Kentucky @ Vanderbilt preview

Last Meeting ( Feb 28, 2017 ) Vanderbilt 67, Kentucky 73

John Calipari knows his Kentucky basketball team remains a work in progress, but entering Saturday’s trip to Vanderbilt the coach also recognizes he is seeing signs of progress. The No. 20 Wildcats showed moxie in rallying from six points down in Tuesday’s 74-73 home victory over Texas A&M, a game in which Calipari played just eight players and relied on PJ Washington’s four points and critical steal in the final 2:28 to hold off the Aggies.

“We got closer,” Calipari told reporters after the Wildcats survived their fourth consecutive SEC game decided by nine points or fewer. “Every team that plays us is going to have a chance.” While Kentucky has found a way to win three times in conference play -- albeit by a combined total of nine points -- the Commodores could not hold a 10-point lead in the second half to fall 92-84 at home to No. 23 Tennessee on Tuesday. Vanderbilt struggled at the 3-point line (3-of-11 in the second half) and shot 15-of-22 from the free-throw line overall to lose despite scoring a season-high in points in SEC play. “Tale of two halves again for us,” Vanderbilt coach Bryce Drew told the media afterward. “Unfortunately, the bad one was in the second half.”

TV: 4 p.m. ET, ESPN

ABOUT KENTUCKY (13-3, 3-1 SEC): The Wildcats shot 55.8 percent from the field in Tuesday’s victory and entered Thursday third in the SEC and 35th in the nation in shooting from the field (48.6 percent). Washington played only 23 minutes against Tennessee last Saturday due to cramps but responded Tuesday with 16 points while freshman Shai Gilgeous-Alexander added 16 points, a career-high seven rebounds and five assists in 39 minutes. Freshman Hamidou Diallo hit 6-of-9 shots from the field in scoring 18 points against the Aggies, after combining for 22 points in his previous three games.

ABOUT VANDERBILT (6-10, 1-3 SEC): The Commodores, the league’s top-shooting 3-point team a season ago, have struggled with consistency all season and are shooting 33.3 percent from long range but just 41.6 percent overall (309th nationally). Leading scorer Jeff Roberson (14.8 points per game) finished with 19 points against Tennessee and is averaging 16.8 in his past six contests. Freshman Saben Lee scored 21 points Tuesday and is averaging 20.3 points and is 6-for-11 from 3-point range in his past three games.

TIP-INS

1. Vanderbilt shot 51.6 percent rom the field Tuesday, sparked by 8-of-15 shooting from 3-point range in the first half.

2. The Wildcats lead the SEC and rank 16th nationally in defending the 3-pointer (29.8 percent).

3. Gilgeous-Alexander ranks second in the conference in steals (2.2 per contest), sixth in assists (4.3 per game) and ninth in free-throw percentage (84.5 percent).

PREDICTION: Kentucky 72, Vanderbilt 63