TAMPA, Florida - Playing in front of a heavily partisan pro-Kentucky crowd at Amalie Arena, Kentucky basketball outlasted Vanderbilt in a back-and-forth game to open its Southeastern Conference Tournament with a 77-71 quarterfinal win.
The entire game, which never saw either team lead my double digits, featured four ties and 10 lead changes. After Vanderbilt scored 13 unanswered points early in the second half, Kentucky responded with a 15-1 run of its own. Vanderbilt then scored 11 of hte next 15 points to pull back within one point before a 10-2 run from Kentucky.
Freshman guard TyTy Washington led Kentucky with 25 points.