The end of each half on Saturday in Nashville proved to be a "debacle," according to Kentucky head coach Mark Pope.

Vanderbilt closed the first half with a 20-4 run and ended the game with a 23-11 spurt that powered the Commodores to a 74-69 upset of the No. 9 Wildcats at Memorial Gym.

"They did a good job of getting us on our heels," Pope said of Vanderbilt. "It's super-disappointing... It's a really tough lesson for our guys."

Kentucky committed the bulk of its uncharacteristic 17 turnovers during both of those stretches as the Cats (14-5, 3-3 SEC) dropped back-to-back games for the first time this season.

"I feel like, in the first half, we got punked," UK grad senior guard Jaxson Robinson said. "I felt like there were a lot of areas where you can't wait to halftime to fix them.

"We dug ourselves a big hole that we had to try and come back from -- and we did an amazing job the first 15 minutes of the second half of staying gritty and staying in it -- but the last three or four minutes after that media timeout, sheesh, we can't have that."

Vanderbilt (16-4, 4-3 SEC) notched its second win over a Top 10 opponent. Last Saturday, the Commodores knocked off No. 6 Tennessee 76-75 at Memorial Gym.

To complete its latest upset, Vandy went on a big run down the stretch after Kentucky had rallied from a 14-point halftime deficit to lead by seven with 8:39 remaining.

The last time the Cats would see the advantage came at 69-68 with 2:56 to go. The Commodores closed with the final six points --- including a key 3-pointer out of the right corner by Tyler Nickel with 1:50 to go -- as UK missed two treys and turned the ball over three times on their final five possessions.

Junior guard Jason Edwards had 18 points to lead four Vandy players in double figures. Devin McGlockton followed with 14 points, while Nickel and Jaylen Carey added 11 and 10 points, respectively.

Vanderbilt went 12-of-33 from the 3-point arc, its third-best effort of the season. Seven different Commodores made at least one trey, including another of the banked variety in a UK loss.

The Cats shot better (48% to 44% overall) and held a 43-30 rebounding advantage but were minus-nine from the arc having made only nine of 23 attempts.

Kentucky was led by junior guard Otega Oweh with 21 points and 12 rebounds, his first double-double as a Cat. Ansley Almonor followed with 11 points and Jaxson Robinson chipped in with 10.

The Cats played without starting 4-man Andrew Carr, who has been battling lower back issues.

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In this "Rapid Recap" feature, we touch on some quick-hitters from the UK loss...

KEY MOMENT:

After Kentucky erased a 14-point halftime deficit and surged to a 58-51 lead at the 8:39 mark, the Wildcats immediately reopened the door to allow Vanderbilt back in the game. In a 59-second span, UK gave up an uncontested 3-pointer to Jalen Carey, had a poor offensive possession that ended with Lamont Butler getting his shot blocked under the rim and Amari Williams fumbling the rebound out of bounds, and then gave up another unguarded 3-pointer to Devin McGlockton. That marked the beginning of the end as Vandy closed the game on a 23-11 run. In 59 seconds, the Cats blew what they had worked for 12 minutes to establish.

GAME BALL:

Jason Edwards, Vanderbilt -- The explosive junior guard scored a team-high 18 points on 6-of-11 shooting and dished out four assists. He was the tone-setter early in the game when the Commodores raced to a 41-27 halftime lead.

BY THE NUMBERS:

1st - Two-game losing streak of the Mark Pope era. The Cats had bounced back to win in each of their previous four losses under their new head coach.

17 - Lead changes in the game.

21:5 - Vanderbilt assist-to-turnover ratio.

27 - First-half points for UK was the lowest figure this season.

43-30 - UK rebounding advantage. It marked the first time in 12 games this season the Cats have lost a game while leading on the glass.

157-50 - Kentucky's lead in the all-time series with Vanderbilt. The Commodores improved to 28-62 against the Cats in Nashville.

QUOTABLE:

"That second 10 minutes of the first half has plagued us a little bit this season," Kentucky head coach Mark Pope on allowing a 20-4 run before halftime.

UP NEXT:

Kentucky returns to action on Tuesday night at No. 6 Tennessee. The Volunteers (17-2, 4-2 SEC) are playing later tonight at No. 1 Auburn (17-1, 5-0 SEC). Tipoff for the Cats and Vols is slated for 7 p.m. ET on ESPN.