Kentucky
Kentucky’s Best Performances in Memorial Gym: From Jordan Burks to Cliff Hagan
Your University of Kentucky Wildcats play in Nashville on Saturday after a rare midseason week of rest. Kentucky will face Vanderbilt in the Wildcats’ 80th game against the Commodores at historic Memorial Gymnasium, where Kentucky is 52-27 all-time as the road team.
Several outstanding individual performances were behind those 52 road wins. If you’re talking about Kentucky‘s all-time heroes at Vandy, the conversation should start with Nazr Mohammed, whose buzzer-beater in 1998 is the only walk-off in Nashville.
However, this exercise will reverse-chronologically list Kentucky’s Memorial Gym standouts, beginning with… Jordan Burks. Yes, Jordan Burks. Surely you haven’t forgotten Jordan Burks already.
Jordan Burks (2024)
Antonio Reeves was Kentucky’s leading scorer in last season’s 32-point win in Nashville, as he was in 15 of Kentucky’s 33 games in 2023-24. So, Reeves’ performance wasn’t nearly as surprising or meaningful as Jordan Burks‘ 13 points and five rebounds off the bench, a couple of career highs for the freshman who transferred to Georgetown.
Burks hit all six of his shot attempts on his career night at Vanderbilt last February. He didn’t hit another shot in the 15 other SEC games or for the rest of his time at Kentucky. Still, his impact was felt off the bench in Nashville.
Kentucky 109, Vanderbilt 77
Oscar Tshiebwe (2022)
Oscar Tshiebwe‘s 30 points at Vanderbilt in 2022 set a new career-high in scoring for Tshiebwe. And because he is Oscar, he also had 13 rebounds for his 12th double-double in 16 games. Led by Tshiebwe, the Wildcats never trailed in the win.
Tshiebwe was the first Wildcat with a 30/10 game since Patrick Patterson against Tennessee State in Rupp Arena in 2008.
Kentucky 78, Vanderbilt 66
Davion Mintz (2021)
Attendance was listed at 164 people to see Davion Mintz score 18 points, one shy of a season-high, at Vanderbilt in 2021. Mintz hit four 3-pointers against the Commodores, including the one that extended Kentucky’s lead to six with a minute and a half to go.
Kentucky 82, Vanderbilt 78
Tyrese Maxey (2020)
Tyrese Maxey was the high-scorer when Kentucky won in Memorial Gym in 2020. Now the star of the Philadelphia 76ers, Maxey scored 25 points to help lead the Wildcats out of a 14-point deficit in the first half.
Kentucky 78, Vanderbilt 64
PJ Washington (2019)
PJ Washington‘s 25 points and 12 rebounds led the 2018-19 Wildcats to a 35-point win over the Commodores in Nashville. Washington had his double-double by halftime with 18 and 10 at the break, Kentucky up by 30.
Kentucky 87, Vanderbilt 52
Tayshaun Prince (2001)
Tayshaun Prince scored 11 of his 27 at the free throw line, sinking all but one of his 12 trips to the line at Vanderbilt in 2001. Prince had 14 points with 5:20 to go in the game before scoring 13 of his game-high 27 points late in the Kentucky win. Prince also had a game-high nine rebounds as he and the Wildcats fought off Vandy’s late comeback attempt.
Kentucky 79, Vanderbilt 74
Desmond Allison (2000)
Desmond Allison tied Travis Ford’s Kentucky record of six 3-pointers at Vanderbilt in 2000. Allison’s 6-of-9 shooting from outside helped him match Jamaal Magloire with 23 points each in Kentucky’s overtime win over the Commodores in 2000. It was Allison’s best game in two seasons as a Wildcat.
Kentucky 81, Vanderbilt 73 (OT)
Nazr Mohammed (1998)
Jeff Sheppard‘s 20 points contributed to Vandy’s first home loss of the 1997-98 season. However, it was Nazr Mohammed who decided the final score with his two-handed lob with 0.1 seconds that hit the top of the backboard and dropped in for the game-winner. Was it even a shot? It doesn’t matter. It went in a few seconds after Vandy’s Drew Maddux tied the game with a desperation 3 at the other end. Sheppard passed the ball forward to Mohammed for the unlikely winner as time expired.
Kentucky 63, Vanderbilt 61
Ron Mercer (1997)
Ron Mercer‘s Nashville homecoming was part of a hot stretch in Mercer’s sophomore season when he scored 23 points in four of five games, including three consecutive 23-point games, ending in his hometown’s Memorial Gymnasium.
