Josh White
Kentucky Wildcats vs. Vanderbilt Commodores
Saturday, February 25, 2012, Rupp Arena, Lexington, KY
12:00 Noon Tipoff, CBS
It’s rematch time in the Bluegrass State, as the top-ranked Kentucky Wildcats (27-1, 13-0 SEC) take on the Vanderbilt Commodores (20-8, 9-4 SEC) in a rematch of one of their most tightly contested games of the season.
Their last meeting was less than two weeks ago, as Vanderbilt came back after a dominating Kentucky first half. They managed to erase a 13 point halftime lead to lead 63-61 with 4:08 left in the game. The Kentucky defense managed to kick it into overdrive after guard Brad Tinsley’s shot and didn’t allow another point in the game, as they went on to a hard fought 69-63 win.
They may be double digit favorites coming into Saturday’s rematch, but this one is going to be far from easy. Junior guard John Jenkins, the SEC’s leading scorer with 20.1 points per game, has gone on a scoring tear as of lately. After being held to a paltry (for him, anyway) 15 points against the Cats on the 11[SUP]th[/SUP], he dropped 26 on Ole Miss, 28 on Georgia and 21 on South Carolina. Not to mention he’s been a deadly 13-18 on his three point attempts in that stretch. You have to figure he has a chip on his shoulder after being held to one of his lowest scoring performances on his home floor, and he’ll no doubt end up bringing that hot hand to Lexington.
Jeffrey Taylor, on the other hand, may be heading in the opposite direction. While he dropped an impressive 28 points on Ole Miss on the 16[SUP]th[/SUP], he only managed 13 and 4 against Georgia and South Carolina respectively, shooting a miserable 5-19 from the field in that stretch. In order for Vanderbilt to contend for a win, they’ll need their second leading scorer to show up in a big way.
PREDICTION: This is going to be a tough one. There’s just too much history between these two teams. Consider that Vandy coach Kevin Stallings seems to add petty jabs toward the Cats whenever he can, to the rivalry the two teams have developed over the past few seasons, to the Steve Tchiengang sucker punch to Marquis Teague on the 11[SUP]th[/SUP] that seem to go unnoticed by every striped shirt on the floor. (And for the record, with all due respect to Coach Cal, there’s no way there was no malicious intent with that punch. I know the guy is trying to be diplomatic, but come on. Hauling off and rabbit punching your defender to get an open lane to the basket is malicious, and you can’t paint it any differently!). Vandy is no doubt smarting from losing a heartbreaker on their home floor, and would love nothing more than to return the favor and hand Coach Cal his first loss at Rupp Arena. It will no doubt be another physical affair, but look for the Cats to maintain their perfect SEC record and head towards Senior Day on Thursday.
Kentucky 77, Vanderbilt 71
