Cats Illustrated game grades for Kentucky's players and coaches following their 82-78 win against Vanderbilt in Nashville.

Davion Mintz

Although Mintz was only 5/13 from the floor that's misleading. He led Kentucky with 18 points, was 4/9 from outside, had five rebounds, and three assists in a team-high 36 minutes. When Kentucky needs a big shot, Mintz never hesitates.

Grade: A

Devin Askew

Askew scored nine points on 1/6 shooting because he was a perfect 6/6 from the free throw line. He had four first half turnovers but eliminated those in the second half. It was an unsteady game from Askew.

Grade: D

B.J. Boston

Boston looked like he was ready to torch the nets early in the game but cooled off significantly from that point forward, finishing 4/14 from the field with four rebounds and two assists.

Grade: C+

Dontaie Allen

Allen only played three minutes and did not log a single stat.

Grade: Incomplete

Jacob Toppin

This may have been Toppin's best game for Kentucky, or one of them. It wasn't just about flashing potential. Toppin had 16 points (5/9 FG, 5/5 FT), four rebounds, two assists, and no turnovers in 22 minutes. He was a hot hand who made some difficult buckets that were much needed.

Grade: A

Keion Brooks

Talk about a tough grade. Two points on 1/6 FG and four turnovers doesn't look good. It's not. In 28 minutes, Brooks simply did not have it on the offensive end. But he played hard. Perhaps too hard at times. But playing hard also earned him nine rebounds (four offensive) and four blocks. It's a mark of a maturing player to find a way to impact the game when shots aren't falling. There's some stuff to like in what Brooks did last night, but it was an off game in many respects.

Grade: C+

Isaiah Jackson

Fouling out was one of the only downsides to Jackson's 15-point (5/5 FG), 9-rebound, two-block performance. And to reinforce his positive impact on the game, Kentucky was +7 with Jackson on the court.

Jackson is taking his game to another level. His highest scoring games of the season have been his last two, when he's averaging 10 rebounds per as well. Jackson has two turnovers in four games. That was previously a problem, but he hasn't had more than two turnovers in a game since January 12.

Grade: A-

Lance Ware

See: Allen, only Ware had two minutes played and a foul.

A pessimist's take could be that as a 7-13 team starts to learn how to win, guys like Allen, Cam'Ron Fletcher, and Ware are not in the rotation. Those are the kinds of guys, many will say, who need to stick around for multiple years.

Grade: Incomplete

Olivier Sarr

Sarr was a non-factor on the class with only one rebound but he had 10 points (4/8 FG) with four blocks. He turned it over three times as well, however.

Grade: C