Kentucky gets payback on Vanderbilt, earns key win for NCAA Tournament hopes
Published:
Kentucky definitely remembered that 25-point blowout loss a month ago in Nashville, and it no doubt also knew Saturday afternoon’s rematch in Lexington served a lot of purposes.
With their NCAA Tournament hopes in serious question going into the final day of February, the Wildcats met the moment and then some at Rupp Arena with a dominating performance in a 91-77 victory over No. 25 Vanderbilt. Kentucky came out of the gates with purpose, taking a 15-point halftime lead and never looking back as it improved to 10-6 in the SEC and passed Vandy in the standings with 1 week to go in the regular season.
Behind 23 points each from Otega Oweh and Collin Chandler, the Wildcats also avoided their 11th loss of the season, getting to 19-10 as they pursue the 20-win plateau in the final games before the crucial SEC Tournament. Denzel Aberdeen added 15 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists for Kentucky, and Malachi Moreno chipped in 11 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists for a UK team that blazed away with 59% shooting from the field and a 50% clip from 3-point territory.
The Wildcats outrebounded the Commodores, 29-22, and were active on defense, registering 8 steals in the victory that avenged Vanderbilt’s 80-55 rout of UK on Jan. 27 in Nashville. Kentucky got one back on its SEC rival on Saturday, dropping the Commodores to 9-7 in the conference and 22-7 overall.
Tyler Tanner paced Vanderbilt with 19 points, 3 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 steals in 38 minutes, but it wasn’t nearly enough, even with the Commodores getting 16 points and 7 rebounds from Jalen Washington off the bench.
Vandy shot well itself on Saturday with a 52% clip from the field, but that didn’t make a difference either, because the Commodores were ice cold from 3-point land, going just 7 of 28 from long distance.
Kentucky will try to keep rolling during the regular season’s final week, with a Tuesday night showdown at Texas A&M (7 p.m. ET, ESPN2).
Meanwhile, Vandy will attempt to get off the mat after Saturday’s clunker, visiting Ole Miss on Tuesday night (9 p.m. ET, SECN+).
Here is Kalshi’s breakdown of the top teams currently in the mix to win the 2026 SEC title:
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
