Why Kentucky’s Victory at Vandy was Special

OK! We have our first road win of the year in the books.

Try to ignore the last five minutes of the game where the team “let go of the rope” according to John Calipari, but the 35 minutes prior to the end at Vandy were a lot of fun to watch and showed us something that we didn’t get to see last year.

Kentucky led by as many as 28 against a Commodore team that hasn’t lost a game by more than 12 points and had quality wins over BYU on a neutral court and at Arkansas.

This team is not only talented, but it has grit. That grittiness allows them to find ways to win.

With Sahvir Wheeler still out with a neck injury, freshman TyTy Washington once again moved to the point position. For the second game in the row, this versatility and flexibility enabled the team to continue to run, allowed others to step in and find their space, and when it was all said and done, once again the Cats had won in impressive fashion.

Rolling over the Vanderbilt Commodores in Nashville can be tough, and one of the players that was perhaps too easy to overlook but has proven to be invaluable over the last stretch of games is sixth-year senior Davion Mintz.

Sliding into the backcourt alongside of Washington, Mintz not only helped handle the ball but added nine points, all beyond the arc. Over the last four games, he has found his stroke and is averaging 14.5 points per game.

The pieces are in place for Coach Cal to get what he is looking for on the court each night. Somewhere between 75-80 points and the ability to play multiple guards in this AirCal style run run and gun offensive scheme that can light things up from outside, slash inside, and find the bigs in the middle of the floor.

A lot of things have to happen to win the SEC ,and one of them is learning to win on the road. The first box is now checked, and there are many more to come, but once again, this team is fun to watch and looks to be in the hunt to do something special.