In our regular postgame feature, the Cats Illustrated staff offers their first impressions from Kentucky's 71-62 win over Vanderbilt on Wednesday night at Rupp Arena. The Wildcats overcome a 10-point deficit to turn back the Commodores' upset bid.
TRAVIS GRAF:
This team absolutely has to have Nick Richards in the floor for them to play to their potential. When he’s off the floor, Kentucky’s offense stalls and they give up multiple looks at the rim. When Tyrese Maxey learns to keep his game turned on at all times and not just turn it on when he wants, he’ll take the next step. Kentucky survived a game in which they played horribly and the other team couldn’t seem to miss at times. I was pleased with Montgomery’s play, as he added nine points and four rebounds. Juzang gave good minutes, and having him and Brooks play at a continuously high level at the same time is one of the keys to the rest of the season as Kentucky develops their bench scoring. Having those two step up would be key because it’s hard to keep Nate Sestina on the floor against SEC-caliber athletes.
JUSTIN ROWLAND:
Kentucky looked like a team playing a 6:30 game weekday game in front of an uninterested crowd. They look like a better road team than a home team right now and it may be because they play to the energy they sense in the building (that could bode well going into Auburn). The first half was an absolute worst-case scenario but there was almost no way Vanderbilt was capable of sustaining that lead for 40 minutes in Rupp Arena. They regressed to the mean and when Kentucky extended the defense in the second half they were able to chip away. This team has to figure out how to motivate themselves and keep its foot on the gas but nobody's going to be upset with a 6-1 record in the SEC. Big takeaway: They avoided a disastrous Quadrant 4 loss that could have dropped them a couple of seed lines.
JEFF DRUMMOND:
I could see this coming a mile away. It was a classic letdown situation for the Cats, who were coming off an emotional overtime victory at Texas Tech. They went from that ranked showdown in a fever-pitch environment to a midweek 6:30 tipoff against a team that had lost 24 consecutive SEC games. I did not, however, expect the Commodores to hang around as long as they did. To their credit, they had a really good plan, made extra passes to find the open man, and knocked down a bunch of 3-point shots. Not quite enough, though, as UK just had too much size. The 11-0 differential in second-chance points was more or less the difference in the game.
