The Cats advance to the SEC Tournament semifinal with a win over a solid
The Kentucky Wildcats beat the Vanderbilt Commodores 77-71 in Tampa on Friday night.
The Cats got off to a quick start, the lead didn't last long. Despite being out for a 7-2 lead, Vandy bounced back to take an 11-7 lead. The UK then took a 12-0 lead 19-11, but Vandy bounced back. By the halfway point, Kentucky held a 37-33 lead.
After the break, Vandy opened fire and Britain had no answer. However, the cats started to put things together and the 'doors fell apart. As UK began to score, Jerry Stackhouse lost his mind, hit a referee and received a technical foul as UK scored 15–1 to try and extend their lead.
It was close in the end, but Britain pulled off a massive victory to keep their first seeded hopes alive.
Crime was going on
Kentucky originally scored at will in this game. He shot more than 50% off the field in the first half and when he slowed down in the second half, it was a brilliant offensive overall.
The biggest part of the offense was Sahveer Wheeler spreading the ball around. Kellan Grady couldn't let his shot fall, but Oscar Tshibwe did the things Oscar Tshibwe did. Davion Mintz had a solid game off the bench. Tyty Washington missed some rabbits, but he had a big game with the team's high 25 points, which Kentucky needed every bit to win the game.
Kentucky wasn't perfect, but he scored well and efficiently.
Toppin provided a spark
Jakob Toppin has been wildly inconsistent this season, but there's no doubt that when he's on, he's four and the best option off the bench. He was light years ahead of Keenan Brooks in this game and Calipari gave him a long leash.
Toppin air-balled a three-pointer, but after that, he was rock solid. Brooks struggled all game with the physicality of Wendy, which has been a common theme this year, and Toppin stepped up to the top of his scoring with three blocks.
There is no doubt that Toppin's ceiling is higher than that of Brooks, but consistency has been an issue for both players. This game was Toppin's.
1 seed path
There is no doubt that this matchup with Vandy turned out to be a huge game for the Wildcats, if for no other reason than the 1st seed in the NCAA Tournament was at stake.
After Baylor lost to Oklahoma on Thursday and Auburn fell to Texas A&M on Friday, Kentucky was routed to a top seed at the Big Dance, as indicated by ESPN bracketology expert Joe Lunardi.
So yeah, while it wasn't one of Kentucky's biggest games of the season on paper, the golden opportunity to get a 1st seed easily made it one of the biggest games of the season.
Of course, Kentucky would need to win two more games for the 1st seed in Tampa to become a possibility. But even for the top-tier events in college hoops, the chance to earn a 1 seed in Conference Tournament Week is something anyone will be thrilled to do.
Pippen got his wish
Scotty Pippen said before the game that he wanted to play for the UK for revenge. He is 0-6 versus the Cats in his career, but has increased his scoring in every game. He has scored 12, 13, 18, 21, 32 and 33 runs in six matches against the UK.
In it, Pippen could not hit the water, he fell from a boat. He scored a decent amount of points as he flopped every possession and got over the free throw line, but it was clearly an off game for the SEC's leading scorer.
Tshiebwe dominates again
Oscar Tshibwe once again dominated, but it was not exactly what we used to. He definitely made a comeback, but he didn't score a ton. What he did was hit the game defensively with five blocked shots while chipping away at 12 points and 14 across the board.
This was huge as the UK struggled defensively overall, but the Big O provided huge rim protection. Vandy replied with three, and the UK would take a full day every day. The Wildcats' National Player of the Year once again dominated - in whatever way he needed to.