It was deja vu for fans at Rupp Arena as Vanderbilt hit three straight 3-pointers and started the game up 13-4 over Kentucky.
Nick Richards provided a minor spark after replacing Reid Travis. He threw down a dunk and forced a couple of Vanderbilt turnovers. UK closed the deficit to 19-12 with 11:58 to go in the first half.
The Commodores started to cool down from beyond the arc. Immanuel Quickley hits a couple of big three’s, including one that pulls UK to within 22-19 with 7:54 left in the opening half.
Kentucky slowly starts to close the gap with back-to-back buckets from Keldon Johnson and PJ Washington. The Wildcats now trail 27-24 with 3:37 left in the first half. They’ve trailed the entire game.
Tyler Herro tied the game up at 28 with just over a minute to play in the half, but Vanderbilt went to the locker room with a 30-28 halftime lead. No one for UK scored in double figures. Keldon Johnson led the way in the first half with 8 points on 4-6 shooting.
