Kentucky Hosts Vanderbilt on Wednesday
Believe it or not, the end of the college basketball regular season is not all that far away.
As Kentucky enters its final 12 games before tournament play, Nate Sestina has ambitious goals for his team. As ambitious as they could possibly be, actually.
“Obviously, we want to continue to win, try to go 12-0,” Sestina said. “That’s big for us, win the regular season for the SEC and then go into the conference tournament on a huge win streak with a little bit of momentum moving forward.”
Kentucky’s winning streak currently stands at three games following a tough win at Texas Tech over the weekend. The Wildcats have also won seven of eight games, so the momentum Sestina is hoping for is beginning to build. On Wednesday at 6:30 p.m., No. 13/13 UK (15-4, 5-1 Southeastern Conference) will look to keep it going in hosting Vanderbilt (8-11, 0-6 SEC).
“I think we’re a group of individuals that are trying to become better every single day,” assistant coach Joel Justus said. “Tomorrow night just gives us an opportunity to go out and compete, play together, to try to become the best version of ourselves individually as well as collectively whether you’re playing Texas Tech, whether you’re playing Vanderbilt or whoever else you’re playing next.”
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| Kentucky vs. Vanderbilt | ||
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Wed., Jan. 29 – 6:30 p.m. ET |
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TV: SEC Network |
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| UK | Stats | VU |
| 15-4 | Record | 8-11 |
| 5-1 | Conference Record | 0-6 |
| 75.7 | PPG | 72.9 |
| 65.2 | Opp PPG | 73.9 |
| .462 | FG% | .432 |
| .389 | Opp FG% | .464 |
| 38.5 | RPG | 33.2 |
| .324 | 3PT FG% | .328 |
| .286 | Opp 3PT FG% | .348 |
| 14.6 | APG | 12.4 |
| 5.4 | SPG | 7.4 |
| 5.2 | BPG | 4.0 |
The Commodores, meanwhile, are seeking to start a streak. Vanderbilt, in Jerry Stackhouse’s first season, has lost seven straight and is looking for its conference win, but still presents challenges, even with leading scorer Aaron Nesmith out for the season with a foot injury.
“They can shoot the ball, so you gotta be locked in defensively,” Justus said. “… So I think any time you’re playing a team in the Southeastern Conference, they’ve got talented players, they’ve got a coaching staff that’s put together a game plan that is going to try to take our strengths and turn them into weaknesses and then try to take our weaknesses and exploit them.”
True as that all may be, UK will enter Wednesday’s game as a heavy favorite. There’s also a temptation to look ahead to another tough road trip this weekend – this one an Elite Eight rematch against Auburn – but it’s one the Wildcats must resist.
“They’re going to come in here, give us their best shot,” Ashton Hagans said. “They’re all going to be ready going against Kentucky just because of the name that’s on your chest. But with us, we just gotta stay the course.”
That course is taking UK forward, not back. Though it might be natural to invoke an upset loss to Evansville as reason for the Cats to be focused Wednesday, they are not thinking that way.
“For us, it’s more looking ahead than it is looking back,” Sestina said. “Obviously you have to learn from mistakes and learn from games like that, but it’s more just focusing on who we’re playing now and not trying to live in the past. Just focusing on who we have tomorrow. And then once tomorrow’s over, focusing on who we have next.”
Cats Come Up Bigger in Texas, Winning Overtime Classic in Lubbock
LUBBOCK, Texas – While there were a lot of happy players in the Kentucky locker room, only Nick Richards got a kiss on the forehead from coach John Calipari.
“I said there are about three of you in this room that need this, but I will do it for you, so I kissed him on the forehead,” Calipari said of the 6-foot-11 junior forward who had 25 points and 14 rebounds as the No. 15/14 Wildcats won 76-74 in overtime at No. 18/18 Texas Tech. “Nick was unbelievable.”
