"Anytime you win, there's gratification," said Kentucky coach Tubby Smith. "We're not going to come in here and pound people. We've got good people, and if they overachieve, we'll do a good job."
Drew Maddux scored 16 points and Austin Bates added 12 for the Commodores (11-3, 0-1), who lost for the 115th time in 150 all-time meetings with Kentucky.
After a tip-in by Padgett gave Kentucky a 14-12 lead at the 11:41 mark, the Commodores embarked on a 12-4 run, capped by a 3-pointer from James Strong that provided a 24-18 lead with 6:25 to go. A three by Maddux pushed the lead to 31-23 with 50 seconds left, but Kentucky closed within six before halftime.
Kentucky shot just 29 percent (10-of-35) from the field in the first half, but stayed in the game by outrebounding Vanderbilt, 24-11. The Wildcats allowed just seven rebounds in the second half and held a whopping 57-18 edge overall, grabbing 31 offensive rebounds that led to 27 second-chance points.
"We were mad," said Wildcats guard Allen Edwards. "It wasn't going well in the first half. We didn't shoot well and we tried to press (on offense) when things weren't there. They were well prepared."
"Our rebounding is our Achilles heel," admitted Commodores coach Jan van Breda Kolff. "We haven't had a game where we got outrebounded by more than four or five. It's mind-boggling."
The Wildcats started the second half with a 14-4 burst. Allen Edwards and Padgett had tip-ins before a fast-break basket by Bates gave Vanderbilt a 33-29 edge. Mohammed hit a 6-footer before Padgett drilled a long 3-pointer from the right side to give Kentucky a 34-33 lead. Sheppard drove the lane for a scoop shot, but Billy DiSpaltro hit a four-footer to make it a one-point game. Saul Smith capped the run with a 3-pointer that gave the Wildcats a 39-35 lead with 15:53 remaining.
Vanderbilt closed within 41-40 on a three by Maddux 77 seconds later, but Kentucky scored the next 10 points and the Commodores came no closer than eight points thereafter.
(7) KENTUCKY 71, Vanderbilt 62
VANDERBILT (62)
fg ft rb
min m-a m-a o-t a pf tp
Di Spaltro 29 2-8 0-1 1-3 1 4 4
Maddux 39 5-10 3-3 1-3 5 3 16
Bates 25 5-12 2-4 0-2 0 3 12
Prater 35 3-9 1-1 0-3 7 1 8
Ford 20 2-4 0-0 0-1 0 1 5
Lapointe 16 1-1 0-0 0-0 0 5 3
Langhi 10 1-3 0-0 1-2 1 0 2
Strong 18 3-6 3-3 1-2 0 0 10
Cugini 8 1-1 0-0 1-1 0 0 2
_______________________________________________
TOTALS 200 23-54 9-12 5-17 14 17 62
_______________________________________________
Percentages: FG-.426, FT-.750. 3-Point Goals:
7-19, .368 (Maddux 3-8, Prater 1-5, Ford 1-2,
Lapointe 1-1, Langhi 0-1, Strong 1-2). Team
rebounds: 1. Blocked shots: 3 (Bates, Lapointe,
Strong). Turnovers: 14 (Bates 3, Prater 3, Strong
3, Ford 2, Di Spaltro, Langhi, Maddux). Steals: 9
(Strong 3, Maddux 2, Prater 2, Cugini, Ford).
KENTUCKY (71)
fg ft rb
min m-a m-a o-t a pf tp
Edwards 38 1-9 0-2 5-6 5 1 2
Padgett 25 5-11 2-2 9-14 2 3 13
Mohammed 28 7-11 5-6 5-12 1 3 19
Turner 32 3-9 0-0 0-4 4 3 6
Sheppard 32 6-12 0-1 4-7 0 0 16
Evans 14 3-6 0-0 3-6 0 1 6
Magloire 8 1-5 0-1 0-2 0 3 2
Mills 8 0-3 0-0 2-3 0 1 0
Smith 9 2-3 0-2 0-0 0 1 5
Bradley 6 1-1 0-0 1-1 0 0 2
_______________________________________________
TOTALS 200 29-70 7-14 29-55 12 16 71
_______________________________________________
Percentages: FG-.414, FT-.500. 3-Point Goals:
6-22, .273 (Edwards 0-5, Padgett 1-2, Turner 0-4,
Sheppard 4-6, Evans 0-1, Mills 0-2, Smith 1-2).
Team rebounds: 2. Blocked shots: 6 (Mohammed 3,
Turner 2, Evans). Turnovers: 19 (Turner 5,
Mohammed 4, Sheppard 4, Padgett 3, Mills 2,
Evans). Steals: 7 (Turner 3, Edwards 2, Padgett,
Sheppard).
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Vanderbilt 31 31 - 62
Kentucky 25 46 - 71
__________________________________
Technical fouls: None. A: 24,236. Officials:
Gene Monje, David Day, Willie Guardiola.