Final: Kentucky 73, Vanderbilt 67
From a fans perspective, the best part of SEC basketball is how competitive conference play is. On any given night a team with a 9-7 conference record like Vanderbilt can come out and give a top ten nationally ranked squad like Kentucky a run for their money. Obviously, thats exactly what happened tonight at Kentucky’s senior night game at Rupp Arena.
Vanderbilt, who were 10.5 point under dogs at tip off came storming out the gate and didn’t even allow Kentucky a lead until late in the second half. At one point the Wildcats faced a 19 point deficit, and seemed to have no solution for Vanderbilt’s offense. The Commodores were led by senior forward Luke Kornet who finished with 21 points. However, momentum completely shifted in the second half as Kentucky outscored Vanderbilt 49 to 37 providing the Wildcats with a 73-67 victory. I personally believe it was Malik Monk’s second half performance that turned this game around. While he didn’t really share the ball much (1 assist), his 27 total points were absolutely the difference maker in this game. No doubt Monk is a bit of a ball hog, but I’ll be damned if he isn’t one of the most exciting players to watch in college basketball, especially when he takes a game over. Tonight proved that.
Malik Monk Takeover Mode has been initiated. pic.twitter.com/Pt52a2QNE9
— Scott Charlton (@Scott_Charlton) March 1, 2017
Malik Monk’s 3 pointer makes Coach Cal go double stiff leg. pic.twitter.com/WU0moDRfnC
— Scott Charlton (@Scott_Charlton) March 1, 2017
Coach Cal was sweating for a little bit, but once Monk hit his stride the Wildcats were able to gradually take control of the game. It’s the SEC so scrappy games are to be expected, but this one was extremely tight. It makes one wonder if a close game against a “mediocre” team like Vandy could potentially hurt Kentucky’s seeding in March. On the other hand, this could also justify the strength of the conference to the committee and potentially help the SEC as a whole when it comes to making The Big Dance. We will just have to wait and see.
Bonus Observation:
Kentucky went 20 for 26 at the free throw line in the matchup. That stat might not mean much to the vanilla sports fan, but if you are a gambler (like someone else I know) and had Vanderbilt at +10.5…those 6 free throws were the most important bricks of the night.