Kentucky to Face Unexpected Opponent in SEC Tournament Quarterfinals

Oscar Tshiebwe had a double-double in each of Kentucky's two wins over Vanderbilt this season. (Photo by UK Athletics)

Heading into this week’s Southeastern Conference Tournament, many expected the No. 3 seed Kentucky Wildcats to play the No. 6 seed Alabama Crimson Tide in the quarterfinals. However, before the Crimson Tide could have their shot of a third matchup with Kentucky, they had to best the Vanderbilt Commodores first in Thursday night’s Second Round.

Despite a 10-point lead at halftime, Alabama fell apart in the second half and was upset 82-76 by Vanderbilt. It’s relatively unusual to see a team out-rebound their opponent by 18 and lose. However, Alabama’s missed opportunities from behind the arc (23%), the free-throw line (59%) and committing 18 turnovers outweighed their hustle on the glass to send them home early.

Now, Vanderbilt quickly turns around for a third consecutive night as they move on to the quarterfinals for an unexpected matchup with Kentucky. The Commodores played on Wednesday night vs. Georgia, Thursday night vs. Alabama and will now suit up Friday night for their matchup with the Wildcats. While Vanderbilt will be on short rest with two games played in as many days, Kentucky head coach John Calipari says this is a matchup he would have preferred not to see.

“Tough matchup,” Calipari said on a Zoom call following Vanderbilt’s victory over Alabama. “When you get in these environments, if a guy can go put up 40, you’re probably losing.”

Calipari was referencing Vanderbilt star Scottie Pippen Jr. who is having a stellar tournament so far, averaging 20 points per game over the first two rounds. While his team didn’t win either regular season contest against Kentucky, Pippen Jr. also had success scoring the basketball against the Wildcats this year. He averaged 32.5 points in the Commodores’ two losses. There isn’t any doubt that Kentucky will prepare a game plan to send as many defenders his way as they can.

Following his team’s win over Alabama, Vanderbilt head coach Jerry Stackhouse said his team will have a chip on their shoulder when they tip-off with Kentucky.

“They’ve beaten us twice,” Stackhouse said. “Haven’t beat them since I have been here, so a little bit of payback going into this game with a chip on our shoulder. A little bit of momentum we have, so it’s good to see them again and excited about it.”

All eyes in Amalie Arena will be on National Player of the Year Oscar Tshiebwe. Kentucky’s big man averaged 20.5 points and 15 rebounds in his two games against the Commodores this season. As we saw on Thursday night, Vanderbilt isn’t the best rebounding team in the country — let alone the SEC Tournament — putting Tshiebwe in position for another big-time performance. Kentucky finished No. 1 in the country this year for rebounding margin while Vanderbilt finished 219th.

While Tshiebwe is and has been the team’s anchor for the entire season, Friday night’s game could come down to how Kentucky’s guards defend Pippen Jr. As Calipari referenced, a player having a monster night on offense can very well send your team home early in a tournament like this. Alabama also out-rebounded Vanderbilt, but fired up the bus earlier than expected following 26 points from the Vanderbilt star. Expect Kentucky to send the “kitchen sink” defense of Davion Mintz, Kellan Grady, Sahvir Wheeler, Tyty Washington and possibly even Bryce Hopkins his way.

While Vanderbilt is 2-0 in their last two SEC Tournament matchups with Kentucky, history won’t be on their side come Friday night. Since 2013, a team seeded 11-14 has advanced to the semifinals just one time (Auburn in 2015) and it took a three-point, overtime win in the quarterfinals to do it.

The Wildcats opened as -11.5 favorites over the Commodores, relaying that the oddsmakers don’t expect the game to be very close. However, it’s March Madness and in the SEC Tournament anything is possible. Tip-off for Kentucky vs. Vanderbilt will be 25 minutes after Tennessee and Mississippi State conclude with TV coverage on the SEC Network.