Even ranked at No.23, the Kentucky Wildcats are not the threat they were a season ago. The Wildcats have struggled with four losses on the season as inconsistencies continue to plague the young roster. They already have two losses in the SEC while being ranked their lowest since 2013. Now they prepare for a matchup against the Vanderbilt Commodores who are capable of pulling off an upset on the road.
Kentucky is once again filled with a lot of youth that have struggled to put it all together this year. Now they run in danger of falling out of the Top 25. While most of the roster is filled with the top recruits in the nation, experience is not working in the team's favor. Head coach John Calipari believes that his team can get really good, but they simply are not developed enough just yet.
Kentucky is coming off a nice win over Arkansas where Tyler Ulis scored a career-high 24 points while Jamal Murray had 19. Derek Willis got his first start of the season and put up 12 points. The team looked balanced and held the Razorbacks in check defensively, but can they maintain the momentum? The team did go 5 of 16 from beyond the arc while shooting 32.4 percent in conference play from 3-point range. That has not paired well with their struggles shooting inside. Vanderbilt has the defense to stop Kentucky as they are holding opponents to just 27 percent shooting from beyond the arc.
Vanderbilt is not a David in this David vs. Goliath matchup. The Commodores have talent on the roster and balance on the court. Their frontcourt of Damian Jones and Josh Henderson both reach above 7-feet tall. Luke Kornet is now back since returning from a torn MCL. He has been a double-double machine while Vanderbilt has won their last three games. The Commodores last win against Kentucky came in the 2012 SEC Championship game. However, the team is 0-12 against Top 25 teams.
For Kentucky, they benefit from homecourt advantage. The team has won 30 straight games at Rupp Arena and will look to use the crowd to their advantage against Vanderbilt.