Kentucky basketball falls to Vanderbilt Commodores: final score, 3 takeaways and more

The Kentucky Wildcats fell for it Vanderbilt Commodores in Nashville on Saturday afternoon by a final score of 74-69.

The Cats hadn’t played in a week, so naturally they were well rested and ready to go. Well, except they weren’t. Kentucky looked rusty and lackluster from the opening tip as Vandy coasted to a 41-27 lead after a 20-4 run to end the half.

After halftime, Kentucky looked like a completely different team. They locked down defensively. You could see the effort all over the pitch. They went on a 31-10 run before the Commodores answered right back.

In the end, Kentucky couldn’t get the job done as they lost their second straight game. Some real questions emerge as this season progresses.

Next, the Cats travel to Knoxville to put on weight Tennessee Volunteers on Tuesday night for a huge matchup.

Carr Out, Almonor in

Andrew Carr has been dealing with a back injury for a few weeks and it’s obviously not getting much better.

The Wake Forest transfer was transboundary mod Alabama Crimson Tide Last time out and it seems Mark Pope noticed. While he may be able to play, he has been a detriment to the team, especially last weekend when he was cooked on defense and provided no offense either.

On the other hand, Ansley Almonor hasn’t given Kentucky big minutes over the past few weeks. He’s mainly a spot-up shooter, but he hustles and always seems to hit a timely three-pointer. He played well again in this one.

Unfortunately, while he is a solid role player, he is nowhere near a suitable replacement for Carr. He may be a better option in the short term as Carr is clearly not 100%, but long term Kentucky needs Carr back fully healthy.

Substantial PT for the beginners

Carr is not the only injured Wildcats as Lamont Butler, although able to play, is injured and not 100% either. I don’t know if it’s his shoulder or ankle or what, but despite continuing to give maximum effort, he hasn’t been his normal self.

So where does that leave Kentucky? That left them circling significant playing time between Travis Perry, Collin Chandler and Trent Noah. We’re used to Perry becoming legitimate PT in recent weeks, but Noah and Chandler have mainly been relegated to mop-up duties.

Perry usually gives Kentucky solid minutes. He’s not big yet, but he does his job. I was pretty impressed with Noah’s effort since he’s clearly not ready to take on a big role, but you can just tell it means more to him. Chandler, on the other hand, has a long way to go.

Chandler has a lot of potential, but you can tell there’s a lot of rust to shake off after a two-year layoff while doing a mission trip for BYU. It’s okay. It is fine for beginners to take time to develop. BBN is just used to one-and-done style, but I have confidence that he will be a big player for Pope if he is just given some time.

Otega leads Owhh

Otega Oweh stepped up big time and led the way in this game. As has been the case for the majority of this season, he was Kentucky’s best player, and today it was by a wide margin.

Oweh wasn’t just the Cats’ leading scorer. He was also the leading rebounder. He passed the ball well and defended at a high level. The Oklahoma transfer has been a staple of consistency all season on both ends of the court. Owh is a really solid defender and has scored in double figures in every single game this season. He finished with 21 Saturday to go with a team-high 11 rebounds.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough and didn’t do anything in the end.

Now let’s discuss the loss.