Kentucky 82, Vanderbilt 79
The Whole Team (1996)
Kentucky scored a record 120 points on Vandy in 1996, the national championship season. Tony Delk, another Tennessean, led the Wildcats with 22, but he wasn’t alone in lighting up the Commodores. Antoine Walker had 17, Walter McCarty 16, and another 15 each by Mark Pope and Mercer, then a freshman. Pope recently recalled chest-bumping Rick Pitino during the dunk-fest at Vandy as Kentucky moved to 19-1 that season.
Kentucky 120, Vanderbilt 81
Travis Ford (1994)
Travis Ford made seven of 11 from the field with five assists in Kentucky’s 1994 win in Nashville. Ford played even better the year before when he set a new high mark for 3s made versus Vandy (6), but it was his 22-point performance in ’94 that earned a win over the Commodores, only the second in five tries for his head coach, Rick Pitino.
Kentucky 77, Vanderbilt 69
Kenny Walker (1985)
If you thought Oscar Tshiebwe’s 30 and 15 game at Vandy was impressive, may I interest you in Kenny Walker‘s 31 and 15 game at Memorial Gym in 1985? Walker scored 31 points with 15 rebounds in Kentucky’s 68-62 win. He and Ed Davender (16) nearly matched Vanderbilt’s 62 points by themselves. Walker scored 25 in Nashville a year later.
Kentucky 68, Vanderbilt 62
Melvin Turpin (1984)
Melvin Turpin went 11 of 15 from the field in Kentucky’s 58-54 win at Vanderbilt in 1984. The 6-11 center scored 22 points, part of his All-American senior season at Kentucky.
Kentucky 58, Vanderbilt 54
Jim Master (1983)
Jim Master had the hot hand in 1983, scoring 26 points on 12-of-16 shooting in Memorial Gym. Master’s 12 made shots were a career-high, and he was three points shy of matching his career-best point total. Late in the game, Kentucky needed six free throws near the end of overtime to win the game and retake first place in the SEC with the victory.
Kentucky 82, Vanderbilt 77
Derrick Hord (1982)
It was Derrick Hord who shined in 1982, scoring 26 points on a career-high 12 field goals to lead Kentucky over C.M. Newton’s Commodores in 1982. Hord was named First Team All-SEC later that season, his junior year.
Kentucky 73, Vanderbilt 69
Kyle Macy (1978)
Kyle Macy enjoyed playing in Memorial Gymnasium. He played there three times, scoring 22, 24, and 22 points in those trips to the Music City. In 1978, Macy’s 28 points led the eventual national champs to a 78-68 win. He’d win there again in 1980 by scoring 22.
Kentucky 78, Vanderbilt 68
Tom Parker (1971)
Kentucky scored 119 points against Vanderbilt in 1971, the second to last trip to Nashville under Adolph Rupp. Junior Tom Parker, Kentucky’s All-SEC forward, led the way with 26 points and eight rebounds in the Kentucky win. The Wildcats went 49 of 91 from the field for the game.
Kentucky 119, Vanderbilt 90
Louie Dampier (1966)
Louie Dampier couldn’t be stopped in the 1966 Kentucky-Vanderbilt game in Nashville. Dampier outshined Pat Riley’s 28-point night with 42 points and nine rebounds. Dampier’s 42 points are a Kentucky record against Vanderbilt in Memorial Gymnasium. He hit 18 of 29 shots in the win.
Kentucky 105, Vanderbilt 90
Cotton Nash (1962)
Cotton Nash scored 31 points at Vanderbilt in 1962, needing only seven two-pointers to get there. Nash did most of his work at the line, where he sank 17 of 19 free throws at Memorial Gym in No. 3 Kentucky’s 77-68 win. Larry Pursiful added 19 points for the Wildcats. Nash would score another 27 on Vandy a year later.
Kentucky 77, Vanderbilt 68
Carroll Burchett (1960)
Carroll Burchett was a bucket in 1960, hitting a career-best 10 of 16 shots for a career-best 24 points. The freshman forward/center from Flat Gap, Kentucky, added 13 rebounds in Kentucky’s 76-69 win over Vandy.
