It’s Senior Night for Kentucky men’s basketball. The Wildcats wrap up their regular-season home schedule with a 9 p.m. tipoff against the Vanderbilt Commodores at Rupp Arena.
Ben Roberts, Cameron Drummond, Mark Story, Silas Walker and yours truly will be courtside to bring you updates. You can follow us on X/Twitter at @BenRobertsHL, @cdrummond97, @markcstory, @sigh_las and @johnclayiv.
You can follow a dedicated Twitter/X Kentucky basketball list by clicking here.
Final: Kentucky 93, Vanderbilt 77
Rob Dillingham scored 23 points and Antonio Reeves added 20 as UK wins the home finale 93-77 over Vanderbilt.
Kentucky 84-65 with 4:04 left
Cats cruising now, up 84-65 with 4:04 remaining at Rupp Arena.
If Kentucky closes this thing out, John Calipari’s club will be in a four-way tie for second place at 12-5 in the SEC. South Carolina, Auburn and Alabama are also 12-5. Tennessee clinched the league title earlier Wednesday with a 66-59 victory at South Carolina.
The SEC Tournament starts next Wednesday in Nashville.
Reed Sheppard now with 10 assists
Kentucky leads Vanderbilt 72-60 with 7:08 left at Rupp Arena. Reed Sheppard is up to 10 assists. Rob Dillingham has 23 points in 22 minutes on the floor. Dillingham is 9-of-15 from the floor, including 3-of-4 from 3-point range. UK is 11-of-22 from the floor this half for 50%. The Cats are shooting 47.5% for the game.
OH MY @zvonimir_ivisic pic.twitter.com/hKHMT16Z4n
— Kentucky Men’s Basketball (@KentuckyMBB) March 7, 2024
Rob Dillingham up to 16 points
Mr. Instant Offense Rob Dillingham now with 16 points as Kentucky leads Vanderbilt 59-52 with 11:37 remaining at Rupp Arena. Reed Sheppard now with eight assists.
And at this 11:37 timeout, we are getting our final look at the “Snackwards Cam” for the 2023-24 season.
Kentucky 53-47 with 15:39 left
Couple of nice plays by Justin Edwards in the first segment of the second half. After Antonio Reeves missed a dunk, Edwards came up with a steal in backcourt, then took a pass and jammed it home for a 53-45 Kentucky.
It’s 53-47 UK at the 15:39 TV time, during which now former Kentucky running back Ray Davis was the “Y.”
Halftime: Kentucky 45, Vanderbilt 40
Kentucky scored on its final eight possessions to take a 45-40 lead over Vanderbilt at halftime. The Cats hit 3-pointers on their final four possessions.
Rob Dillingham led the explosion by scoring 12 points in just over three minutes.
UK shot 45.9% the first half. The Cats ended up 6-of-16 from 3-point range for 37.5%. UK outrebounded Vanderbilt 24-13 with Adou Thiero grabbing five rebounds. Reed Sheppard lead the way with six assists.
Vanderbilt was 17-of-32 from the floor for 53.1% the first half. The Commodores were 3-of-8 from 3-point range. Manjon led the way with 12 points. Lawrence had 11.
Four 3s in a row to end the first half. pic.twitter.com/7bfovWp8Uj
— Kentucky Men’s Basketball (@KentuckyMBB) March 7, 2024
Vanderbilt 34-31 near end of first half
Vanderbilt 34, Kentucky 31 with 2:39 left in first half. Rupp Arena crowd trying to pick up the Cats.
Tyrin Lawrence leads Vanderbilt with nine points. Manjon has scored eight. Reeves and Wagner have each scored eight points for the Cats.
How does Kentucky look? https://t.co/sBhLzeXsxI pic.twitter.com/OESyH0OQUR
— Erik Haslam (@haslametrics) March 7, 2024
Kentucky ice cold from three
Kentucky is 1-of-9 from 3-point range and trails Vanderbilt 22-20 at the 7:42 TV timeout in the first half.
The Cats are 8-of-20 from the field overall for 40%. Vanderbilt is 9-of-20 for 45%, but the Commodores are 3-of-7 from long range. Paul Lewis is 2-of-4 on 3balls for the ‘Dores.
Vanderbilt up 11-10 at 12:00 mark
Vanderbilt is still up at the 12:00 1H TV time. Commodores lead Kentucky 11-10. Cats 5-of-13 from the floor and have missed all six of their three-point attempts. Big Z is 0-for-2 from 3.
Vanderbilt takes early lead
Vandy point guard Ezra Majon has all of the Commodores points as the visitors have a 6-4 lead over Kentucky at the 15:06 TV timeout in the first half. Vandy is 3-of-8 from the floor. Kentucky is just 2-of-7. The Cats have bricked all four of their 3-point shots.
Tennessee wins SEC regular-season title
Tennessee defeated South Carolina 66-59 in Columbia on Tuesday night to clinch the regular-season title outright and the No. 1 seed in next week’s SEC Tournament in Nashville.
The Vols are now 14-3 heading into Saturday’s regular-season finale against Kentucky. South Carolina dropped to 12-5 in the league. The Gameco*cks are currently tied with Alabama and Auburn for second place. A Kentucky win over Vanderbilt would improve the Cats to 12-5 and make it a four-way tie.
Kentucky starters vs. Vanderbilt
On his pregame show, John Calipari said that seniors Antonio Reeves, Tre Mitchell, D.J. Wagner and Kareem Watkins will start along with Ugonna Onyenso.
Officials for Kentucky-Vanderbilt
Officials for Kentucky-Vanderbilt are Pat Adams, Byron Jarrett and Wil Howard.
This is the sixth Kentucky game that Adams has worked this season. He also worked the New Mexico State, Miami, Louisville, Texas A&M and Ole Miss games.
Jarrett worked the Miami, Missouri, South Carolina, Gonzaga and Alabama games.
This is the first UK game that Howard has worked this season. He worked two Kentucky game last season.
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