This weekend, Kentucky will travel to Nashville to face a Vanderbilt team that has shown significant improvement this season. Recently, the Commodores secured a win at home against Tennessee, although they faced a loss on the road against Alabama. Now, after a much-needed off week, Vanderbilt is set to take on Kentucky at home.
Can the Cats rebound after Alabama’s loss? The Cats/Commodores preview is all right here.
Kentucky can talk all about their elite offense, but the main issue right now ailing this team is the defense. Often, it’s been said that teams who make big runs in the tournament, and especially conference play, struggle when the defense isn’t there. When you try to have games in shootouts, it normally doesn’t work out to your advantage.
The Cats benefit from Coach Mark Pope’s expertise in X’s and O’s. If he can optimize the offense to make them a top-scoring team, he can also adjust and improve the defense. This year, Kentucky is ranked 78th in the country in defensive efficiency per Kenpom. While that’s not terrible, it’s still not great.
Another issue plaguing the Cats defensively is fouls and rebounding. It seemed like every loose ball or extra possession against Alabama resulted in points for the Tide. In the SEC, they need to improve in these areas, especially with teams like Tennessee and Auburn still on the schedule.
If Kentucky can fix their defense, they could transform from a really good team into one capable of making a run to the Final Four.
Jerry Stackhouse is out, and Mark Byington takes over for the Commodores. Last year, Byington led James Madison to one of their best seasons in school history, notably knocking off top-five seed Wisconsin in the first round.
He’s brought that same energy to Vanderbilt this season, and they already have a top-ten win over Tennessee to show for it.
The Commodores now welcome Kentucky for another top-ten opportunity this weekend. Beating both Tennessee and Kentucky would significantly boost their chances of making it to the dance in Byington’s first season, which would be an incredible achievement given the situation he inherited.
This will be the first meeting between coaches Mark Byington and Mark Pope in the SEC, and both are having outstanding seasons, largely thanks to the transfer portal. They’ve done an excellent job of building their teams and ensuring they mesh well together.
Kentucky is coming off a loss to Alabama and had a week to rest and heal, while Vanderbilt is in the midst of a tough stretch of basketball that includes the win over Tennessee, a game against Alabama on Tuesday night, and now facing Kentucky at home. The road in the SEC is brutal, and as many have said all season, it’s just another night in the SEC.
Kentucky is facing a tough stretch with games against Vanderbilt on the road, at Tennessee, and then a big matchup against their former coach John Calipari next weekend. They need to get healthy, as many players are banged up right now, including Lamont Butler, Andrew Carr with a back issue, and Kerr Kriisa, who has been sidelined since his injury against Gonzaga on December 7th.
Memorial magic is what I call it. It’s one of the toughest venues to play in; the court is elevated, and the benches are at opposite ends from both coaches. It creates a unique game vibe, and many teams have struggled here. This weekend, Kentucky is looking to rebound, and Vanderbilt is eager to bounce back after losing to Alabama on Tuesday night. It promises to be an entertaining matchup in the Music City!
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