WATCH: Jerry Stackhouse gets technical foul over controversial moment vs. Kentucky
The Vanderbilt Commodores are in the middle of a heated battle against the Kentucky Wildcats in the SEC Tournament quarterfinals, playing for their NCAA Tournament lives. It’s a matchup between two great coaches down in Tampa with Jerry Stackhouse and John Calipari.
However, it was Stackhouse on the wrong side of the officials early in the second half. After a potential shot clock violation, Kentucky went down the floor and got an easy transition bucket. Stackhouse began to argue with the referee, insisting the game should have stopped due to the horn sounding.
He could have been asking for a foul as well, with it being a close call at the three-point line between the Commodores shooter and Wildcat defender.
The referee thought Stackhouse had gone too far, calling him for a technical foul and giving the Wildcats a free throw. It’s not the first time he has been T’d up against Kentucky this season, also earning one at Rupp Arena earlier in the year.
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You can watch the full sequence here.
Stackhouse is looking to lead Vanderbilt to their third SEC Tournament championship, with the program most recently winning in 2012. Both of the wins in the final came against Kentucky as well. Now, the Commodores are trying to get past the Wildcats once again but this time in the quarterfinals.
Winning two games is an improvement for Vanderbilt, who did not win in last season’s conference tournament. It’s been a while since they played on Friday night, last doing so in 2017 under head coach Bryce Drew. Stackhouse has done a great job rebuilding a program that was winless in the SEC just three seasons ago.
A loss will mean the season is over for Stackhosue and his squad but the improvement is clear. Even with the technical fouls against Kentucky this season, the two performances can do nothing but offer encouragement.