The Associated Press

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - When the Kentucky Wildcats want to turn up the pressure, man-to-man defense apparently is the way to go. The 16th-ranked Wildcats found themselves trailing by 14 points Tuesday night as Vanderbilt shot over their zone. Coach Tubby Smith switched to man-to-man in the second half, and Kentucky beat the Commodores 74-52 for its sixth straight victory.

"That was pretty intense defense," Smith said of his Wildcats' best defensive performance this season.

Kentucky (12-3, 3-0) came into the game as the Southeastern Conference's worst defensive team. The Wildcats had been allowing opponents to shoot a league-worst 43 percent from the field, including 36 percent from 3-point range.

It looked like Vanderbilt (8-6, 1-2) would add to their woes as the Commodores opened the game by going 7-of-9 from 3-point range. Kentucky scored the first basket, but the Commodores reeled off eight of the next 10 in dominating the first half and taking a 36-28 halftime lead.

Smith switched defenses at halftime, and the Wildcats responded.

They limited Vanderbilt to just four field goals - one a 3-pointer - on 17 shots in the second half. They had 12 of their 15 steals and forced 13 turnovers in the half.

"We were upset with how we played at halftime," Wildcats guard Keith Bogans said. "We wanted to come out with more intensity on defense. After playing that way, nothing less will be acceptable. We've got something to build on."

The Commodores had expected much more from themselves. They upset then-No. 4 Alabama on Saturday night, and looked ready to knock off a second Top 25 opponent in as many games for the first time since January 2000.

"We came out a little flat, but that had a lot to do with Vanderbilt coming off a big win," Smith said. "Emotion can be high. They were pretty intense. Once we got our composure, all that emotion can be draining."

Vanderbilt coach Kevin Stallings said his team had no answer for Kentucky's aggressive defense.

"They turned up the heat, and we didn't respond. Their defense completely dominated the game, and their physicality completely dominated our players," Stallings said. "I obviously didn't make the adjustments that needed to be made because I can say that I tried everything I could possibly think of."

Kentucky outscored Vanderbilt 28-7 over the first 12 minutes of the second half and had their fans outshouting the sellout crowd. Chuck Hayes gave the Wildcats their first lead since the opening basket with a steal and a layup that made it 41-40 with 14:36 to go.

Gerald Fitch had 16 of his 18 points in the second half for Kentucky as the Wildcats increased the pressure.

The Commodores led one last time, 42-41, on a dunk by Matt Freije off a pass from Scott Hundley at 13:37. Kentucky responded with a 17-3 run that was capped by a layup by Bogans that made it 62-47.

Bogans finished with 16 points for Kentucky, Marquis Estill had 15 and Hayes 11.

Reserve freshman Mario Moore led Vanderbilt with 17 points, and Freije had 15.

Freije said Kentucky's defense was stifling. Cliff Hawkins limited Vandy point guard Russell Lakey to two points and harassed him into six of Vandy's 22 turnovers.

"It seemed like we had trouble completing a single pass," Freije said. "You can't play basketball 45 feet from the basket."

Kentucky	M	FG	Att	FT	Att	R	A	F	TO	TP
Daniels	32	4	7	0	0	8	5	1	1	8
Hayes	20	4	5	3	3	5	0	2	0	11
Estill	23	6	10	3	6	7	0	3	0	15
Fitch	32	7	10	1	2	1	2	3	3	18
Bogans	32	5	11	5	6	5	3	1	5	16
Hawkins	27	2	5	0	0	2	6	3	4	4
Stockton	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Carrier	6	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0
Cote	2	0	1	0	0	1	0	0	1	0
Azubuike	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0
Barbour	12	0	5	0	0	1	0	0	0	0
Camara	8	1	2	0	0	1	0	3	1	2
Totals	200	29	56	12	17	32	16	17	15	74

Team rebounds: 0.

Vanderbilt	M	FG	Att	FT	Att	R	A	F	TO	TP
Thornton	28	4	8	0	0	8	1	3	2	8
Freije	32	4	12	4	4	2	1	2	2	15
Smith	34	2	6	0	0	7	1	1	2	4
Holwerda	16	1	2	0	0	1	1	1	1	2
Lakey	28	1	5	0	0	3	2	3	6	2
Moore	21	4	8	5	8	1	1	0	3	17
Payton	6	0	1	0	2	0	1	1	1	0
Prbwski	11	0	0	1	2	0	1	1	1	1
Hundley	15	1	2	0	0	0	1	0	3	3
Terrell	9	0	0	0	0	1	0	4	1	0
Totals	200	17	44	10	16	23	10	16	22	52

Team rebounds: 1.

Kentucky	28	46	-74
Vanderbilt	36	16	-52

3-point goals-Kentucky 4-13 (Daniels 0-1, Fitch 3-5, Bogans 1-4, Hawkins 0-1, Cote 0-1, Barbour 0-1); Vanderbilt 8-15 (Freije 3-5, Holwerda 0-1, Lakey 0-1, Moore 4-7, Hundley 1-1). Attendance-14,168.

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