Kentucky 76, Vanderbilt 59
Earl Adkins (1958)
Ashland, Kentucky’s own Earl Adkins gave Vanderbilt all it wanted in 1958, Adkins’ senior season. He set a career-high for shots made (9) in scoring a career-high 25 points against Vanderbilt. His seven free throws also were a career-best.
Kentucky 86, Vanderbilt 81
Frank Ramsey and Cliff Hagan (1954)
Finally, the first time Kentucky played in Memorial Gymnasium, an 85-63 win for the first-ranked Wildcats. Frank Ramsey (24) and Cliff Hagan (22) scored 46 of Kentucky’s points as UK moved to 13-0 in its undefeated 1953-54 season.
Kentucky 85, Vanderbilt 63
Will a new Wildcat join this list in 2025?
We’ll find out when Kentucky and Vanderbilt tip off in Nashville.
LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) – Recent heavy rainfall has left soil across the state completely soaked, contributing to localized flooding in some areas.
When rain falls, some water soaks into the ground through a process called percolation.
Soil can only hold a limited amount of water. Once the small air spaces within the soil fill with water, the ground becomes saturated and additional rainfall has nowhere to go.
Soil type plays a role in how quickly water drains.
Much of Kentucky has clay-heavy soil, which is made up of very small, flat particles packed tightly together.
That composition makes it harder for water to move through. In clay soil, water may drain at a rate of only 0.02 to 0.17 inches per hour.
When rainfall comes down faster than the ground can absorb it and water cannot drain into a stream or storm drain quickly enough, it begins to build up.
That buildup is what leads to localized flooding.
Copyright 2026 WKYT. All rights reserved.
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (WBKO) – Cyclosporiasis is a microscopic parasite that can contaminate food and water — is making people sick across several states, including Kentucky.
Dr. Patricia Tellez-Watson said, the illness is caused by Cyclospora cayetanensis and spreads when someone ingests contaminated food or water. “It is an intestinal infection caused by this water-borne, food-borne microscopic parasite,” she said.
Symptoms can include diarrhea, nausea and vomiting.
Tellez-Watson said, cases are often sporadic, but outbreaks can happen — especially during hot, wet months, when the parasite can survive in the environment long enough to become infectious.
Health experts recommend taking extra precautions with food and water. Washing hands and thoroughly rinsing produce before eating or cooking can reduce risk.
Watson also urged people to be cautious with fresh produce, particularly pre-packaged items, and to consider using bottled water.
Officials have confirmed cases in Bowling Green, though it’s unclear how many.
Copyright 2026 WBKO. All rights reserved.
What will Moeller’s Matt Ponatoski bring to Kentucky football, baseball?
Hear what Moeller senior had to say about signing to play football and baseball at the University of Kentucky.
Dual-sport star and Moeller alum Matt Ponatoski’s final decision still awaits, but signs are pointing towards Lexington, KY.
After committing to the University of Kentucky as both a quarterback and pitcher, Ponatoski was selected in the 18th round (No. 542 overall) of the 2026 MLB Draft by the hometown Cincinnati Reds. While Ponatoski was ranked No. 208 on the MLB’s draft board and expected to be selected higher, doubts around whether he intended to go pro this year caused his stock to fall.
Ponatoksi has until the MLB’s signing deadline on July 27 to make a final decision, but the Moeller product has seemingly signaled his intention to stick with the University of Kentucky. He enrolled at the University of Kentucky on Wednesday, July 15, per a Kentucky Sports Radio report, indicating he will join the Wildcats football team in the fall.
The Man of Moeller was just the third player in the history of the Gatorade Player of the Year award to win for two different sports in the same season. Doing so in his junior year, he joined Pro Football Hall of Fame receiver Randy Moss and National Baseball Hall of Fame catcher Joe Mauer.
For Wildcats football, Ponatoski would come in as a four-star quarterback prospect and helped give new head coach Will Stein a top-25 recruiting class in the nation. He threw just one interception in his senior season for the Moeller Crusaders, completing 66% of his passes for 2,395 yards and 28 touchdowns.
For Kentucky baseball, Ponatoski would join up with fellow freshman and former Louisville Trinity pitcher Grayson Willoughby, who won Kentucky Mr. Baseball and withdrew his name from the draft. Willoughby, a top-rated pitching prospect, felt MLB teams were attempting to low-ball him and thus chose to stick with the Wildcats. Ponatoski is fresh from a season leading Moeller to the state championship game, recording a 1.37 ERA on the year.
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