A massive issue resurfaced for Kentucky in the embarrassing loss to Vanderbilt

Kentucky played with little effort against Vanderbilt.

Kentucky basketball coach Mark Pope after winning a NCAA basketball game between the Tennessee Volunteers and Kentucky Wildcats at Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center in Knoxville, Tenn., on Jan. 17, 2026. | Angelina Alcantar/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Mark Pope and the Kentucky Wildcats walked into Nashville riding the high of a five-game winning streak in SEC play hoping to take down the ranked Vanderbilt Commodores to extend that streak to six. That goal seemed to be over about ten minutes into this game as the Wildcats were down by double digits almost immediately.

Kentucky was down by 20 points at the half as their first-half struggles were back in the embarrassing loss. Losing games is going to happen for this team but one thing that is incredibly frustrating is seeing this team play with little to no effort. Well, that is what happened in this game. From the opening tip to the final buzzer Vanderbilt wanted it more than Pope’s Wildcats.

One of the places that the effort was obvious was on the glass. Vanderbilt’s tallest starter is 6’7, so many believe that the likes of Malachi Moreno, Andrija Jelavic, Brandon Garrison, and Mo Dioubate would be able to dominate on the glass, but this didn’t happen. Vanderbilt won the rebound battle 43-37, and it felt worse than this. The gap on the boards was much wider as Vanderbilt built their massive lead.

Jan 24, 2026; Lexington, Kentucky, USA; Kentucky Wildcats head coach Mark Pope claps after a possession during the second half against the Mississippi Rebels at Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Prather-Imagn Images | Jordan Prather-Imagn Images

Points off of turnovers was another place where the Wildcats were dominated. The Commodores turned the Wildcats over 15 times, while Vandy only turned it over nine times. Those 15 Kentucky turnovers turned into 28 points by the Commodores as they got out in transition well.

This Kentucky team is banged up, and we all knew they were going to lose some more games in SEC play, but one area that seemed to be cleaned up was the effort. In basketball, one thing that is free is the effort a team plays with. Early in the year, there was a big effort problem with the Wildcats, but as the wins started to come in  the effort continued to improve. It was really deflating to see these effort issues resurface with this team on a five-game winning streak.

The good news is for the Wildcats; another very important game is right around the corner as Pope’s team will make the trip to Fayetteville to take on John Calipari and the Arkansas Razorbacks. Kentucky will be a heavy underdog in this game, especially after their blowout loss to Vanderbilt but Big Blue Nation would love to see this team show up and play with a ton of effort on Saturday.