Three takeaways from Kentucky basketball’s loss to Tennessee in the SEC Tournament
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Game day: No. 9 Tennessee 69, No. 5 Kentucky 62
Click below for more of the Herald-Leader’s and Kentucky.com’s coverage of Saturday’s men’s basketball game between Kentucky and Tennessee at the SEC Tournament in Tampa, Fla.
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Three takeaways from Kentucky basketball’s 69-62 loss to the Tennessee Volunteers in the semifinals of the SEC Men’s Basketball Tournament on Saturday at Amalie Arena.
1. This could leave a crack in Kentucky’s confidence
In the postgame presser, Kentucky put on its best face. Never mind the loss, said the Cats. Spirits are up. The fight was there. Shots were missed. Give credit to Tennessee. “We’re good,” head coach John Calipari said he told his team in the locker room after the game. “Let’s go home.”
That might be true, but fact remains that after that 107-79 smashing of the Big Orange at Rupp Arena on Jan. 15, the Cats ended up losing its other two games against the Vols. Tennessee earned payback with a 76-63 win on Knoxville on Feb. 15. Then nearly a month later, the Vols took the rubber match.
They did so with defense. Kentucky shot an other-worldly 67.9 percent in that romp at Rupp. At Thompson-Boling Arena, however, UK shot a season-low 34.3 percent. Saturday, on a neutral floor, but before a heavily Big Blue crowd, Kentucky shot 34.4 percent and went a dreadful 2-for-20 from three-point range.
“We were 2-for-20 and still could have won,” Calipari said. “Think about that.”
Here’s something to think about: Tennessee entered the game ranked third in the nation in adjusted defensive efficiency, according to Ken Pomeroy. The Vols had held six of their last seven opponents below 40 percent from the floor. Make that now seven of eight. Defense trumped offense.
Yes, Kentucky had some open looks and missed, but there was more to it than that. It’s good to have ball-handlers this time of year and Tennessee has three good ones in Kennedy Chandler, Santiago Vescovi and Zakai Zeigler. They were key.
When UK had cut the Tennessee lead to 51-43 with 8:05 left, UT head coach Rick Barnes called time. Out of the break, he ran a play for Chandler and the lightning bug of a freshman beat the UK defense with his quickness for a bucket off a drive. Eleven seconds later, Chandler took a Wildcats’ turnover the length of the floor for an easy layup and it was 55-43 Vols.
Two minutes later, Kentucky was suddenly within six points, but Vescovi slithered into the lane, where he dropped the ball off to Chandler with a nifty pass for another important bucket. “This was a game about players making plays,” Barnes said.
Tennessee made more of those plays than Kentucky. And yes, I was among those who thought UK was actually the best team in the SEC. But the Cats didn’t win either the regular season title — injuries played a part in that — or the postseason tournament. And they lost two of three to one of the best teams in the league.
Not what you want heading into the tournament that counts.
2. One way or another, Kellan Grady has to get shots
In Knoxville, UK’s best perimeter shooter made just two of nine shots. He missed four of his six three-point attempts. Saturday was no better. In fact, it was actually worse. The Davidson transfer was 1-of-8 from the field. He missed all five of his three-point attempts.
Calipari said he called a play for Grady late because, “I believe in him. I told him that.” But, said the coach, sometimes coaches believe in a player more than a player believes in himself. “He missed a couple of shots and stopped shooting,” Calipari said.
Much of Grady’s success this year has come in the transition game. He’s not a driver. Catch-and-shoot and stop-and-pop are the strongest parts of his game. Tennessee limited a lot of that. Result: Grady was 1-for-6 in the first half, going 0-for-4 from three. And UK scored just 22 points, its fewest in the opening half since Feb. 3, 2018, at Missouri. And, to Cal’s point, Grady took just two shots in the second half.
There is a sizable slice of the fan base that continually calls for Calipari to run screens for his best shooter, the coach has never been one to do a lot of that. He has said he wants Grady to work harder for his shots. “You need to work harder to get shots then they are working to keep you from getting shots.”
One thing is clear, the Cats need the 6-foot-6 swingman to be locked in and then some next week. He’s a smart kid. A very smart kid. This is his chance. The guess here is that Grady will study the tape, work on things and come out with a more aggressive attitude when the Big Dance begins. A deep Kentucky tournament run will require Kellan Grady at his best.
3. This time of year it’s all about matchups
Throw out that first game in Lexington and this Tennessee team proved a bad matchup for this Kentucky team. The Vols have not just the aforementioned skill at guard, but Barnes has size and length to combat Oscar Tshiebwe down low. And it showed.
UK won the rebound battle, but not by much, 43-38. And the Vols’ Uros Plavsic, Brandon Huntley-Hatfield, Jonas Aidoo and John Fulkerson battled Oscar all game long to the point where Tshiebwe sat the final 11:32 of the first half and eventually fouled out with 3:37 remaining. His totals: 13 points and 11 rebounds.
The guess here is that not many among the 68 teams in the NCAA Tournament will boast Tennessee’s combination of skill on the perimeter and size beneath the basket. Plus, not many of UK’s future opponents possess Barnes’ knowledge of Calipari, or his record. Since arriving on Rocky Top, Barnes is 10-7 against Kentucky.
Still, there a lot of good teams out there, so now we’ll see what happens on Selection Sunday. Calipari said he thinks his team will be a No. 2 seed. ESPN’s Joe Lunardi said pregame that a Kentucky victory would move the Cats to the 1-line. That didn’t happen, of course. The guess here is that Cal is probably right. And as a No. 2 seed, I’m betting Indianapolis will be UK’s first stop.
Until then, the Cats have an extra day to rest, recuperate and figure a few things out. Fresh minds, fresh legs. I still think this can be a Final Four team. But much will depend on matchups and mindset. It always does.
This story was originally published March 12, 2022 at 7:38 PM.
