That they did. According to Ken Pomeroy, Vandy has the 21st best offense in the country -- but that figure is somewhat misleading because for the first two months of the season, they were without Festus Ezeli, their excellent center. In SEC play the Dores are leading the league in three-point percentage (42.5 percent) and were leading the league in three-point percentage defense (29.5 percent). In the first half of the Nashville game, they had tried switching things up -- going inside to Ezeli in hopes of getting Anthony Davis in foul trouble. That didn't work, so in the second half they had gone back to their traditional formula of quick weaves and lots of three-point shooting. This time they would be running that offense for the whole game.
Coach Calipari, deciding to fight fire with fire, told his players to aggressively go out on Vandy's three-point shooters -- especially John Jenkins and Jeffrey Taylor, who can torch you if they get hot. UK didn't exactly stop Vandy's three-point shooting -- the Dores went 7-18 (38.9 percent) from behind the arc -- but they did contain it somewhat. On the other hand, because UK was chasing so aggressively on the perimeter, the Cats were vulnerable to drives to the basket -- and Vandy picked up 15 points from Ezeli on the inside, as well as 15 more points at the line. (UK was actually lucky here. Vandy only shot 15-23 (65.2 percent) from the line, somewhat below their average, and the Dores missed some huge FT's down the stretch.) It all added up to 74 points for Vanderbilt -- the most points any team has scored against UK all year -- on only 65 possessions. For UK fans, it was a worrying example of the fact that UK's excellent scoring defense is partially the result of playing so many poor-shooting teams in the SEC. Vandy -- like IU and UNC before them -- showed that a good-shooting team can stretch UK's defense and put up big numbers.
But UK doesn't only play defense. In fact, according to Ken Pomeroy, UK's offense (which he had as the 3d most efficient in the country) is actually better than its defense (which KenPom ranks 8th). And Vandy's defense suffers from two problems -- an occasional lack of energy and the fact that point guard Brad Tinsley is simply to slow to guard most of his SEC opponents. Vandy's effort today was outstanding, but Tinsley was still dreadful. Time and time again, Marquis Teague blew past him -- Teague finished with 16 points and 6 assists, one of his best offensive performances of the year. Vandy's aggressive play at the offensive end also occasionally undermined its transition defense, as UK ended up with 16 fast-break points. On the other hand, Vandy did stop UK's three-point shooting -- the Cats went only 2-10 from behind the arc, giving Vandy a 15-point advantage in this key category.
In all, it made for quite a bit of drama. In an unfamiliar, half-empty gym in the first round of the NCAA's, when Vandy's threes are not falling and Jeffrey Taylor's head is hanging down, the Dores do not look impressive. But they are very familiar with Rupp Arena, and Taylor was on today -- he went 8-16 from the field, scored 19 points, and caused Michael Kidd-Gilchrist to foul out. To be honest, when Vandy and Taylor play with the type of energy they showed today, they almost always win. But then again, their opponents are not usually this good.
Unable to rely on its defense -- the Cats gave up 37 points in each half -- UK showed remarkable focus on offense. In the second half, UK shot 17-25 (68.0 percent) from the field, and 11-14 (78.6 percent) from the line -- incredible figures. And when the Cats moved to a 66-56 lead with only 7:47 left, UK finally seemed to have things in hand.
But this was a very emotional day for Vandy, and the Dores refused to give up. A layup from Taylor made the score 66-58, and then Jenkins had a remarkable 7-0 run (two three-pointers and a free throw) of his own to cut the UK lead to 66-65 with only 4:27 to go. (Jenkins actually could have tied the game, but he missed the potential game-tying free throw).
So all of a sudden, the Cats were in trouble again. Kentucky, which had not scored in almost four minutes, pressed and probed Vandy's defense until almost the entire shot clock had run out. With only seconds left, Teague flipped the ball to Anthony Davis, who made a turn-around jump shot to put the Cats up 68-65. It was a spectacular play from Davis, who rarely takes such shots and who surprised the giant crowd with that one.
A free throw by Teague, and both ends of a huge one-and-one by Jones, put the Cats up by six, but a free throw by Ezeli made the score 71-66 with 2:30 left. Ezeli missed his second FT, and the Cats came down on a huge possession. Once again, UK's usual options were covered -- but this time Darius Miller came through with a late jump shot to give UK a 73-66 lead at the two minute mark.
But Vandy still wasn't done. A layup from Jenkins made the score 73-68 with 1:42 remaining. Timeout Vandy. And now UK had the ball, and the Dores were everywhere on defense -- desperately seeking the stop that could get them back in the game. Once again, the shot clock was almost gone when Davis ended up with the ball -- but this time he was some 18 feet from the basket, farther than Ezeli was willing to track him. With the shot clock about to expire, Davis nailed another jumper to give UK a 75-68 lead with 1:06 remaining, and Vandy was never able to seriously threaten again.
Davis's two huge jump shots were the exclamation points on one of the greatest games ever played by any UK freshman -- if not any UK player. In what is almost certainly his next-to-last appearance as a UK player in Rupp, in a nationally-televised game against an ancient rival that was playing about as well as it can play, Davis was the difference in the game. He went 10-11 from the field (including the two big jump shots discussed above, as well as some impressive drives to the basket and at least two thunderous put-back dunks). He also went 8-9 from the line. He scored 28 points, had 11 rebounds, and 5 blocks. The other guys played well -- Jones had 12 points and 6 boards, MKG had 8 points and 8 boards, Miller and Lamb each had 9 big points -- but Davis played at a level that no one else could touch.
On the UK message board after the game, some folks were discussing how Davis compared to the young Sam Bowie -- that is, Bowie before he hurt his knee. I remember young Sam very well, and he was a great player -- but he wasn't close to Davis. Down at Mississippi State, we saw Davis make a steal, drive the length of the court and get the dunk. Against Vandy, he drove to the basket like a guard, hit jump shots like a forward, and made huge free throws as if he had been born in Kentucky. Bowie just didn't have that type of skill. Davis gets a lot of credit for his defense -- as he should -- but, in my opinion, he is the main reason UK's offense has been even better than its defense. He is a great, great player, and it will be extremely emotional on Thursday night when he takes the floor at Rupp for what will almost certainly be his last appearance as a Wildcat.
Of course, it will also be very emotional to say good-bye to Miller, the last survivor of the Gillespie regime, the best high school player from Kentucky in Division I, the player that all of us Kentuckians have rooted for and hoped for so ardently in recent years. In the last few games, Miller has been more aggressive -- as if the approaching end of his college career is freeing him to worry less about his mistakes and to take advantage of his opportunities instead.
So what's the takeaway from this game? Given how well Vandy played, I definitely think it was a very strong performance for the Cats. But it is also a reminder than anything can happen once you get to the tournament. In many ways, the most encouraging thing about this week's tough contests with Mississippi State and Vandy is not that the Cats won, but that they never panicked. That type of mental fortitude will be invaluable come March.
Final note: The Cats are now 14-0 in the SEC, and 28-1 overall. They clinched their 45th SEC regular season crown, and their fourth outright conference title since the national championship year of 1998. The others were in 2003, 2005, and 2010 -- but Pomeroy's analysis says that this year's team is better than each of those teams. We'll hope he's right.
