Three takeaways from Kentucky basketball’s loss to Vanderbilt in the SEC Tournament
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SEC Tournament game day: Vanderbilt 80, No. 23 Kentucky 73
Click below for more of the Herald-Leader’s and Kentucky.com’s coverage of Friday night’s men’s basketball game between Kentucky and Vanderbilt at the SEC Tournament in Nashville, Tenn.
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Three takeaways from Kentucky basketball’s 80-73 loss to Vanderbilt in the quarterfinal round of the SEC Tournament at Bridgestone Arena:
1. Some numbers do not lie
Here’s what the critics say: John Calipari’s offense is out-of-date. It’s archaic. It hasn’t caught up to the way modern teams play modern basketball.
Here’s what the numbers say: It’s the defense on this particular John Calipari team that is lacking. Heading into Friday night’s quarterfinal rubber match with Vanderbilt in Music City, Kentucky was ranked a very un-Calipari-like 67th nationally in adjusted defensive efficiency by Ken Pomeroy.
Friday, the shoe fit. On the way to a 39-34 lead at halftime, Vanderbilt went 8 of 12 from two-point range and 7 of 15 from three. The Commodores slipped a little in the second half, shooting 42.3 percent, but they still ended up 49.1 percent from the field for the game, including 40 percent on 10 of 25 from three-point range.
Time and again, especially in the first half, the Commodores beat the Cats off the bounce, driving nearly unimpeded to the rim. It was the same the strategy Jerry Stackhouse’s team used to beat Kentucky last week at Rupp Arena. The result this time was Vandy point guard Ezra Manjon scoring a game-high 25 points and Jordan Wright adding 18.
“They got downhill whenever they wanted,” UK guard Cason Wallace said.
“Early in the game (Vandy) was shooting layups,” Calipari said afterward. “We didn’t want to give angles and we gave angles. They hit some tough shots, though. Give them credit.”
That they did. Down by a dozen with 15:42 left, Kentucky chopped the Commodores’ lead to three at 63-60 only to see Manjon hit a three-pointer off a scramble play right at the shot clock buzzer to push Vandy’s lead back to six with 6:30 left.
Then when UK trailed 73-69, Vandy’s Ty Lawrence hit a fadeaway from the right wing just in time to beat the shot clock with 1:11.
Said UK’s Jacob Toppin, “If we want to make a run, we’ve got to get better defensively.”
2. Again, those free throws
Here’s another common thread to Kentucky’s losses this season: The inability to make free throws.
The Cats were 16 of 24 from the foul line for 66.7 percent in the double overtime loss to Michigan State. They were 5 of 13 for 38.5 percent in the 10-point loss to UCLA in the CBS Sports Classic. They were 15 of 24 for 62.5 percent in the loss at Missouri. They were 7 of 14 in the home loss to South Carolina and 11 of 18 in the home loss to Arkansas.
While Vanderbilt was going 18 of 20 from the foul line, Kentucky was just 11 of 20 for 55 percent. Included in those numbers were some crucial misses.
Early in the second half, after Vanderbilt had jumped out to a 45-38 lead, Antonio Reeves missed two straight at the line. By the time UK scored again, Vandy’s lead was 49-38.
Down 70-64, UK’s Oscar Tshiebwe missed the front end of a bonus situation with 3:48 left. Less than a minute later, Tshiebwe missed the front end again.
With 37.9 seconds left, and Vandy up 77-72, Toppin went 0-for-2 at the line. With 24.6 seconds left, and UK clinging to hope, Tshiebwe made just one of two at the line.
3. It’s going to take another bounce back
This Kentucky team has bounced back before. It bounced back after losing at home to South Carolina. It bounced back after losing on the road at Georgia. It bounced back after losing at home to Vanderbilt last week, rebounding with a big win at Arkansas.
Can it do it again?
“If we lose we go home,” Toppin said.
Still, it’s hard to have much confidence that this Kentucky team can put together an NCAA Tournament run. There has been too much inconsistency. Too many surprises. Some of them good, but plenty of them bad.
Afterward, Calipari said the extra time off might help his team get healthy. But the argument here was that this team needed to continue on the momentum it had from last Saturday’s win at Fayetteville. Instead, the Cats lost for the second straight time to Vanderbilt, something that hasn’t happened since 2006-07 as part losing four straight to the Commodores.
Maybe we’ll get another big surprise from this team, but the better bet is that we’re looking at a disappointing Kentucky basketball finish for the third consecutive year.
This story was originally published March 11, 2023 at 1:54 AM.
