Oscar Tshiebwe scored 15 points and grabbed 13 rebounds as Kentucky beat Vanderbilt 69-53 Tuesday night for the Wildcats' longest winning streak this season at four straight.
Kentucky (14-6, 5-3 Southeastern Conference) also won its 14th consecutive game in this series with coach John Calipari improving to 25-4 against the Commodores.
Antonio Reeves added 16 points for Kentucky. Jacob Toppin finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds and CJ Frederick and Cason Wallace each had 10.
Vanderbilt (10-10, 3-4) kept it tight much of the first half with five ties and six lead changes. The Commodores took their last lead at 20-19 on freshman Malik Dia's 3-pointer. Then Tschiebwe dunked, starting a 15-7 run for the Wildcats to finish the half with a 36-27 lead.
The Wildcats picked up where they left off, opening the second half with a 12-3 spurt with Toppin's layup with 15:46 putting them up 48-30. Vanderbilt struggled to knock down shots, missing six of their first seven.
Dia led Vanderbilt with a career-best 14 points, and Tyrin Lawrence added 12.
BIG PICTURE
Kentucky took advantage of its size advantage by dominating on the boards (37-24) and outscoring the Commodores 36-22 in the paint.
Vanderbilt couldn't match up inside with both 7-footer Liam Robbins out at least three more weeks with an injured ankle while 6-10 Lee Dort has a stress fracture in his foot that will be re-evaluated in four weeks. It didn't help that fifth-year forward Quentin Millora-Brown was held scoreless for the third time this season.
UP NEXT
Kentucky hosts ninth-ranked Kansas on Saturday in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge.
Vanderbilt starts a two-game road swing Saturday at Texas A&M.
(Vanderbilt guard Tyrin Lawrence (0) shoots as he's defended by Kentucky forward Oscar Tshiebwe (34) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2023, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Wade Payne))
