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Top-ranked Kentucky is invincible at Rupp Arena, but the Wildcats face their toughest road test since suffering their only loss of the season when they visit Vanderbilt on Saturday night – Place your college basketball bets at WagerWeb.com.

The Commodores (17-7, 6-3 SEC), a preseason Top-10 team, broke a two-game losing streak with a 76-61 win over LSU on Wednesday. Festus Ezeli scored 21 points, John Jenkins added 20 points  and Jeffery Taylor 19 to lead the way. The Commodores led by 11 three times but couldn’t put LSU away. Andre Stringer hit two free throws to pull the Tigers within 63-59. Ezeli had a one-handed dunk, then Taylor stole the ball leading to a 3-pointer by Jenkins with 4:07 left. LSU did hold the SEC’s best 3-point shooting team to 35 percent (7 of 20), well below Vanderbilt’s 42.9 percent average beyond the arc.

Vanderbilt held the Tigers to 14.3% from beyond the arc. It was the third time this season the Commodores have held an opponent to less than 15% shooting. The Commodores improved to 3-6 when they have been outrebounded by their opponent.

Kentucky was incredibly impressive on Tuesday, beating No. 7 Florida 78-58. Star freshman Anthony Davis had 16 points and four more blocks and fellow frosh Michael Kidd-Gilchrist added 13 points and 13 rebounds and Kentucky easily passed its toughest Southeastern Conference test to date for its 49th straight home win. Davis has blocked at least two shots in every game this season. He leads the nation with 4.8 blocks per game.

It was Kentucky’s largest margin of victory against a Top-10 team since a 99-65 win over No. 8 Indiana on Dec. 7, 1996. Kentucky’s has won the last four games by at least 20 points, the first time since 1993 that the Wildcats had defeated four-consecutive regular-season SEC opponents by at least 20. UK limited Florida to 34.9 percent from the field. Kentucky entered the game leading the nation in field-goal defense at 35.8 percent. UF’s 22.2 percent from 3-point range was a season low for the Gators.

The Wildcats (24-1, 10-0) matched their best start in league play since 2005 thanks to three freshmen starters who have jelled into a formidable defense to go along with their high-powered offense.

Vandy’s Ezeli loomed large in the two Kentucky-Vanderbilt games last season, with each team winning at home. In the first, Jenkins made six three-pointers and scored 32 points. In all, Vandy made 11 three-pointers in an 81-77 victory. Ezeli came close to beating Kentucky in Rupp Arena. He scored 22 points and grabbed 13 rebounds while Jenkins managed Vandy’s only two three-point baskets. But when Ezeli couldn’t handle a feed into the post in the final seconds, UK escaped with a 68-66 victory.

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