UK's key to victory: Guarding the three

"No, thank you." -John Wall Photo source : Mike Strasinger, The City Paper There are many things UK must do well in order to beat a good team like Vanderbilt. If I had to pick the most important thing for Kentucky to do tonight in order to win, I would have to go with guarding the 3-pointer. Vanderbilt is similar to Florida in that both teams love to shoot the three. Vandy’s John Jenkins and Jeffery Taylor are two of the best 3-point shooters in the conference. Both are in the top 5 in the SEC in 3-point percentage and the top 10 in the SEC in made 3-pointers. Jenkins is shooting 44% with a league-leading 89 made three’s. Taylor is shooting 48% and has made 44 3-pointers. UK held a hot shooting Florida team to 6-27 from beyond the arc Tuesday night in an impressive defensive performance. Kentucky can always opt to put 3-4 long athletic wing players on the floor at a time to guard opponents’ sharp shooters. MKG, Miller and Lamb will be relied heavily upon to put pressure on Vandy’s Jenkins and Taylor. You can’t say enough about how important it is that guys like Kidd-Gilchrist and Miller can guard so many different positions. Another obvious luxury UK has is the big man in the middle. Davis is leading the world in blocks, and has been known to stray away from the basket and reject a couple 3-pointers when the perimeter players get caught rotating. Having a security blanket like Davis roaming the floor on the defense goes a long way in guarding the three. If the Commodores get open looks and bury a couple threes early, the ‘Cats could be in for a long night. But if Tuesday’s performance against Florida is any indication, Coach Cal has the team ready and willing to do whatever it takes to keep Vandy from getting hot. Follow me on Twitter @djackson_KSR