Kentucky posted one of its best free-throw shooting games in recent memory on Wednesday night in Nashville to hold off Vanderbilt for an 82-78 win.
The Wildcats made 24 of their 25 attempts at the line, including eight straight in the final 30 seconds, to overcome a Commodore squad that had rallied from a 17-point deficit to tie the game.
It marked Kentucky's best charity-stripe performance in an SEC road game (min. 25 attempts) in school history.
"I’m not coaching anything. I just roll out balls," UK coach John Calipari said tongue-in-cheek when asked about the 96% shooting. He later added, "Those free throws that those guys made, those were daggers, now."
Kentucky is now shooting 73% at the line on the season, something that Calipari wants to take bigger advantage of moving forward as he tries to salvage what has been a difficult season. "I have to figure out ways that we can get some freebies because of this team."
The Wildcats (7-13, 6-7 SEC) matched their season-high of 82 points in back-to-back games to begin a modest two-game winning streak. Grad transfer guard Davion Mintz led UK with 18 points, including four of his team's eight 3-pointers, while sophomore forward Jacob Toppin scored a career-high 16 points and grabbed four rebounds.
“Yeah, I was so happy (for Toppin)," Calipari said. "What I said to the team after – a real team, a team – really doesn’t know who is going to have that big game. And whoever it is, everybody is ecstatic for. And they were ecstatic for him in that locker room. And that’s what I’m saying, we’re becoming a team."
Freshman forward Isaiah Jackson added 15 points and nine rebounds, while freshman guard BJ Boston (12) and grad transfer Olivier Sarr (10) also reached double-figures for UK.
The Cats posted their 10th straight win over the Commodores.
Vanderbilt (6-11, 2-9 SEC) got 29 points and 16 rebounds from forward Dylan Disu. The Commodores' star guard, Scotty Pippen Jr., added 21 but struggled through a 5-for-19 shooting night with five turnovers against UK's focused defensive effort.
“Well, we did some things different, and that’s what’s been fun," Calipari said. "... I love it. I told them, this is what makes it fun for me. Coming up with things defensively and offensively that can help them that they go in the game and the stuff works.”
Pippen, the son of the NBA Hall of Famer, had 18 points on 8-for-16 shooting, eight rebounds, eight assists, and only three turnovers in the first matchup with Kentucky.
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RAPID RECAP:
Kentucky raced to a 25-8 lead as Vanderbilt struggled with turnovers in the first 10 minutes of play. The Cats appeared to be in control at the half, leading 42-30, but the Dores opened the period with a 16-4 run to tie the game. Each time Vandy challenged from that point on, UK had an answer. Jacob Toppin had eight points and Olivier Sarr scored six during a stretch that saw the Cats reclaim a 67-60 advantage. Davion Mintz hit a big 3 after Vandy pulled within 71-68 with 1:41 remaining. The Dores had a chance to take the lead with 33 seconds left, but Jordan Wright missed a pair of free throws and Toppin made two of his own after grabbing the defensive rebound. Toppin hit two more with 19 seconds left, and BJ Boston and Devin Askew hit both of theirs in the final 10 seconds to secure the win.
GAME BALL:
Jacob Toppin, Kentucky -- The Rhode Island transfer came off the bench and had 12 of his career-high 16 points in the second half. He finished with a team-best +/- of 12.
KEY STAT:
Kentucky knocked down 24 of its 25 free throws on the night, including all 15 in the second half. The only miss came from Isaiah Jackson in the first half. It was rebounded by UK's Jacob Toppin and turned into a dunk by Jackson.
QUOTABLE:
"That's a happy locker room. This team has been through the gauntlet." -- UK coach John Calipari
UP NEXT:
Kentucky returns to action on Saturday at Tennessee in a 1 p.m. ET tipoff on CBS. The Vols (15-5, 8-5 SEC) defeated South Carolina 93-73 tonight in Knoxville. UT defeated the Cats 82-71 on Feb. 6 in Rupp Arena.
