NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Cason Wallace returned to the court, Kentucky jumped out to a double-digit lead in the game’s opening minutes, and it didn’t matter for the Wildcats in the end.
Vanderbilt defeated UK for the second time in nine days, this time besting the Cats, 80-73, in the Southeastern Conference tournament quarterfinals Friday to send them back to Lexington with a one-and-done trip to the league’s postseason event.
Wallace, the Wildcats’ starting point guard and projected NBA lottery pick, missed Kentucky’s regular-season finale at Arkansas on Saturday after turning his ankle in the team’s home finale against Vanderbilt three days earlier. Wallace left the Rupp Arena court early in the second half of that game and never returned. Vandy ultimately beat the Cats, 68-66, to halt a four-game winning streak.
Kentucky managed to upset Arkansas in Bud Walton Arena on Saturday, and Wallace’s return to the UK lineup Friday night brought high hopes that the Cats could make a run in the SEC tournament.
That didn’t happen. And UK will now go at least six years without a trip to the SEC title game. The Cats last made the tournament championship in 2018, when they won it for the fourth consecutive year. Since then, they’ve lost in the quarterfinals twice and the semifinals twice, with the 2020 tournament being canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
With Wallace back in the starting lineup Friday night, the Cats took a 14-4 lead over Vanderbilt less than seven minutes into the game, dominating the boards and energizing a Bridgestone Arena crowd that was more than three-quarters in Kentucky’s favor (despite playing in Vandy’s hometown).
The Cats led for 15 straight minutes in the first half before Vanderbilt took a 36-34 lead with 32 seconds left in the period. Jordan Wright, who hit the game-winner in Rupp Arena nine days earlier, then nailed a 3-pointer just before the first-half buzzer to send Vandy into the halftime locker room with a 39-34 lead.
The Commodores extended their advantage to 11 points before the first TV timeout of the second half, and Kentucky was in catch-up mode for the rest of the night.
After falling behind 49-38, the Cats managed to hit five consecutive shots, but they struggled to stop Vandy on the other end and were still down 54-48 at the end of that flurry. UK got within three points just once in the second half, and that lasted only 32 seconds before Vanderbilt extended the lead back to six.
Vandy was 18 for 20 on free throws. Kentucky was just 11 for 20 from the line.
Antonio Reeves (22 points), Jacob Toppin (21 points and 11 rebounds) and Oscar Tshiebwe (19 points and 15 rebounds) led the way for the Wildcats. Tshiebwe also received a Flagrant 1 for the second consecutive game after making contact with a Vanderbilt player’s face during a scrum under the basket. He had a similar incident Saturday against Arkansas.
Wallace tallied seven points, four rebounds, five assists and three steals in his return to the court. He played the entire first half and sat for just two minutes and 31 seconds in the second half.
Kentucky, which was projected as a 6 seed for the NCAA Tournament entering the weekend, will now await its fate on Selection Sunday. UK is expected to be no worse than a 7 seed.
Vanderbilt will play Texas A&M in the Saturday semifinals, with top-seeded Alabama playing Missouri in the other semifinal game. The SEC title game is set for 1 p.m. Sunday on ESPN.
UK will go into the NCAA Tournament with a 21-11 record.
