Kentucky basketball: 3 keys vs Florida, prediction, TV/ radio

1. What can we expect from Jarred Vanderbilt?

Wildcat Blue Nation contributor, Matt Upchurch, gave his thoughts on Jarred Vanderbilt’s debut performance earlier this week in UK’s loss to South Carolina. Vanderbilt came off the bench and played 14 minutes. He scored 6 points, grabbed 5 rebounds and handed out 3 assists.

Vanderbilt’s presence will no doubt be felt on Saturday night. He is a long, athletic wing defender who can guard multiple positions. That kind of player will be relied upon heavily against a Florida team that leads the Southeastern Conference in three-point shooting. A line-up of Vanderbilt, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Kevin Knox, PJ Washington and Wenyen Gabriel will help to shut down the Gators’ lethal perimeter shooting.

Florida doesn’t start a player taller than 6’9″ and Garjok Gak, the 6’11” Australian, plays barely 10 minutes per game. The Gators’ ‘small ball’ lineup will likely keep Nick Richards on the bench for a good part of the game due to match up problems. Enter Jarred Vanderbilt.

Look for Kentucky to utilize a ‘small ball’ line up themselves. I would be surprised if Richards and Sacha Killeya-Jones saw the court for more than 15 minutes combined. Vanderbilt will likely still be on a minutes restriction and I wouldn’t expect more than 20 minutes from the freshman. However, Vanderbilt made a difference when he was on the floor Tuesday night for the Kentucky basketball team and I expect to see the same on Saturday night.