Kentucky at Vanderbilt: Preview, Odds, How to Watch

Two home matchups, two losses for the Cats last week. Three of their last four overall. It’s been a rough stretch for Kentucky, who is desperate to get back on the right track with a feel-good win at Vanderbilt.

What will it take to head to Nashville and return home with a much-needed victory? Are the Commodores in a position to pull off the upset? Let’s preview the matchup.

How To Watch

No. 17 Kentucky (15-5) at Vanderbilt (6-15)
8:30 p.m. ET | Tuesday, Feb. 6 | Memorial Gymnasium

TV: SEC Network (Dave Neal, Jon Sundvold)
Streaming: WatchESPN
Home Radio: UK Sports Network – 630 WLAP, iHeart Radio (Tom Leach, Goose Givens)
Online Radio: iHeart
Satellite Radio: Sirius 81 and on the SiriusXM App
Live Stats: StatBroadcast

Last Five

Kentucky: NET 26, KenPom 27

1/20: 105-96 W vs. Georgia
1/23: 79-62 L at South Carolina
1/27: 63-57 W at Arkansas
1/31: 94-91 L (OT) vs. Florida
2/3: 103-92 L vs. Tennessee

Vanderbilt: NET 226, KenPom 187

1/17: 80-65 L vs. Auburn
1/20: 68-55 L at Mississippi State
1/27: 75-62 L vs. Tennessee
1/31: 81-54 L at Auburn
2/3: 68-61 W vs. Missouri

Series History

Kentucky leads the all-time series vs. Vanderbilt 155-49, with John Calipari 24-6 overall against the Commodores, including 8-2 against Jerry Stackhouse. The Wildcats currently hold a two-game losing streak in the series after previously winning 14 straight dating back to 2014. That two-game streak is the first time the Dores have beaten the Cats back-to-back since 2007.

UK defeated Vandy in Nashville back on Jan. 24 by a final score of 69-53, Antonio Reeves leading the way with 16 points and Oscar Tshiebwe adding 15 and 13. The Commodores followed it up with back-to-back wins over the Cats, the first on Senior Night on March 1, followed by another just over a week later in the SEC Tournament opener.

Kentucky is the only SEC team with a winning record (51-23) in Memorial Gymnasium all-time.

Kentucky at Vanderbilt Odds via FanDuel

Spread: Kentucky -9.5
Total: 151.5

One play from every win over Vanderbilt since 1995

Kentucky Projected Starters

(Starting lineup based on the last game)

#15 – Reed Sheppard
6-3 • 187 • GUARD • FRESHMAN
12.3 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 4.2 APG

#12 – Antonio Reeves
6-6 • 195 • GUARD • SENIOR
19.5 PPG, 4.2 RPG

#1 – Justin Edwards
6-8 • 203 • GUARD • FRESHMAN
7.7 PPG, 3.8 RPG

#4 – Tre Mitchell
6-9 • 231 • FORWARD • GRADUATE STUDENT
12.3 PPG, 7.6 RPG, 3.1 APG

#2 – Ugonna Onyenso
7-1 • 226 • FORWARD • FRESHMAN
4.0 PPG, 5.1 RPG, 2.9 BPG

Head Coach: John Calipari (32nd season, 15th at UK) – 847-259 overall, 402-119 at UK

Vanderbilt Projected Starters

(Starting lineup based on the last game)

#0 – Ezra Manjon
6-0 • 170 • GUARD • SENIOR
14.7 PPG, 3.1 RPG, 3.4 APG

#0 – Tyrin Lawrence
6-4 • 200 • GUARD • SENIOR
14.2 PPG, 5.4 RPG

#10 – Jordan Williams
6-2 • 205 • GUARD • SOPHOMORE
1.5 PPG, 1.4 RPG

#12 – Evan Taylor
6-6 • 205 • GUARD • SENIOR
8.2 PPG, 4.0 RPG

#2 – Ven-Allen Lubin
6-8• 230 • FORWARD • SOPHOMORE
10.2 PPG, 5.8 RPG, 1.1 BPG

Head Coach: Jerry Stackhouse (5th season at Vanderbilt, 5th overall): 67-84 at Vandy, 25-53 SEC

