That certainly has Kentucky’s attention heading into round two against the Commodores. The Wildcats are looking to tighten up in those areas that cost them in Nashville a few weeks ago, most notably in the turnover category. Andrew Carr spoke with media ahead of Kentucky’s clash with Vanderbilt in Rupp Arena on Wednesday, where he said protecting the ball will be a massive key if they want to avoid the season sweep.

“That was a game I wasn’t able to play, so being able to watch on the sideline, you get to learn a lot. They really tried to be super aggressive with us defensively. They force a lot of turnovers, like to get out in transition, so we know we gotta protect the ball a lot better this game than we did last time, really use their aggressiveness against them, especially offensively. Defensively, they’re a super talented team and have some really deadly shooters, so we gotta make sure we stay with them and try and rebound the ball. That’s when we’re at our best is when we’re trying to get stops, rebounding and get out in transition. …Especially in that (Vandy) game, there were a couple of turnovers from the frontcourt, but also a couple turnovers from the backcourt. It kind of was a whole team thing. When you have 17 turnovers, it’s on everybody.” Carr on the focus against Vandy.

This time, with neither Lamont Butler or Jaxson Robinson expected to suit up, that leaves plenty of pressure on Kentucky to protect the ball at an even higher rate than they would if they had their two starting guards. Last game for the Wildcats against Texas, turnovers were a big part of their collapse in the last few minutes, as they finished with 15 miscues on the night, so protecting the ball needs to be the top priortity for a Kentucky team without starting guards Lamont Butler and Jaxson Robinson both.