‘Step On Their Necks’: Why Vandy Win Might Have Been Kentucky’s Best This Season

As good as it looked from tip to buzzer, the 91-77 victory over Vanderbilt on Saturday probably wasn’t Kentucky’s most impressive result of this college basketball season. There are a few viable candidates for that honor. The win over St. John’s on a neutral court back on Dec. 20 was special, the Cats having their full complement of players — with since-sidelined Jayden Quaintance and Jaland Lowe leading the way — for the first time all season, showing a national television audience what they could do as a unit. Mark Pope’s team has already beaten SEC rival Tennessee twice this season, including a major upset in Knoxville that necessitated a good amount of grit and came right in the middle of a five-game UK winning streak
The win over St. John’s on a neutral court back.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       .     special, the Cats having their full complement of players — with since-sidelined Jayden Quaintance and Jaland Lowe leading the way — for the first time all season, showing a national television audience what they could do as a unit. Mark Pope’s team has already beaten SEC rival Tennessee twice this season, including a major upset in Knoxville that necessitated a good amount of grit and came right in the middle of a five-game UK winning streak. For reasons both personal and practical, the Cats’ upset at Arkansas — beating not only John Calipari but also a Razorbacks team that ranks among the best in the conference — served as a moment of catharsis for the UK fans back home while also looking mighty impressive on a Selection Sunday résumé                             been plenty of lowlights in the aftermath of those wins. And Kentucky’s most recent skid occurred at a most inopportune time. After beating Tennessee in Rupp Arena on Feb. 7, the Cats dropped three games in a row. They lost at Florida. No shame in that. But then they let one get away against Georgia in Rupp, an inexcusable outcome under the The rematch with Vanderbilt on Saturday brought that opportunity. And the Cats not only delivered, they turned in a performance that should make their many doubters think twice about writing them off. A month and a day after Vandy ran Kentucky out of Memorial Gym — going up 20 at halftime and not letting the Cats get anywhere close in the second half en route to an 80-55 victory — Pope’s team returned the favor. This time, UK was the aggressor. A flurry of 3-pointers in the early going from Collin Chandler — and plenty of contributions from elsewhere on the court — sent the Cats into the first TV timeout of the afternoon with a 21-14 lead. They scored 23 points in the entire first half against Vanderbilt in Nashville. “Just making plays for teammates. I think that’s how we started,” said UK star Otega Oweh. “We got some stops, pushed it in transition and instead of just poundinut there  “It definitely was personal,” Oweh said. “… This time around, we just wanted to make sure we were really the more physical team. We just got to be the first team to hit. I feel like when we do that, it sets the tone for the whole game.” Vanderbilt was no less physical in game two. Kentucky just returned the favor this time. The Cats outrebounded the Dores 29-22.  room