The Kentucky Wildcats pummeled the Vanderbilt Commodores by a score of 82-61 in Lexington on Wednesday night.

The Cats apparently did not take Saturday’s loss lightly, as they came out firing in this one. Kentucky scored 21 points in less than six minutes of play. That’s the good news.

The bad news is that Vanderbilt scored 17, so it wasn’t as exciting as it may seem. The two teams traded blows before Kentucky took a 41-40 lead into the half.

After the break, the Cats opened with an 18-6 run that propelled them to an absolutely dominating showing. The offense was humming. The defense finally stepped up. And they got contributions from everyone who stepped on the floor. Kentucky ended up running the Commodores out of the gym.

This was a must-win game following Saturday’s performance, especially with the upcoming schedule, and Mark Pope’s squad answered the call in impressive fashion.

Next up, the Cats will travel to Tuscaloosa to take on the Alabama Crimson Tide on Saturday night.

A new starting lineup

Another game, another new starting lineup. Andrew Carr made his way back into the starting lineup for the first time since January 18th against the Crimson Tide.

Ansley Almonor, who had been playing really well, found himself on the bench to start the game. As many of you surely remember, Almonor played great in Carr’s absence the last time these two teams met in Nashville a few weeks ago.

Pope must’ve seen something that the rest of us couldn’t because Carr simply hasn’t been the same player since he suffered a back injury, while Almonor has provided a lot for the Cats in the meantime. It looks like Pope made the right decision because Carr looked better in this game than he has in some time.

Carr started alongside Travis Perry, Otega Oweh, Koby Brea, and Amari Williams.

Oweh and Williams dominate

Otega Oweh has been Kentucky’s most consistent player all season long. Amari Williams has been an extremely impactful player for the Cats, but we haven’t seen him consistently dominate the way he should.

Oweh extended his SEC-leading streak of scoring 10-plus points to 26 games (every game this season) in this one. That also happens to be the longest such streak since Malik Monk did it in 30 straight games back in the 2016-17 season.

The Oklahoma transfer attacked the basket at will. Vandy had no answer. Oweh scored or got to the line more often than not. He also played some really good defense, and he passed and rebounded well, too.

Williams has been on a heck of a run himself. All season long it appeared that BBN had faith in Williams’ ability to dominate opponents, but it looks like he’s finally figured it out for himself. The Drexel transfer has been playing some incredible basketball of late, and this game was no different.

The senior big man bullied opposing players in the paint. He blocked a lot of shots. And he did what he usually does on the glass and helped initiate Kentucky’s offense. If Kentucky can get healthy and Williams can keep up his recent run, coupled with the extra contributions from the freshmen, these Cats are going to be difficult to beat in March.

Chandler comes to life

Collin Chandler has been a bit of an enigma in his freshman season. He’s shown flashes, but it’s been more bad than good.

Perry and Trent Noah had rightfully taken the freshmen spotlight, but you can see the light coming on for Chandler. He’s found a role with his ability to defend, especially with recent injuries, but he really came to life on the offensive end in this game.

The freshman guard scored a career-high seven points, while playing solid defense, really hitting the glass, and finding open teammates. The rust may finally be wearing off after two years away from basketball, and that’s an exciting prospect.

Kentucky is in survival mode right now. Every win without Lamont Butler and/or Jaxson Robinson just means a little more. It’s even more fun when the Cats can get revenge on an opponent that beat them earlier in the season.

Just keep finding ways to win. Go CATS!