After trailing by as many as 19 points in the first half, the Wildcats, who overcame the largest deficit under John Calipari, were still down 47-34 with 13:51 remaining. They clamped down defensively and gave their shooters chances to contribute and earn a hard-fought victory. Monk thrived the most, making a go-ahead 3 with 3:40 left before adding another long-range shot with 49 seconds left for 69-62 lead.
The freshman guard then made four free throws in the final 21 seconds to finish with 27 points for Kentucky (25-5, 15-2). Bam Adebayo added 16 points and De'Aaron Fox had 13 after a one-game absence with a knee injury.
Luke Kornet had 21 points and Joe Toye added 15 for Vanderbilt (16-14, 9-8), which made 11 3-pointers but had its four-game winning streak stopped.