Three takeaways from Kentucky basketball’s loss to Tennessee
Three takeaways from Kentucky basketball’s 82-71 loss to the Tennessee Volunteers on Saturday night in Rupp Arena:
1. The Cats got an early start on the collapse
After failing to execute in the final four minutes of game after game this season, John Calipari’s club finally did something different against the Vols. The Cats extended the time frame out to the final eight minutes.
Or was it the final 12 minutes? Up 58-48 over the nation’s 11th-ranked team when Brandon Boston slammed home a fast-break bucket at the 11:57 mark, the Cats proceeded to score all of six points over the next (almost) nine minutes. By the end of that disastrous stretch, the script had flipped. Instead of up double digits, the Cats found themselves down double digits, trailing Tennessee 74-64 with 3:56 remaining.
As Calipari pointed out in his postgame comments, it was still a one-possession game with six minutes to go — 66-64 UT — but then Devin Askew lost the ball, Boston committed another turnover, then bricked a three-pointer and in the blink of an eye Tennessee led 70-64. Then 72-64. Then 74-64. Then 82-71 at the buzzer.
While Kentucky’s freshmen were fumbling, Tennessee’s freshmen were catching fire. Keon Johnson scored 27 points. Jaden Springer added 23. Calipari complained that his players were “bullied” by UT’s twin terrors — calling a player a “bully” is a Cal compliment — who combined to go 18-for-33 from the floor. The two took just five three-pointers between them. They didn’t have to shoot threes, as Calipari said, because they basically went wherever they wanted to go on the floor. And scored.
The Calipari era has been marked by Kentucky having the best freshmen on the floor. Not on this night, however.
2. Keion Brooks needed some help from his friends
The sophomore forward had a dynamite game, scoring 23 points with 11 rebounds and an assist. Brooks made eight of his 16 shots and was seven of eight at the foul line. From the 17:57 mark of the second half to the 12:17 mark, Brooks shouldered the load, scoring 10 of UK’s 12 points as the Wildcats stretched the lead to 56-48 before Boston’s dunk took the advantage to double digits.
After that, however, Brooks couldn’t keep up the pace. “They weren’t letting me catch the ball in the post,” he said afterward of the visitors. “And if I did, there was a lot of help-side (defense).”
Meanwhile, no other Cat stepped up to fill the breach. Kentucky had just two field goals over that crucial 8:43. Devin Askew scored off a drive at the 8:12 mark to tie the game at 60. After Brooks made a pair of free throws at the 7:49 mark, Boston scored on a jumper in the lane with 7:25 left to put Kentucky up 64-62. That prompted a 12-0 Big Orange spurt as the Cats went eight straight possessions without a point.
“It was one of those nights we needed just one guy to make shots on the perimeter because the way they played us,” Calipari said. “But we couldn’t.”
Truth be known, they haven’t all year.
Saturday, Davion Mintz was 1-for-8 from the floor, including 0-for-4 from three-point range. Dontaie Allen was 1-for-5 from three and 1-for-6 overall. Boston was 2-for-11 from the floor. He missed both his three-point attempts. As a team, the Cats were 4-for-17 from beyond the arc and shot 38.5 percent overall. Both were numbers typical of this misbegotten season.
And after committing just two turnovers in the first half, Kentucky turned it over 11 times in the second half. Give credit to Tennessee. Despite their previous problems on offense, the Vols did enter Rupp as the nation’s best defense, according to Ken Pomeroy’s analytics. But some of UK’s turnovers were ill-advised passes at ill-advised times.
“I don’t know what to tell you at this point,” Calipari said.
What else do you want the man to say? Kentucky is 5-12, for heaven’s sake.
3. At this point, what’s the point?
“Losing sucks,” said Brooks afterward, and that must be especially true for both the players and a coach not used to losing. After all, to a man, these Wildcats are highly recruited athletes who are used to winning on both their high school and AAU teams. And Calipari is a Hall of Fame coach with a national title to his credit. Cal hasn’t experienced a losing season as a head coach since his very first season as a head coach, way back in 1988-89, his debut season at UMass.
You know it’s tough on the head coach. Calipari seems to be graying and aging right before our very eyes. You know it has to be tough on the players, losing game after game for a program so used to winning big.
How hard is it to keep going?
“It’s not hard for me,” Brooks said. “I couldn’t play basketball for three months (because of an injury before the season). Every day I get a chance to play basketball, I’m happy and I’m blessed. And I’m out there to give it everything I’ve got. My teammates, as well, every day we still come and work hard, we practice hard, we listen to our coaching staff, we do everything we can to try and win these ball games. Quite frankly, it’s not happening for us. But it’s not due to a lack of effort or a lack of trying.”
This story was originally published February 7, 2021 at 12:10 AM.
