-66 in Nashville on Jan. 11. Oscar Tshiebwe scored 30 points and grabbed 13 rebounds for the Cats. Scotty Pippen Jr. scored 32 points for the ‘Dores.
Kentucky enters the rematch 6-2 in conference play. Vanderbilt defeated Georgia 85-77 on Saturday to improve to 3-5 in the league.
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Final score: Kentucky 77, Vanderbilt 70
Kentucky wins 77-70
Davion Mintz scored 21 points and Keion Brooks 20 as UK improved to 18-4 overall and 7-2 in the SEC. Vanderbilt got 33 points from Scotty Pippen Jr. He scored 65 points in the Commodores two games against UK this year.
Free throw shooting contest now
Kentucky is up 75-66 with 58.6 seconds left. Vanderbilt is still fighting -- and sending the Cats to the foul line.
Kentucky lead now double digits
The Wildcats have started to put a bit of distance between themselves and the pesky Commodores. Scotty Pippin Jr. has 23 for the visitors but Kentucky has a 69-57 edge with 3:39 remaining. Keion Brooks has cored 20 and Davion Mintz 19 for the Cats. We did have our fourth video review of the night during the last stanza.
UK stretches lead back out to seven
Good segment for Lance Ware. UK’s backup center blocked two Vanderbilt shots and made a nice save on the offensive end. Damion Mintz with 19 points and Keion Brooks 18 as UK leads 62-55 with 6:47 left. UK is just 6-of-22 from the floor this half for 27.3 percent.
Oscar Tshiebwe picks up second flagrant foul
The UK center was whistled for his second flagrant-1 foul of the game with 9:51 left. Kentucky’s lead over Vanderbilt is just 56-53 with 9:24 remaining.
Stackhouse technical foul at 14:08
The Vanderbilt coach had to be held back from the officials by his assistants before finally getting the technical. He was apparently upset that basket interference was not called on a Keion Brooks tip-in. UK leads 50-43. Calipari and Stackhouse are now tied at 1 tech each.
Vanderbilt has cut UK’s lead to 44-43
The Commodores have sliced Kentucky’s lead to 44-43 with 15:50 left in the game. Oscar Tshiebwe picked up a flagrant-1 foul call that met with displeasure from both John Calipari and the Rupp Arena fans. Scotty Pippen Jr. has 18 points for the Commodores. Vanderbilt has outscored Kentucky 11-3 this half.
Kentucky leads Vanderbilt 41-31 at the half
Scotty Pippen Jr. has scored 17 points for the Commodores, but UK has a 41-31 lead at intermission. Kellan Grady has 12 points and Davion Mintz 11 to lead the Cats. Oscar Tshiebwe has nine rebounds. UK shot 50 percent the first half. Vanderbilt shot 45.8.
Kentucky picking up the pace now
The Wildcats have extended the lead to 34-22 with 3:13 left in the first half. It has been a good half for Davion Mintz. The veteran guard has scored 11 points in the first half. He’s 4-of-6 from the floor, including 2-of-3 from three-point range. UK is up to 12-of-24 from the floor. Vanderbilt is 8-of-18.
More talk with officials at 7:50 TV time
Kentucky leads the Commodores 21-18 with 7:50 left in the first half. Calipari began the TV timeout continuing his discussion with the officials. The talk continued with UK’s assistants speaking to the officials after Calipari returned to the huddle. UK is 7-of-18 from the floor. Vanderbilt is 6-of-13.
John Calipari hit with a technical foul
The Kentucky coach goes at it with the officials during the 11:21 TV timeout after Oscar Tshiebwe was whistled for an over-the-back call on an offensive rebounds. And as we come out timeout, it’s announced that Calipari was hit with a technical foul. Cats lead the Commodores 15-12. Davion Mintz off to a hot start. After failing to score at Kansas, Mintz has six points. Four came on a three-pointer-and-one in which the UK guard made the free throw.
Kentucky trails at first TV timeout
Vanderbilt leads UK 6-5 at the 15:49 TV timeout. The Cats have made just two of eight shots. After scoring a career-high 27 points at Kansas, Keion Brooks has missed his first three shots. Scotty Pippen has four of the visitors’ first six points.
Liam Robbins available for Vanderbilt
Liam Robbins, a 7-foot transfer from Minnesota, will be available to play for Vanderbilt for the first time this season, according to the Commodores. Robbins averaged 14.1 points and 7.1 rebounds in 2019-20 and 11.7 points and 6.6 rebounds last season for the Golden Gophers. Robbins has not played this season because of a stress fracture in his foot.
Early February return possible for Robbins
Starting lineups
Kentucky: Sahvir Wheeler, TyTy Washington, Oscar Tshiebwe, Keion Brooks and Kellan Grady.
Vanderbilt: Scotty Pippen Jr., Rodney Chatman, Myles Stute, Quentin Millora-Brown and Jordan Wright.
Officials for Kentucky-Vanderbilt
Officials for Kentucky-Vanderbilt are Don Daily, Steven Anderson and Todd Austin. This is the fourth UK game Daily has worked this season. He also worked the Central Michigan and Missouri games at Rupp, as well as the Wildcats’ game at Auburn. This is the fourth game for Anderson. He worked the Mount St. Mary’s, Southern and Western Kentucky games. Austin worked the UK-Mount St. Mary’s game.
This story was originally published February 2, 2022 at 5:00 PM.
