College basketball final: No. 17 Kentucky Wildcats 109, Vanderbilt Commodores 77

Hoping to snap a two-game losing streak, Kentucky men’s basketball travels to Memorial Gymnasium to face the Vanderbilt Commodores in an SEC contest at 8:30 p.m. Tuesday.

The SEC Network has the television coverage with Dave Neal and Jon Sundvold.

Ben Roberts and yours truly will be providing updates from Music City. You can follow us individually on Twitter/X at @BenRobertsHL and @johnclayiv.

Or you can follow a dedicated Twitter/X list by clicking here.

Final: Kentucky 109, Vanderbilt 77

Antonio Reeves led the way with 24 points and Rob Dillingham contributed 20 as the Wildcats improved to 16-6 overall and 6-4 in the SEC. Vanderbilt dropped to 6-16 overall and 1-8 in the SEC.

Kentucky plays host to Gonzaga on Saturday at 4 p.m. ET at Rupp Arena.

2H at 3:48 - Kentucky 100, Vanderbilt 72

Jordan Burks got the dunk with 3:56 mark off a Adou Thiero assist to put the Cats at the century mark. Antonio Reeves leads UK with 24 points. Rob Dillingham has 20. Justin Edwards has 17 points in 20 minutes.

2H at 7:40 - Kentucky 87, Vanderbilt 65

Points in paint: Kentucky 36-12.

Fast-break points: Kentucky 22-6.

2H at 11:56 - Kentucky 72, Vanderbilt 54

Antonio Reeves is up to 24 points. Zvonimir Ivisic has nine points and six rebounds in eight minutes. The Cats are just 2 of 7 from 3-point territory this half, but 12 of 21 for the game. Vandy has made four of nine shots this half but the Commodores still trail by 18.

2H at 15:57 - Kentucky 63, Vanderbilt 46

UK’s Antonio Reeves continues to be red-hot from the floor. Reeves is 8-for-12 overall, including 5-for-6 from 3 for 21 points. As a team, the Cats have cooled off a bit. They’ve missed six of their nine shots so far this half.

Halftime: Kentucky 54, Vanderbilt 38

UK hit 10 of its 14 3-point attempts in the first half to swamp the Commodores. Antonio Reeves was 4-for-5 from 3-point range. Rob Dillingham was 3-for-3. Reed Sheppard and Justin Edwards were both 1-for-2 from behind the arc.

Kentucky was 21-for-36 from the field overall for 58.3%. Vanderbilt shot 13-for-34 for 38.2%. The Commodores were 5-for-16 from 3-point territory.

Reeves led UK with 16 points. Dillingham poured in 13.

Kentucky enjoyed a 25-14 edge on the boards. Zvonimir Ivisic led UK with four rebounds before picking up his third foul.

First half box

1H at 2:36 - Kentucky 52, Vanderbilt 30

Big Z with seven points and four rebounds in four minutes before picking up his third foul at the 4:07 mark. Cats remain red-hot from 3-point range. Reed Sheppard and Antonio Reeves add to the 3-point parade, bringing Kentucky to a scorching 10-for-12 from beyond the arc. And when Jordan Burks hit a floater in the lane, Calipari raised his fists up in the air.

1H at 6:42 - Kentucky 42, Vanderbilt 22

Kentucky 8-for-10 from 3-point land after Reeves hit back-to-back triples at the 7:40 mark and 6:47 mark. Vandy coach Jerry Stackhouse calls a timeout.

1H at 7:59 - Kentucky 34, Vanderbilt 22

UK has a 13-8 edge on the board over the Commodores. Ugonna Onyenso has three rebounds to lead the Cats’ cause. Rob Dillingham up to 13 points. He went coast-to-coast for a score at 10:43. Later, he tossed a perfect lob to Aaron Bradshaw for a dunk at 8:31. UK is 13-for-23 from the floor for 56.5%. Vandy is 8-for-19 for 42.1%.

1H at 11:38 - Kentucky 25, Vanderbilt 15

Big Z makes an appearance and scores on a put-back, then buries a 3 from the top of the key at the 11:59 mark. Vandy heating up a bit. Commodores have made five of their last seven shots. Rob Dillingham leads all scorers with nine points.

1H at 14:38 - Kentucky 15, Vanderbilt 8

Playing without Tre Mitchell and D.J. Wagner, Kentucky came out hot. The Cats made three of their first four 3-point shots. Off the bench, Rob Dillingham buried a pair of 3s. Justin Edwards is 1-for-2 from beyond the arc. UK is 6-for-10 from the floor. Vandy is 3-for-10.

Pregame notes

▪ Kentucky is 15-6 overall and 5-4 in the SEC after its 103-92 loss to Tennessee on Saturday. The Cats allowed 100 points in a game at Rupp Arena for the first time since 2008 and to an SEC opponent for the first time since 1992.

▪ Vanderbilt is 6-15 overall and 1-7 in the SEC after a 68-61 victory over Missouri on Saturday in Nashville. Ezra Manjon led the Commodores with 17 points. Freshman Isaiah West made four 3-pointers to match his career-high of 12 points.

▪ Vandy has won its last two games with Kentucky, beating UK 68-66 in Rupp Arena, then 80-73 in the SEC Tournament.

▪ Vanderbilt led Tennessee 35-30 at the half before losing to the Volunteers 75-62 on Jan. 27.

▪ Kentucky is currently ranked 27th by kenpom in adjusted overall efficiency. The Wildcats are seventh in adjusted offensive efficiency and 103rd in defensive efficiency.

▪ Vanderbilt is 186th in adjusted overall efficiency. The Commodores are 234th in adjusted offensive efficiency and 161st in adjusted defensive efficiency.

▪ Vandy is 348th in 3-point field goal percentage at 28.0% and 327th in 3-point defense at 36.7%.

▪ Kentucky is 27th in the latest NCAA NET rankings. Vanderbilt is 225th in those rankings.

▪ Tuesday’s game qualifies as a Quad 3 game (road game vs. No. 136-240) for Kentucky. The Wildcats are currently 4-1 in Quad 3 games. The one loss was the home loss to UNC Wilmington, currently ranked No. 115 in the NET.

▪ Tuesday’s game qualifies as a Quad 1 game (home game vs. No. 1-30) for Vanderbilt. The Commodores are 0-7 in Quad 1 games.

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