Kentucky lets one slip away in 84-83 loss to Vanderbilt

Vanderbilt is the team that Kentucky will have to face twice in the regular season SEC slate this year, and the first of the two meeting took place on Thursday. Kentucky had a shot at earning its third AP top 10 victory of the year and the second in Historic Memorial Coliseum, but they’d have to get through one of the most prolific scorers in college basketball in Mikayla Blakes.

Kentucky, unfortunately, didn’t walk away with the win, falling 84-83 to Vanderbilt. The Cats now sit at 18-6 (5-5 SEC) on the year.

Both teams started hot from the field in this one, and Vanderbilt led 19-16 at the end of the first quarter. It felt like the main difference was the simple fact that the Commodores got more shots up. Early on, Kentucky was turning the ball over, and that translated to 11 points for Vanderbilt in the fastbreak. Kentucky had no points off of turnovers in the first half.

Late in the second quarter, however, Kentucky went on a 10-0 run to force a Vanderbilt timeout, and at the half, the Cats led 38-34. Asia Boone nailed a three as time expired in the period, sending Memorial into a frenzy. Kentucky shot 6-9 from three-point land through the first two quarters of play, and it was really just a matter of if they could keep their good shooting going.

Both teams put up 20 points in the third quarter, meaning that Kentucky led 58-54 with 10 minutes left in regulation. Vanderbilt’s press started to tighten up, and Kentucky was doing their best to break it. Haymakers were being thrown back and forth, and heading into the fourth quarter, the high-profile matchup had delivered.

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In the end, Kentucky just couldn’t pull out the win. After a back and forth game, it was Vanderbilt who wound out on top.

After a grueling game against the Commodores, Kentucky will go on the road to face No. 4 Texas on Monday. The Longhorns are currently 21-2 (6-2 SEC) and looking like one of the best teams in the country. Considering their only losses are to South Carolina and LSU, that probably checks out. That one is set for 7:30 p.m. ET on SEC Network.