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Vanderbilt destroys UK by 41 points; biggest loss since 55-point beating in "89

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Photo By AP/JOHN RUSSELLPlayers on the Kentucky bench watch the action against Vanderbilt during the second half in Nashville, Tenn., Tuesday. Vanderbilt won 93-52.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - First-year Kentucky coach Billy Gillespie insists it's just one loss. For Wildcats fans, that might be understating the significance a bit too much.
No. 24 Vanderbilt beat Kentucky 93-52 Tuesday night, handing the Wildcats their worst loss in Southeastern Conference history and one of the most lopsided losses in the history of the NCAA's winningest program.
"We just got our tail kicked. That's all there is to it," Gillespie said. "It's one loss, and we got our tail kicked severely. Congratulations to Vanderbilt. They played fantastic. We'll move on. We'll make a positive out of it someway."
That might be difficult in a loss that was the Wildcats' worst since losing by 55 to Kansas on Dec. 9, 1989.
This 41-point margin matched a 52-11 loss to Rose Polytechnic on Feb. 10, 1910, as the fifth-biggest loss in Wildcats' history, and eclipses LSU's 35-point win over Kentucky, 76-41, on Jan. 18, 1987.
"To have them to stomp us into the ground like that, it's horrible," freshman Patrick Patterson said. "They played like men, and we played like boys."
Kentucky appeared to have fixed the problems that led to a 6-5 start under Gillespie, which included an 84-68 loss to Gardner-Webb at Rupp Arena and a 70-51 loss to Indiana that had been the biggest margin in a loss by the Wildcats.
In other Top 25 games on Tuesday night it was: No. 5 North Carolina 75, Virginia 74; No. 9 Butler 83, Wisconsin-Milwaukee 75 in overtime; No. 19 Purdue 24, No. 10 Michigan State 54; No. 22 Pittsburgh 82, Providence 63; and No. 23 Louisville 88, DePaul 68.
The Wildcats (12-10, 6-3) had a 79-73 double-overtime win over then-No. 13 Vanderbilt at Rupp and a victory over then-No. 3 Tennessee that started a five-game winning streak snapped by Tuesday's blowout.
It was such a big victory that Vanderbilt coach Kevin Stallings a coach can't even dream about.
"I didn't think we could be ahead of someone 41-11 if those guys were playing us coaches. We started hitting shots, and they missed a couple of easy ones, and then the crowd got into it. It was just our night. I don't know how to explain it. It just happens sometimes when you least suspect it," he said.
Shan Foster scored 20 points and A.J. Ogilvy added 19 points and 12 rebounds. Kentucky native Ross Neltner added 15 points for Vanderbilt, and Jermaine Beal had 10.
The Commodores (21-4, 6-4) had been the only SEC team to open league play with six of their first nine away from home. They started a four-game homestand by winning their fourth straight.
Ramel Bradley, who had 18 of his 21 in the second half, said it felt pretty bad.
"Nobody wants to lose like this, on the road, at home regardless. This is just embarrassing," Bradley said.
Joe Crawford had 11 for Kentucky, and Patterson finished with 10. The Wildcats finished with more fouls (26) than made shots (17).
Kentucky now goes to LSU on Saturday.
No. 5 North Carolina 75, Virginia 74
Tyler Hansbrough scored 23 points, including a critical baby hook with 21 seconds to play, and visiting North Carolina once again survived a surprising challenge.
The fifth-ranked Tar Heels (23-2, 8-2 Atlantic Coast Conference), coming off a double overtime victory against Clemson on Sunday, got all they could handle from the Cavaliers, who had lost nine of 10 but played nothing like a team in a hopeless free fall.
Virginia (11-12, 1-9), trying to avoid its first 1-9 start in the league since the 1976-77 season, came up short, but not without its best showing in almost a month.
No. 9 Butler 83, Wisconsin-Milwaukee 75, OT
Mike Green scored 10 of his 24 points in overtime and had 13 rebounds and eight assists despite spraining his right ankle to help visiting Butler rally to beat Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
Butler (22-2, 11-2 Horizon League) came in with its highest ranking in school history in the midst of four games in eight days. But the Bulldogs came out flat, trailing by as many as 12 in the first half and seven in the second before Green took over as Butler took the lead from the start of overtime and didn't relinquish it.
Milwaukee (12-11, 7-6) squandered its big lead after too many turnovers, but Ricky Franklin, who had missed his previous four 3-point attempts, tied the game at 67 with 0.8 seconds left the game when he made an off-balance shot with Green's hand in his face.
No. 19 Purdue 60, No. 10 Michigan State 54
Freshman Robbie Hummel scored a season-high 24 points and had 11 rebounds to lead host Purdue.
E'Twaun Moore scored 12 points and Keaton Grant added 11 to help the 19th-ranked Boilermakers (20-5, 11-1 Big Ten) win their 10th straight game to remain alone in first place in the conference.
Freshman guard Kalin Lucas scored a career-high 20 points for Michigan State (20-4, 8-3).
No. 22 Pittsburgh 82, Providence 63
Sam Young scored 22 points and No. 22 Pittsburgh limited visiting Providence to six points in the opening 11 minutes of the second half.
Ronald Ramon, coming off a game-winning 3-pointer at the buzzer against West Virginia, hit five 3-pointers while scoring 15 points.
Pitt (19-5, 7-4 Big East) alternated wins and losses over its previous seven games before putting away the slumping Friars (13-11, 4-8), who lost their sixth in seven games and are winless in their last eight against the Panthers. The Friars haven't beaten Pitt since January 2001 and haven't won in Pittsburgh since December 1998.
No. 23 Louisville 88, DePaul 68
Terrence Williams tied a season-high with 22 points and David Padgett set one with 20 to lead Louisville to a win ot DePaul.
It was an easy night for the 23rd-ranked Cardinals (19-6, 9-3 Big East), who jumped into the Top 25 and shook up the Big East race by beating then-No. 16 Marquette and then-No. 6 Georgetown last week.
Dar Tucker scored 22 for DePaul (10-14, 5-7), which has lost five of six and is in danger of missing the Big East tournament.