Kentucky has a chance to put the pressure on Florida for the top seed in the Sec tournament when they host Vanderbilt on Tuesday night. The Wildcats have won six consecutive games, including taking down the Gators over the weekend, 76-66. The Commodores have won four consecutive games and converted their losing record into a winning season. They have a chance to improve their NCAA Tournament chances with this road test. Tipoff is set for 9:00 PM Eastern time and it can be seen on ESPN, and on the WatchESPN and ESPN mobile apps (subscription required).
Vanderbilt (16-13, 9-7 SEC)
The Commodores find themselves on the tournament bubble in the latest projections. As of Monday, they're the very last team in according to ESPN's Joe Lunardi. That means there's plenty of work to do for Vanderbilt, and luckily they still have time to get an at-large berth. It's pivotal for them to at least look competitive in this matchup. If they are unable to come up with a win, at least they can catch the committee's attention and make a run in the SEC tournament.
While most of the recent wins have been against lackluster teams, the Commodores did pick up a big 71-62 win over South Carolina. Junior guard Matthew Fisher-Davis (15 ppg) led the team off the bench with 17 points and 5 boards.
Riley LaChance (10.1 ppg, 4.1 apg) finished with 14 points, with most of that coming from making three 3-pointers.
No. 9 Kentucky (24-5, 14-2 SEC)
The Wildcats are still fighting for one of the coveted 1 seeds in the big dance. They're currently projected as a 2 seed, which was boosted thanks to their victory over Florida. While the team hasn't been overly impressive this season and especially in a weaker conference, they're still thriving on offense and on the glass -- Kentucky averages 87.8 points (5th nationally) and 40.8 rebounds per game (6th nationally).
Freshman guard Malik Monk (21.5 ppg) was a big part of the victory over Florida, electrifying with 33 points on 9-of-18 shooting. Freshman forward Edrice Adebayo (13.2 ppg, 7.7 rpg) was dominant with 18 points and 15 rebounds, and it was his second consecutive double-double. The Wildcats opened as a 12.5-point favorite, but the line has fallen to 10.5 points in the afternoon before the contest. Kentucky is 16-12 against the spread this season.
