Kentucky's Road Slump Continues at Vanderbilt

Filed under: Kentucky

Would you believe me if I told you that Kentucky lost a tight game on the road?

For the fifth time in six road games in the SEC, No. 18 Kentucky (17-7, 5-5) lost a close game away from home. This time, John Jenkins and No. 23 Vanderbilt (18-6, 6-4) dropped UK, 81-77.

Jenkins, the SEC's leading scorer, scored a career-high 32 points off 6-of-10 shooting from beyond the arc.

Kentucky led by eight in the first half, but a string of Commodore 3's turned the tables quickly. The 'Dores entered halftime up four, and they immediately stretched the lead to seven on a Brad Tinsley three-point play. The Wildcats came back on the strength of their own shooting, but they again came up short.

Festus Ezeli added 14 points and seven rebounds for Vandy, who made 11-of-20 shots from 3.

Terrence Jones led Kentucky with 25 points and nine boards, and Brandon Knight added 20.

How it Was Won: Timely shooting. Each time Kentucky was able to push ahead in the second half, the 'Dores were able to hit a 3 or get a bucket down low. The points usually came from Jenkins, but others contributed when he was locked down -- which, frankly, wasn't often.

How It Was Lost: Untimely turnovers. It's easy to look at this Kentucky team and chalk up the late miscues to their trio of freshmen, but DeAndre Liggins deserved most of the blame Saturday. Twice Liggins took the ball to the middle of the Vanderbilt zone and threw the ball away, dashing any hopes of a Wildcat comeback.

Where to From Here: Kentucky has a favorable stretch forthcoming. Two games are at home next week, where UK hasn't lost since in the Calipari era. The 'Cats have now lost three of four, so they can't afford to falter at home. Vanderbilt hits the road on a three-game win streak, where they will have a tough one at Georgia Wednesday.

 

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