Live Blog: No. 25 Vanderbilt Basketball at Kentucky

The final three-game road stretch before the postseason has arrived and it starts with Vanderbilt traveling to Rupp Arena.

Feb 25, 2026; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Vanderbilt Commodores forward Tyler Nickel (5) drives to the basket against the Georgia Bulldogs during the second half at Memorial Gymnasium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images | Steve Roberts-Imagn Images

When the SEC schedule for all teams came out before the start of the season, Vanderbilt never expected it would be finishing the regular season with three consecutive road games. But a January ice storm across the southeast forced Vanderbilt and Ole Miss to swap home games, which made the Commodores go on the road to Ole Miss in the penultimate regular season game.

As a result, Vanderbilt has to finish the regular season with three straight road games. And it all starts today in Lexington, Kentucky.

Vanderbilt and Kentucky meet for the second time this season with plenty on the line. Vanderbilt embarrassed Kentucky in the first matchup in Nashville, with the Commodores trouncing the Wildcats 80-55. Vanderbilt.

That was then and now is now. Kentucky likely moved on from that game by the time the bus pulled out of the parking lot of Memorial Gymnasium. In Rupp Arena, today’s matchup features two teams that are involved in a four-way tie with Missouri and Texas A&M for the fifth spot in the SEC Tournament. The teams involved in the tie are also just a game behind Tennessee for the final double-bye spot in the conference tournament.

It goes without saying, but there is plenty at stake. For Vanderbilt, a win keeps pace with the rest of the teams involved in the tie and continues to set up a monumental matchup with Tennessee a week from today. A loss for Vanderbilt would be detrimental to its chances of sneaking into the top four.

Vanderbilt enters the game losing two of its last three while Kentucky enters the game losers of three out of four games. But with Vanderbilt now as healthy as it will be the rest of the way, today’s matchup is an opportunity to put a good win on the resume ahead of Selection Sunday.

Tipoff between Vanderbilt and Kentucky is set for 1 p.m. CT on ESPN.

Follow the live blog here for live updates from today’s Vanderbilt-Kentucky game.

Live Blog

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Pregame

• It is quite an atmosphere here in Lexington. Certainly one of the best college basketball atmospheres I have experienced honestly.

• Players from both sides have come onto the court to warm up with stretching and early shootaround.

• What a game we have for you guys today as Vanderbilt rolls into Rupp Arena today here in Lexington, Kentucky. Vanderbilt Commodores On SI will in fact be in-house in Rupp for the rematch between the Commodores and the Wildcats. Joey Dwyer, Tyler Jorden and I made the drive from Nashville to Lexington this morning. This is personally my first trip to Rupp Arena, so I am personally excited to see the atmosphere today.