Kentucky is coming off a loss on the road at Texas late on Saturday night, one that some have coined as a “bad loss”, but don’t include me on that list because I don’t. I have coined it more of a “hurt team playing with its remaining pieces”.

A dog in the betting world, the Wildcats would drop the said matchup with the Longhorns in Austin, 82-78, finding their 8th loss of the season.

I believe the ones who feel that it’s a “bad loss” are likely coming from a reactionary standpoint to that blown lead down the final stretch, up by over two possessions with 3 minutes to go. Now that I understand the frustration on, and it’s hard to excuse what happened, but in the reality of things it was a game that you weren’t supposed to win anyways based on team injuries, so it went exactly how many thought it would heading into it. It’s just that once the limited roster was able to own the lead late, the expectations were then changed, creating a let down for the altered expectations.

The recency bias of what you felt during those final minutes can make you quickly forget what you felt like in the hours leading up to the game, which was likely just hoping Kentucky had enough players to suit up and keep it competitive through the night.

With that being said, that game is now past us and Kentucky is hosting the Vanderbilt Commodores tonight, a team they’ve also lost to just a few weeks ago in Nashville. Sitting at 17-8 overall, Kentucky looks to find another SEC win for their resume while also hoping to avoid getting swepted by the ‘Dores this year, a program they are used to beating on an annual basis. Coming into this game, Vanderbilt has lost four of their last 5, with a tough schedule following their Lexington trip, so I’m sure they are just as hungry to grind out the win against a team they feel that they are better than, having beaten them (UK) already. 

Kentucky will be without star guards Lamont Butler (shoulder) and Jaxson Robinson (wrist), just like they were for the Texas game. I assume Travis Perry will be the starting guard again, hopefully finding more rhythm and confidence on his own home floor.

Vanderbilt is led by Jason Edwards, who is currently averaging 17.6 points per game. The game is set to tip at 7:00 PM ET on the SEC Network. The Wildcats are a 4.5-point favorite despite being hurt and also having lost to the Commodores once already this season. I myself am riding with the home team to win also, predicting a final score for 73-66, with the game MVP being Amari Williams.

Other Cats Coverage staff predictions are as followed:

Tim Smith: 84-74, Vanderbilt. MVP – Amari Williams

Ethan Grantz: 92-78, Kentucky. MVP – Amari Williams

Janson Hoskins: 83-78, Vanderbilt. MVP – Trent Noah

Tanin Smith: 94-86, Kentucky. MVP – Amari Williams

Braden Nevius: 79-77, Kentucky. MVP – Brandon Garrison

Nate Unthank: 71-64, Kentucky. MVP – Koby Brea

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