Vanderbilt coach Mark Byington practices with his team during the second half of the game against Tennessee, Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026, at Memorial Gymnasium in Nashville, Tennessee. No. 25 Vanderbilt begins its season-ending three-game road swing with a Southeastern Conference game against Kentucky on Saturday afternoon in Lexington.
The Commodores (22-6, 9-6SEC) snapped a two-game losing streak with an 88-80 win over Georgia on Wednesday.
They are now preparing for the final stretch of the regular season and understand the importance of maintaining their winning streak, especially when competing for an NCAA Tournament bid. Vanderbilt ranks 13th in the KenPom rankings.
Coach Mark Byington said after the win over Georgia that he believes his team is headed in the right direction to be at their best when it matters most.
“That’s what you want,” Byington said. “We still have some postseason left, whether it’s the SEC Tournament or the NCAA, but we want to play good basketball.
“We are no longer playing at home. We have to give our best for what lies ahead.”
Kentucky (18-10, 9-6) just ended its three-game losing streak with a 72-63 win over South Carolina on the road.
The Wildcats, ranked 30th by KenPom, are 13-3 with two of their last three games coming at home.
They beat the Gamecocks despite turning the ball over 15 times, their first SEC game win while doing so this season. The Wildcats, who average 10.6 turnovers per game, are 7-0 in conference play when committing 10 or fewer turnovers.
“It’s going to be important to continue to protect the ball better,” coach Mark Pope said in a radio interview after the game. That metric (less than 10 sales) is important to us. “The predictive value of game outcomes was almost perfect.”
Vanderbilt’s Devin McGlockton recorded his fourth double-double of the year with 17 points and 10 rebounds in a win over Georgia. He is averaging 10.5 points and 6.9 rebounds per game.
“Devon was obsessed,” Byington said. “He’s not going to let us lose this game. You can see his determination. He plays hard every night.”
Tyler Tanner is the Commodores’ leading scorer with 18.5 points per game, averaging 87.3 points per outing.
One question mark for Vanderbilt is the status of Frankie Collins, who has not played since sustaining an injury on Dec. 17. He was originally scheduled to return at some point during the SEC schedule.
Byington told reporters after Georgia’s win that he would update everyone once he had a “firm answer.”
The Wildcats are averaging 80.9 points per contest and are hoping to avenge an 80-55 loss to Vanderbilt in their last meeting on Jan. 27. Kentucky is 4-3 since that game.
Denzel Abedin led the way in the win over South Carolina by scoring 19 points and knocking down four 3-pointers. He averaged 12.9 points per game this year and made 46 3-pointers.
In their last meeting with Vanderbilt, Aberdeen scored 15 points, with Otega Owe leading the way with 20 points.
Vanderbilt has played well on the road this season, going 6-3 at home in actual road games.
–Field level media
