Vandy shoots for fourth straight win against Kentucky

The defending national champion Gators (25-3, 12-1 SEC) clinched the overall and Eastern Division titles by beating South Carolina Wednesday night.

So when No. 17 Vanderbilt hosts Kentucky on Sunday, the two teams will be battling for second place in the East to ensure a first-round bye in the league tournament.

With three regular-seasons games left, Vanderbilt (18-9) and Kentucky (19-8) enter their second meeting of the year with 8-5 conference records.

Kentucky coach Tubby Smith recalled how difficult it was for the Wildcats last season when they finished third in the division and had to play on the first day of the tournament.

“That’s the most important thing, to get that bye,” Smith said. “There is nothing more important than getting that extra day of practice or rest.”

For the Wildcats, there is also the added incentive of halting a three-game losing streak to the Commodores, who are 6-0 at Memorial Gymnasium this season.

Vanderbilt beat Kentucky 72-67 at Rupp Arena on Jan. 20, snapping the Wildcats’ 11-game win streak.

“You don’t want to say it, you don’t want to believe it,” Kentucky guard Ramel Bradley said of the losses to Vanderbilt. “But it’s reality, so we’re just going to stop this madness that’s going on and go down there and get a win.”

After trailing at halftime for a fourth straight game, the Wildcats beat LSU at home Tuesday night to end a three-game losing streak.

The Commodores are coming off a 13-point loss at Mississippi State that followed the team’s upset of then-No. 1 Florida on Feb. 17.

The last three meetings between Vanderbilt and Kentucky have been decided by five points or less.

Kentucky has had a difficult time matching up with Vandy’s two leading scorers, athletic wing players Derrick Byars (16.9 points) and Shan Foster (14.9 points).

In the three victories against Kentucky, Byars has averaged 17.3 points and Foster 16.

Vandy leads the SEC in average assists (17.1), made 3-pointers (9) and free throw shooting (71.7 percent) and is third in the league in 3-point field goal percentage (37.8 percent).

“We’ve got to find a way to guard their 3-point shooting because that’s what hurt us here, also their second-chance opportunities,” Smith said. “They’ve got a lot of weapons that we need to shut down.”

When the teams met in January, Vandy big men Ross Nelter and Ted Skuchas helped contain Kentucky center Randolph Morris, who leads the Wildcats with 15.7 points and 7.7 rebounds per game.

Morris, who joined the 1,000-point club with 18 points against LSU, took only eight shots and finished with 11 points and seven rebounds against Vanderbilt.

“We’re getting some good, solid play out of Randolph,” Smith said. “If we can get that type of play out of him in Nashville, it will be very beneficial.”

A fourth straight win for Vanderbilt would tie the team’s longest win streak against Kentucky in series history and give the team its most wins in league play since 1997 when the Commodores finished 9-7.

“There’s a lot at stake,” Vanderbilt coach Kevin Stallings said. “We’ve had some extremely hard fought games with them.”