Playing Vandy at home is equally troublesome as playing Kentucky at Rupp. The Wildcats are set to leave for Vandy early Saturday while still relishing the win over Florida Tuesday evening. The Gators put up a decent fight in the first half, yet Kentucky took charge later in the first half and dominated in the second.
With Doron Lamb leading the Wildcats with 18 total points and Anthony Davis with 16, four Wildcats scored in double figures, including Michael Kidd-Gilchrist with 13. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist put up 13 rebounds and Davis ended the night with 4 blocks against the Gators. The Gators were thought to be the team with the best chance to take down Kentucky, but that didn’t work as well as Head Coach Billy Donovan planned.
Donovan commented, “Kentucky looks great, Vandy is a tough game.” He should know, as the Gators came into Rupp off a 73-65 victory over the Commodores last Saturday. If logic dictated college basketball: Florida beat Vandy, and Kentucky beat Florida, Kentucky should have little issue taking Vandy to school on their home court.
The ESPN College Gameday match-up at Vandy will be a key contest for the Wildcats. The first of two meeting between the teams will be a deciding factor in how the SEC tournament may play out come March. Vandy is hungry to meet Kentucky, and Coach Calipari will take his place on the benches under the basket, which he jokingly commented as being, “a problem”.
The Wildcats will not have a Saturday to Tuesday turn around after the Vandy game, much to the dismay of Vanderbilt Head Coach Kevin Stallings. Stallings complained about the lack of the Thursday to Saturday turn around in Kentucky’s schedule prior to SEC play. Coach Cal commented after the Florida game, “It’s tough with only one day to prepare. That’s what happens when you have a Saturday to Tuesday schedule.”
Tip-off is set for 8 pm this Saturday and will be aired on ESPN and UK-IMG Radio Network.
