Wilcats and Vandy playing for SEC lead

Wilcats and Vandy playing for SEC lead

By LARRY VAUGHT
larry@amnews.com
February 19, 2010

LEXINGTON — Kentucky is the nation’s second-ranked team, but if it loses Saturday at Vanderbilt it no longer will be the No. 1 team in the Southeastern Conference.

The 17th-ranked Commodores (20-5, 9-2 SEC) did their part to set up the SEC showdown by beating host Mississippi 82-78 Thursday night behind 27 points from A.J. Ogilvy.

Kentucky (25-1, 10-1) beat Vanderbilt 85-72 earlier this season in Rupp Arena when DeMarcus Cousins had 21 points and 10 rebounds and was practically unstoppable inside early in the game.

Kentucky junior Patrick Patterson said the game plan then was to go to Cousins early to set a physical tone for the game.

“We knew we had an advantage with him down low. Ogilvy is a big guy, Festus Ezeli is a big guy, but DeMarcus also is a big guy who can move his feet on offense, and he has a tremendous range of offensive skill. We wanted to use that to our advantage and get him established, and that is exactly what we did,” Patterson said.

“We played tremendous defense against them in that game and ran the ball up and down the court. Coach (John Calipari) has told us all year that Vanderbilt has talent and is physical and strong. We were a little sluggish the second half, but we got the win and that’s all we want to do again in Nashville.”

Vanderbilt, which has lost only to Kentucky and Georgia in its last 16 games, used a familiar formula to win at Ole Miss. The Commodores are averaging 31 free throws per game in SEC play due to their inside game, and they shot 34 at Mississippi. Vanderbilt hit 19 of 22 free throws in the final six minutes. Ogilvy was 11 for 13 at the foul line, while point guard Jermaine Beal was 9 for 10 and had 14 points.

Key players back in action

Vanderbilt also got two key players — Andre Walker and John Jenkins — back in action. Jenkins had missed two games due to illness while Walker had missed one game with what coach Kevin Stallings described as a “stinger.”

“They are both important to our team. They bring different things to the game. They are both good passers, good scorers, good team guys. Obviously, our depth gets better when they are available. They bring a lot to the table. It is not just one thing. There are a number of things they do to make our team better and we need them,” Stallings said.

Walker had only two points and one rebound while fouling out in seven minutes of play. Jenkins played 23 minutes and had eight points on 3-for-7 shooting. However, Stallings doesn’t worry about Jenkins’ accuracy.

“He is an awfully good shooter. I know he’s pretty accurate,” the Vanderbilt coach said. “We try to get him shots. He’s a very gifted shooter and we need him down the stretch.”

Vanderbilt has a balanced offense. Beal leads the team in scoring, averaging 14.8 points per contest. Jeffery Taylor is next at 13.9 points per game with Ogilvy (13.3) and Jenkins (10.4) also averaging double figures.

Stallings knows rebounding likely will be a key for his team.

“When they play and they shoot well, they are obviously very difficult to deal with,” Stallings said. “Cousins is obviously a terrific player. He really had his way with us until he got in foul trouble. But Patterson is also a load to handle. They just have a great team that is very, very hard to beat.”

Yet Mississippi State took the Wildcats into overtime Tuesday before losing even though the Bulldogs’ leading scorer was suspended and its best all-around player, center Jarvis Varnado, played only 23 minutes because of foul trouble.

Mississippi State played primarily man-to-man defense before Varnado’s foul trouble forced it to play more zone. Vanderbilt likely will go with more zone defense.

“We are playing more zone because either teams we are playing are better in their man offense or their might be matchup problems and we are trying to cover our deficiencies,” Stallings said.

Kentucky at Vanderbilt

6 p.m. Saturday, Nashville, Tenn.

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■ LAST MEETING (1-30-10)

Kentucky 85-72

■ PROJECTED STARTERS

Kentucky Wildcats (25-1, 10-1 SEC)

F Patrick Patterson 6-9 Jr. 14.8 7.4

C DeMarcus Cousins 6-11 Fr. 16.0 10.3

G Eric Bledsoe 6-1 Fr. 10.8 3.0

G John Wall 6-4 Fr. 17.0 4.1

G Darnell Dodson 6-7 So. 7.0 2.6

Vanderbilt Commodores (20-5, 9-2 SEC)

F Andre Walker 6-7 So. 5.9 5.4

F Jeffery Taylor 6-7 So. 14.1 5.4

C A.J. Ogilvy 6-11 Jr. 13.9 6.1

G Jermaine Beal 6-3 Sr. 14.7 2.5

G Brad Tinsley 6-3 So. 7.7 2.7


http://www.amnews.com/stories/2010/02/19/uks.599026.sto