Vanderbilt is off to its best start in a decade and a half, sitting at 15-4 on the year with a statement win over No. 6 Tennessee this past weekend in Mark Byington‘s first season in Nashville. That came following what was essentially a total roster rebuild,

Mark Pope was left a bare cupboard when he accepted the Kentucky men’s basketball coaching gig. The only holdover from John Calipari‘s departure was freshman guard Travis Perry. Pope took the job without a single player on the roster who had played a minute of college basketball.

Kentucky point guard Lamont Butler dribbled stealthily along the baseline before turning on a dime back toward the basket, attempting to muster a decent look late in the shot clock. With the No. 9 Wildcats nursing a four-point lead at Vanderbilt and under eight minutes remaining,

Kentucky fifth-year forward Andrew Carr was ruled out for the Wildcats in the game on the SEC injury report injury report Saturday afternoon. This was the first game that Carr missed for UK this season. On Friday night’s injury report, Carr was listed as questionable, and Kerr Kriisa as out, for the Vanderbilt game.

On a two-game losing streak, Kentucky faces a road trip to Tennessee and then John Calipari’s return to Rupp Arena.

Byington is part of an influx of high-level coaches into the SEC, which is part of the reason the league is having an unprecedented season. The league has added impressive coaches in the past few seasons, including Kentucky's Mark Pope, Mississippi State's ...

Nine players departed after Stackhouse’s firing. That prompted Byington to bring in 11 transfers, including Michigan State guard AJ Hoggard, North Texas’ leading scorer Jason Edwards, Virginia Tech sharpshooter Tyler Nickel and James Madison sophomore center Jaylen Carey.

As No. 9 Kentucky prepares to take on Vanderbilt at Memorial Gymnasium this Saturday, Mark Pope is gearing up for his first visit back to the iconic venue since his days as a Wildcat.

Get real-time COLLEGEBASKETBALL basketball coverage and scores as Kentucky Wildcats takes on Vanderbilt Commodores. We bring you the latest game previews, live stats, and recaps on CBSSports.com

Contrast that success with Calipari’s first Arkansas team, which needed six tries to notch its first SEC win of the year, and Kentucky fans figure to have plenty of ammunition Saturday. The Razorbacks are just 12-8 overall, and their 1-6 start to SEC play has them looking like a long shot for an NCAA Tournament berth.

Tyler Nickel’s 3-pointer with 1:50 left put Vanderbilt ahead to stay as the Commodores upset a Top 10 team on their home court for a second straight Saturday by beating No. 9 Kentucky 74-69.

Auburn and Alabama are aiming for deep NCAA Tournament runs. But both had issues over the weekend. Meanwhile Kentucky coach Mark Pope is dealing with multiple injuries on his squad.