JUSTIN ROWLAND:

Let's balance keeping perspective with giving due credit. Start with the good. Just recently this team couldn't win close games. It's still not pretty down the stretch, and when your guard play is so spotty that's not a surprise, but that's two straight close wins. I noticed guys smiling and laughing in the first half. Something we haven't seen much this year. Isaiah Jackson has become really fun to watch and is taking his offensive game to another level. Quite often he's the best player on the floor. Keeping perspective, Vanderbilt is now 2-9 in the SEC, and in spite of not shooting well from outside (Kentucky guarded them well, we must admit) they had a real chance at the end. It may be too late for baby steps, but they're at least moving in the right direction.

JEFF DRUMMOND:

Fairly impressive to see the Cats cough up a 17-point lead and respond the way they did on the road against a Vanderbilt team that has been playing good basketball of late. I would guess that most UK fans were saying, "Uh-oh" when the Dores tied it up, but Kentucky never got rattled and closed the game out with a lot of poise at the free-throw line, hitting 15 of 15 in the second half and 24 of 25 for the game. Isaiah Jackson was great in the first half (15 points, 7 rebounds, 5-6 FT) and Jacob Toppin was outstanding in the second half (12 points, 3 rebounds, 5-5 FT). They combined for 31 points in the game, a surprising productivity total on the offensive end of the floor. UK's team defensive effort on Vandy star Scotty Pippen Jr. in the first half (0 points, 5 turnovers) was outstanding. He finished with 21, but they were a "hard" 21 on 5-of-19 shooting. So the Cats are on a two-game winning streak, and if they can stretch this out to four or more, I think Big Blue Nation can hold out hope for an SEC Tournament run.

DAVID SISK:

This is one of those deals where a win is a win is a win. Kentucky started out like a house on fire, and I was thinking it’s a shame that a team could end up being good and not get into the postseason. But we know it never works that way for this team. In the end, it was a narrow 82-78 victory over a Vanderbilt team who has two conference wins. But it does give them a two-game winning streak, and those have been rare this season. So what can they take from this win? There were five Cats in double figures and Keion Brooks wasn’t one of them. Isaiah Jackson now has 33 points and 20 rebounds in his last two games. Jacob Toppin may have had his best game with 16 points. They had 15 offensive boards, and most importantly they found a way to salt the game away. UK was 24 for 25 from the foul line and were perfect down the stretch. Even if it’s too late this season it’s not too early to see some pieces begin to come together for 2021-22.

TRAVIS GRAF:

Kentucky starts a win streak with a road win at Vanderbilt, a place that’s sometimes difficult to win for teams without much experience. Isaiah Jackson was a beast, Davion Mintz hit some big shots and BJ Boston started off hot, but the story of the game has to be Jacob Toppin. The Rhode Island transfer contributed 16 points off of the bench and scored in a variety of ways, hitting clutch shots and free throws down the stretch as well. The team’s lack of basketball IQ made this game much closer than it had to be down the stretch, but you take wins any way you can get them at this point.