Vanderbilt spoiled Kentucky’s senior night with a 68-66 win at Rupp Arena.
Jordan Wright hit the go-ahead bucket with 2.6 seconds remaining to give Jerry Stackhouse’s team a monumental road win over John Calipari’s Wildcats. The moment wasn’t lost on the Commodores head coach.
“Beating the King at his house is pretty special,” Stackhouse said after the game, per KSR’s Jack Pilgrim. “I have so much respect for Coach Calipari. … They were playing as good as anybody.”
Kentucky notched four consecutive wins before Vanderbilt’s victory, its first at Lexington since 2007.
Stackhouse choked up when recalling that Wright was his first recruit when joining the program in 2019. Per The Athletic’s Kyle Tucker, he acknowledged feeling “a little bit emotional” following the upset.
“This is what it’s about,” Stackhouse said, via the Courier-Journal‘s Ryan Black. “This is a great moment for us, a great moment for our program.”
Stackhouse’s team is making a furious push for an NCAA tournament invitation. Vanderbilt has won seven of its last eight games, including a triumph over Tennessee.
The Commodores will end the regular season Saturday against Mississippi State before attempting to bolster its March Madness case during the SEC tournament.