The No. 1 Kentucky Wildcats (24-1, 9-0 Southeastern Conference) make the short trek to Nashville, Tenn., to take on the Vanderbilt Commodores (17-7, 6-3 SEC) on Saturday in a game with league implications. UK, coming off four straight 20-point plus wins, looks to extend it winning streak to 17 games and keep its SEC mark unblemished, while the Commodores are trying to get back into the SEC race.

Series history

In a series that began in 1912, Kentucky holds a 134-44 series advantage over Vanderbilt. Since 2000, UK has a 16-9 edge, and since Vandy won four straight in the 2006 and 2007 seasons, Kentucky has won five of eight contests. In games played since 1990, the Cats have won 34 and lost 11 to the Commodores.

In games played at Memorial Gymnasium, UK is 5-7 since 2000 and 12-11 since 1990. When Kentucky plays Vanderbilt as the No. 1 team in the nation, the Wildcats are 10-4, with the last game an 85-72 Wildcat win in January of 2010.

Series superlatives

• Sweet-shooting Louie Dampier holds the UK record for most single-game points scored against the Commodores with 42 in February of 1966. In that game, Dampier made 18 field goals, also a UK record.
• With 22 rebounds, Dan Issel holds the school record for most rebounds against Vandy. In March of 1969, Issel tied Dampier’s field-goal mark when he made 18 shots versus Vandy.
• Both Dirk Minniefield (January 1982) and Anthony Epps (February 1997) recorded 10 assists versus Vandy, setting the UK mark for dimes against the Dores.
• Jamal Mashburn, in January 1992, had six steals against Vandy, setting the UK standard for pilfers against Vanderbilt.
• With nine blocks versus Vandy in February 1981, Sam Bowie holds the Kentucky blocked shot record against the Commodores.
• Five Wildcats have connected on six 3-point shots in a single game against Vanderbilt, setting the school record for made treys against Vandy: Derrick Millar (February 1990), Travis Ford (January 1993), Tony Delk (January 1995), Desmond Allison (January 2000) and Rashad Carruth (February 2002).

Mohammed’s miracle in Memorial

On Jan. 27, 1998, the No. 7 Kentucky Wildcats entered its contest in Memorial Gymnasium against the Vanderbilt Commodores with an overall record of 18-2 and a perfect SEC mark of 7-0. It was Tubby Smith’s first year as the head coach of the Wildcats, and he had his club rolling along as winners of eight straight, with the only blemishes on the Cats’ record an early season loss to No. 1 Arizona (a rematch of the previous year’s NCAA championship game), along with a home loss to the Louisville Cardinals.

Vanderbilt held the early advantage, with UK committing turnovers and missing on several 3-point tries. Vandy’s Dan Langhi and Austin Bates propelled the ‘Dores to an early 13-8 lead after Langhi banked in a 3-pointer just before the first television timeout. Making matters worse for the Cats, UK big man Nazr Mohammed picked up his second foul at the 16:35 mark, sending him to the bench for the remainder of the first half.

Kentucky, though, responded. Jeff Sheppard began driving to the rim, and Jamal Magloire asserted his presence down low, as the Wildcat defense tightened. The result: UK outscored the ‘Dores 19-12 over the final 15 minutes of the first half, giving the Cats a 27-25 halftime lead.

The second half was a back-and-forth defensive affair with neither team able to take control of the game. With 90 seconds left, the must-see game turned into a classic.

Scott Padgett’s tip-in off a Jeff Sheppard misfire gave the Cats a narrow 59-56 lead with 90 seconds remaining. On the next possession, Vanderbilt’s Drew Maddux, instead of running clock, inexplicably attempted a 26-foot prayer, which missed, followed by a UK rebound.

Quickly, the ‘Dores fouled Evans, but the solid free-throw shooter missed both charity tries, keeping the UK lead at three points. On VU’s ensuing possession, the Cats fouled Prater, who calmly sank both shots, bringing Vandy within one at 59-58 with 36 seconds left.

Up one, Kentucky had the ball underneath the Commodore basket with Padgett selected to throw the ball inbounds. But in an attempt to hit a streaking Cameron Mills, Padgett wildly overthrew his teammate, with the ball sailing out of bounds. Maddux, perhaps looking for a foul, then missed a tough shot in the lane, UK grabbed the rebound and got the ball quickly to Turner, who was fouled with 13 seconds remaining and the Wildcats up by one.

Turner, the one-time shaky free-throw shooter, calmly sank both shots, the UK guard’s first points of the game, giving Kentucky a 61-58 lead. Vanderbilt then quickly went the length of the floor, and behind an immaculately executed double screen, Maddux drilled a 3-pointer, tying the score at 61 with 4.4 seconds remaining. Memorial Gymnasium was in a frenzy.

With less than five seconds to cover the entire court, the Cats opted to get the ball to the speedy Turner with the inbounds pass, but the Vanderbilt defense sniffed out the ploy and had him draped in defenders. So it was Sheppard who was given the task of providing a miracle. Searching for an open man up court, Sheppard saw Mohammed, UK’s 6-foot-10 center, standing alone 22 feet away from the basket. With time quickly running out, Sheppard, just before he passed midcourt, hit Mohammed with a pass.

“My first thought was, ‘Why did Sheppard give me the ball way out here?’ ” Mohammed said after the game.

After all, Mohammed had not made a 3-point shot all year.

“I was hollering, ‘Shoot it, shoot it!’ ” Kentucky coach Tubby Smith later said.

Instead, Mohammed shot faked Vandy’s Greg LaPointe and drove toward the basket.

“The whole time I was dribbling I was looking at the clock,” Mohammed said.

As Mohammed got to within about 10 feet of the basket, he half shot, half scooped the ball toward the rim, hoping for a tip-in from one of his teammates (the clock showed one-tenth of a second left as the ball left his hand). But the ball hit high off the backboard and somehow dropped through the net, as the final horn signaled victory for the Cats.

On that day, Memorial Magic belonged to the Wildcats.

Tip-off is scheduled for 9 p.m. ET with television by ESPN. Stay tuned to CoachCal.com as Eric Lindsey and UK assistant coach John Robic will be along with a comprehensive scouting report on Vanderbilt.