Kentucky vs Vanderbilt

Recap

Kentucky Men’s Basketball Postgame Notes
Rupp Arena At Central Bank Center | Lexington, Ky
February 19, 2025
Attendance: 20,164

FINAL SCORE: No. 17/21 Kentucky 82, Vanderbilt 61

Team Records and Series Notes

• Kentucky is now 18-8 overall, 7-6 in the Southeastern Conference. Vanderbilt is now 17-9 overall, 5-8 in the league.
• Kentucky leads the series, 158-50, including 87-16 in Lexington.
• Mark Pope is 205-116 as head coach, including 18-8 at Kentucky.
• Next for Kentucky: the Wildcats begin a two-game road swing Saturday at Alabama. Game time is 6 p.m. Eastern (5 p.m. Central in Tuscaloosa) and it will be televised on ESPN.

Team Notes

• Kentucky shot 58 percent from the field tonight, 29 of 50, the highest mark this season against an SEC opponent.
• Tonight is Kentucky’s largest margin of victory against Vanderbilt at home since March 5, 2003 (62 points)
• Kentucky made all 13 free throw attempts, which ties for the fifth-most attempts in school history for a perfect night at the foul line.
  • 19 of 19 vs. Mississippi State, Feb. 8, 1983
  • 19 of 19 vs. Duke, March 3, 1930
  • 18 of 18 vs. Austin Peay, Dec. 19, 2009
  • 18-of-18 vs Utah, March 3, 2003
  • 13 of 13 at Ole Miss, Jan. 28, 1989
• Kentucky limited Vanderbilt to 20 percent on 3-point shooting, making 5 of 25.
  • UK opponents have made only 17 of 88 on long balls in the last four games (19.3 percent), with the Wildcats winning three of those four.
  • UK is 12-1 this season when the opponent makes less than 25 percent.
• With Lamont Butler, Jaxson Robinson and Kerr Kriisa out tonight, UK has played only seven games this season at full strength.

Player Notes  

• Otega Oweh led the Wildcats with 20 points, his eighth 20-point game of the season.
  • He also led the team with seven rebounds and tied for the team best in assists with three. He became the second player this season to lead the team in those three categories in the same game (also Amari Williams vs. Arkansas).
  • He has scored in double figures in every game this season (26), the only SEC player to do so and one of 11 (entering tonight) in Division I.
  • He has UK’s longest double-figure streak since Malik Monk did so in 30 consecutive games in 2016-17.
• Amari Williams enjoyed a perfect night of shooting, making all six field goal attempts and all five foul shots for a total of 17 points.
  • He added six rebounds and tied his season high for blocked shots with four.
  • His 6-of-6 from the field and 5-of-5 from the free throw line ties him for the second most FGAs in a game in which a UK player shot perfect from both the field and free throw line. First is Rodney Dent’s seven field goal attempts against South Carolina in 1993
• Koby Breahad 12 points, including 3 of 4 on 3-pointers.  UK is 10-0 this season when he makes at least three 3s
• Andrew Carr had 11 points, the most points he has scored since returning from his back injury.
• Collin Chandler had season bests with seven points and six rebounds. He also tied his season high for steals with two.

In the First Half

• Kentucky’s starters were Travis Perry, Koby Brea, Otega Oweh, Andrew Carrand Amari Williams, the first time this lineup has been used.
• Collin Chandler was UK’s first substitution at 16:41.
• The teams battled evenly during the half with UK taking a 41-40 edge at intermission.
  • Oweh led the Wildcats with 11 points.
  • UK is now 15-1 this season when leading at halftime.

In the Second Half

• Kentucky began the second half with the starters.
• Kentucky scored the first six points of the half, prompting a VU timeout at 17:17.
• A nine-point spurt gave UK its then-largest lead of the game at 56-44 and VU called time at 12:53.
• Kentucky extended its then-largest lead to 66-51 on a Carr dunk with 7:46 left.
• At the media timeout at 6:51, a goaltending call against Williams was reversed, moving the score to 66-52.
• Kentucky moved its largest lead to 24, 82-58, with 1:40 left.