Vanderbilt had more fun at Kentucky's expense (but has to pay the Cats $500K)

As a Kentucky fan living in Nashville, I don’t have much ill will toward Vanderbilt (all of that’s reserved for Tennessee). I have friends who are Vandy fans. I have neighbors who are Vandy fans. I cheer for the SEC’s nerdy little brother on occasion, like when they upset No. 1 Alabama in football and took the goalpost down Broadway and dumped it in the Cumberland River. That was hilarious.

Today, all of that fondness may have come to an end. As you know, Vanderbilt beat Kentucky 74-69 this afternoon in a very blue Memorial Gym. The Cats will play the ‘Dores again, on Feb. 19 at Rupp Arena. Hopefully, Kentucky takes care of business on its home court; otherwise, the ‘Dores will have swept the Cats in the two major sports this season, football and basketball. The 20-13 loss to Vandy at Kroger Field was the start of a four-game losing streak for Kentucky, a brutal crash back to Earth after the upset over No. 6 Ole Miss in Oxford. Looking back, those games are eerily similar.

The football Cats were a 13.5-point favorite vs. Vanderbilt back in October. The basketball Cats were a 2.5-point favorite today. Both teams lost in disappointing fashion. On the football side, you probably remember Wilson Berry’s fumbles and all the penalties. We kind of got the equivalent of that today on the hardwood. Kentucky turned the ball over 17 times vs. Vanderbilt, a season-high. The lack of execution in the final minutes was alarming, even if the Cats were without Andrew Carr and Lamont Butler wasn’t at 100%. As Jaxson Robinson said, Kentucky got punked.

Hopefully, the basketball team won’t lose the next three games like the football team did. Tuesday night’s game at No. 6 Tennessee certainly looks tough, especially without Carr. If the Cats falter, they’ll take a three-game losing streak into the game vs. Arkansas on Feb. 1. That game already has enough emotions and anxiety around it. No thanks.

Before we go down that worry spiral, there is some solace in the fact that although Vanderbilt had some more fun at Kentucky’s expense, they have to cut the Cats a check for it. Under the SEC’s policy, today’s court storm cost the ‘Dores $500,000, which will go straight to Kentucky. Vanderbilt’s first offense, storming the field after the win over Alabama, cost $100,000. On Saturday, they rushed the court after knocking off No. 6 Tennessee, resulting in a $250,000 fine. That brought today’s price tag to half a million, which will be the cost for every offense moving forward. No wonder the PA announcer told the students several times not to rush the court and officials lined it during the final seconds.

Security blocks the student section in hopes of curtailing the upcoming storming of the court by Vanderbilt Commodores fans during their game against the Kentucky Wildcats at Memorial Gym in Nashville, Tenn., Saturday, Jan. 25, 2025. Vanderbilt beat Kentucky 74-69.

It’s hard to feel too great about that right now, especially with a daunting and anxiety-ridden week ahead. You can direct all of those bad vibes toward the Vanderbilt Commodores, who are celebrating beating Alabama Football and Kentucky Basketball in the same academic year for the first time since 1969-70. As Steven Peake pointed out, if you take a larger look, the Dores really have owned the Cats lately. Let’s put a stop to that soon.

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