No. 9 Kentucky, Vanderbilt bid for bounce-back efforts

Two Southeastern Conference rivals with strong overall records under first-year head coaches will meet Saturday in Nashville, Tenn., when No. 9 Kentucky visits Vanderbilt.

Both teams are coming off losses, however.

Coach Mark Pope's Wildcats (14-4, 3-2 SEC) have had a week to prepare after a 102-97 defeat last weekend to No. 4 Alabama, the same team that knocked off coach Mark Byington's Commodores 103-87 in Tuscaloosa, Ala., on Tuesday.

"We're not there yet to be able to beat a team like that," Byington said after the game.

Kentucky also struggled in its loss to the Crimson Tide.

"I felt like we were battling a lot of fatigue out there, and I felt like we were battling some frustration," Pope said. "I felt like we were kind of patch-working lineups a little bit."

When things are going well for Kentucky, the Wildcats spread the floor and hit 3-pointers at a high rate -- 36.7 percent this season.

For Vanderbilt (15-4, 3-3), its strengths are forcing turnovers (16th nationally, on 22.3 percent of opposing possessions) and getting out in transition for easy dunks and layups.

Kentucky has the higher offensive ceiling. Five players are averaging double figures in scoring, led by Otega Oweh at 15.7 points a game. Lamont Butler (13.6) is next, followed by Jaxson Robinson (13.0), Koby Brea (11.2) and Andrew Carr (10.9).

When Brea (47.2 percent shooting on 3-pointers) and Robinson (34.4 percent) are going well, Kentucky can beat just about anyone. Robinson has broken out of an early-season shooting slump to go 15 of 30 on 3-pointers in his last three games, all against ranked teams.

The Wildcats' style could prove difficult for Vanderbilt, which ranks 267th nationally at guarding the 3-pointer (35.4 percent).

Butler's experience -- he's logged 147 collegiate games spanning five seasons -- should prove helpful on Saturday. Butler has played at least 30 minutes in the Wildcats' five SEC games, turning the ball over just 10 times, with six coming in a victory over Texas A&M on Jan. 14.

Vanderbilt will hound Butler with pickpocketing guards Chris Manon (1.6 steals per game), AJ Hoggard (1.4) and Grant Huffman (1.4).

But the best might be freshman reserve Tyler Tanner (2.2), who plays like a veteran with only two turnovers in 382 minutes of court time.

The play of wing shooter Tyler Nickel (10.6 ppg), who has gone 9-for-16 from long distance in his last two games, will be important.

Vanderbilt's only post threats are the 6-foot-7 Devin McGlockton (10.7 ppg, 8.2 rebounds per game) and 6-8 Jaylen Carey (7.4 ppg, 5.6 rpg).

Carey, the brother of former Duke All-American Vernon Carey Jr., has shown flashes of strong play lately with 14-point efforts in wins over Tennessee and LSU. And Vanderbilt has found consistency with the 6-1, hard-to-guard Jason Edwards, who averages a team-high 17.3 points a game.

After playing Kentucky on Saturday, Vanderbilt will have a week off before its next game, Feb. 1 at Oklahoma.

The Wildcats' next game will be Tuesday at No. 6 Tennessee.

--Field Level Media