Richards scored the last five points in regulation for the Wildcats (15-4), and their first four in overtime before knocking down his two game-deciding free throws with 10 seconds left in the only Big 12/SEC Challenge game featuring two ranked teams.
“We have no chance of winning without Nick,” said Immanuel Quickley, who had 21 points.
The Wildcats built a 10-point lead in the second half, and still led by eight when Richards made a jumper with 6:15 left. They missed their last six shots in regulation, none by Richards, though he made three free throws in that closing stretch. He then had two free throws to start overtime before a three-point play.
Richards finished 7 of 10 from the field and 11 of 14 on free throws, including the clinching two after he was fouled when Terrence Shannon missed an awkward shot when defended by EJ Montgomery.
When asked what he was thinking on the clutch free throw, Richards said, “I’m thinking we need it. We need these free throws to help us win the game.” That included some encouragement from Quickley after an early miss that made him angry.
Texas Tech (12-7), which had won 54 consecutive nonconference home games since December 2013, had one last possession. But Davide Moretti was stripped by Ashton Hagans when starting a drive in the lane.
Quickley’s 21 points included a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from halfcourt that put Kentucky up 36-34 at halftime.
Of note …
• Kentucky has won seven of its last eight games
• UK finished the regular season 10-3 against nonconference opponents, including 4-2 vs. Power 5 schools
• Kentucky is 4-3 in the Big 12/SEC Challenge and has won the last three in the event, the best current active streak among SEC schools
• Richards became the second Kentucky player in the Calipari era to have at least 25 points, 14 rebounds and four blocks in a single game (Anthony Davis vs. Arkansas on Jan. 17, 2012). He’s the first in the Calipari era to post that line vs. a ranked opponent
• Kentucky is now 14-1 this season when outshooting the opponent
• Quickley played a career-high 42 minutes
• Kentucky led by 10 points in the second half. UK is now 275-7 under Calipari when leading by at least 10 points at any time in the contest
• Entering the game at 76.7% at the foul line, the Wildcats had another solid performance at 84% (21 of 25)
• UK is 62-32 vs. Associated Press Top 25 competition under Calipari, including 3-1 this season
• The Wildcats committed a season-high 20 turnovers but oddly enough improved to 10-0 in the Calipari era when making 20 or more miscues
• Hagans extended his five-or-more-assists streak to 16 straight games, the best streak since Tyler Ulis did it 24 straight games in 2015-16
• Kentucky is now 61-49 all-time in overtime games, including 2-0 this season
• UK’s last overtime win in a true road game was 70-64 in two overtimes at Texas A&M on Jan. 10, 2015
• The Wildcats are 13-7 under Calipari in overtime games and have won five of their last seven in extra time
Big-Game Cal, Cats
John Calipari’s teams aren’t just good against the best teams in the country, they’re great. Not only does Kentucky own a 62-32 record (.660) vs. Associated Press Top 25 teams under John Calipari, UK is 7-4 when both teams are ranked in the AP top five.
All-time, Calipari is 13-8 when both teams are ranked in the AP top five. When both teams are ranked in the AP Top 25, Calipari’s all-time record is 85-55, including a 54-28 mark at Kentucky. When both are ranked in the top 10 he has a 27-19 record, including 16-12 at UK.
Kentucky has answered the bell of big-time showdowns again this season. UK is 3-1 vs. AP Top 25 teams, including 2-1 vs. top-five teams at the time.
By defeating top-ranked Michigan State to start the season, UK knocked off the No. 1 team in consecutive seasons for the first time in school history. Last season, Kentucky downed Tennessee on Feb. 19, 2019. With the win over MSU, the Wildcats now have nine victories over the No. 1 team in 25 tries.
Calipari improved to 6-4 vs. the No. 1 team in his career with the win vs. Michigan State, including 3-2 at Kentucky. According to ESPN, Calipari is the only coach with a winning (.600) percentage against No. 1 ranked teams with a minimum of 10 games faced against the No. 1.
