Josh White
Kentucky Wildcats vs. Vanderbilt Commodores
Sunday, March 11, 2012, New Orleans Arena, New Orleans, LA
1:00 Tipoff, ABC/ESPN3
It’s the SEC Finals, and the Kentucky Wildcats take their familiar spot in the final round they take on an all-too-familiar foe, the Vanderbilt Commodores.
Nothing in this tournament has come easy thus far for the Cats. They faced a steep challenge from LSU, who nearly pulled an upset and made the Cats look mortal for the first time in weeks, and Florida, who were looking for redemption after losing their two previous game to the Cats by 35 points.
Vanderbilt may have been their toughest opponent all season, playing two tightly contested games against the Cats, on February 11 and 25. Due to some bad early season losses to Cleveland State and Indiana State, they may end up with around a seven seed in the Big Dance. With a win against the Cats, they could improve their seed greatly, and therefore get a more favorable match up.
Guard John Jenkins had a game high 23 points in a hard-fought win over Ole Miss yesterday, despite shooting 7-for-16 from the field. Center Festus Ezeli had a rough game against the Rebels, staying in foul trouble for most of the game and scoring no points. This team has shown that it’s much better with Ezeli on the floor, as those two bad early-season losses will attest. Guard Brad Tinsley as went for 12 points and three assists in both the Commodores’ tournament games thus far. Second leading scorer Jeffrey Taylor has looked oddly human in the first two games of the tournament, averaging only four points on 3-for-15 shooting.
PREDICTION: It’s hard to beat any team three times in the same season, but Kentucky showed it was possible when they beat Florida yesterday. Vanderbilt is a dangerous team who has played Kentucky close in their first two games, and this one should be no different. Ezeli and Taylor seem to be slumping, but playing Kentucky seems to bring the best out of players on a downslide. This one will probably come down to the last whistle, with the team making the least mistakes coming away with the win. Look for that team to be the Cats as they go on to win the SEC Tournament.
Kentucky 66, Vanderbilt 63
