The Vanderbilt Commodores stay red hot, as they scored a ticket to the quarterfinals round of the SEC tournament by taking down the LSU Tigers in the second round Thursday, 77-68. With that win, the Commodores will be meeting the Kentucky Wildcats for the third time this season. Vanderbilt lost the first matchup back in January, 69-53, but avenged that defeat by upsetting Kentucky Basketball in Lexington on Mar. 1, 68-66.
Kentucky basketball assistant Orlando Antigua knows how dangerous Vanderbilt is at the moment, with the Commodores now on a four-game win streak, dating back to the regular season.
Antigua said Vanderbilt is “probably the hottest team in the country,” via Kyle Tucker of The Athletic. “They’ll be locked in,” Antigua added.
Vanderbilt lost six of its first nine games in SEC play but turned it on in the latter portion of the regular season, which included a five-game win streak. The Commodores have now won nine of their last 10 games but still would probably need a win over Kentucky basketball and another one to at least get a look from the committee on Selection Sunday. At the moment, Vanderbilt is only 82nd in the NET rankings. Of course, Vanderbilt would rather win it all in the SEC tournament to lock up a spot in the NCAA tournament.
Kentucky basketball finished the regular season with a 12-6 conference record to earn the No. 3 seed and byes in the first and second rounds of the SEC tournament. In their most recent outing, the Wildcats beat the Arkansas Razorbacks on the road last Saturday.