Statistical Comparison

(via Kentucky’s game notes)

Fun stats from UK’s game notes:

Kentucky has not played a single game at full strength this season.
Against Tennessee, UK used its seventh different starting lineup this season and the fourth unique lineup in four outings.
SEC Freshman of the Week, Rob Dillingham, poured in a career-high 35 points against the Volunteers. It was the fourth-highest scoring total by a freshman Calipari-era player. He is averaging 20.5 points and shooting 61.9% from 3-point range in UK’s four games against Associated Press Top 25 ranked teams. He’s logging 3.3 made 3s in those games as well.
Antonio Reeves has scored in double figures in all but one game and has 11 games with 20 or more points. He is connecting on career highs from the field (.497), 3-point range (.429) and the free-throw line (.883).

Pregame Storylines

COACH CAL VS. COACH CAL JR.

Will this be the first time Ellen Calipari roots against her own husband in a basketball game? Probably not, but she certainly won’t be rooting against the Commodores. Brad Calipari is set to take on his old man for the first time in his coaching career, serving as Vanderbilt’s Director of On-Court Player Development, his first year on Jerry Stackhouse’s staff. He previously spent the 2022-23 season at Long Island University in Brooklyn following his time as a graduate assistant at Kentucky in 2021-22. Calipari played for Coach Cal in Lexington from 2016-18, then closed his career at Detroit Mercy from 2019-21.

Now he’s looking for his first coaching win against his dad.

WILL DJ WAGNER PLAY?

Kentucky is 0-3 with its lead guard out, losing to UNC Wilmington, Florida and Tennessee in his absence. Will Wagner take the floor in Nashville? “I’m expecting him to play soon,” John Calipari said. “Sooner than later.” It’s a quick turnaround from Saturday to Tuesday and ankles are tricky, but the Cats need him the second he’s ready. It’s pretty clear the value he brings to the table as a leader and competitor. “When he doesn’t play, we don’t win,” Coach Cal added. That’s been factually correct thus far.

BREAKING STREAKS

Kentucky enters the matchup on a two-game losing streak, taking on a Vanderbilt that holds a two-game winning streak over you dating back to last season. And, respectfully, the Commodores are No. 226 in the NET and No. 187 in KenPom for a reason. You can’t lose to a team that is 0-11 in Quad 1 and 2 games with one SEC win — a home victory vs. Missouri. The season isn’t lost at 15-6, but losing three of four with five Quad 1 matchups to go, things could go sideways in a hurry if the Cats aren’t careful. No choice but to take care of business in Nashville as 9.5-point favorites.

WATCH OUT FOR LAWRENCE AND MANJON

Speaking of streaks, Tyrin Lawrence and Ezra Manjon were big parts of Vanderbilt’s pair of wins over Kentucky last season. The former went for 21 in the regular season win and double figures in all three matchups while the latter went for 25 in the SEC Tournament win. They’re the Commodores’ leading scorers, combining for over 28 points per contest on the year. Notre Dame transfer Ven-Allen Lubin has also had a strong debut season in Nashville, scoring in double figures in three of his last four games while pulling down eight or more rebounds in each of those three contests. His biggest outing came in a loss at Auburn, going for 17 points and 12 rebounds.

Join The Discussion on KSBoard

For the first time in over a decade, KSR will be without its in-game live blogs, a longtime tradition here on the blog. Unfortunately, the company that hosted the KSR live blogs no longer exists, so we are without the machine that made it all possible.

If you still want to interact with the KSR crew, consider joining the conversation on KSBoard. New members can try 1 month for $1.

Rapid Reaction on the KSR YouTube Channel

Miss the game? KSR’s got you covered with a Rapid Reaction live from Memorial Gymnasium on the KSR YouTube Channel. We’ll also have wall-to-wall postgame coverage on the website, including highlights, comments from John Calipari and the players, stats, and takeaways.

Subscribe to the KSR YouTube Channel for press conferences, interviews, original shows, fan features, and exclusive content.