Three takeaways from Kentucky basketball’s upset of fifth-ranked Tennessee
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Game day: Kentucky 63, No. 5 Tennessee 56
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 Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville.
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Three takeaways from Kentucky basketball’s 63-56 win over No. 5-ranked Tennessee at Thompson-Boling Arena on Saturday:
1. The pride factor kicked in for this Kentucky team
You know they heard the rumblings and grumbling. You know they heard the question, the big question, the most puzzling question. They hear it on campus. Off campus. On social media. Off social media. From their friends. From their family. Certainly from themselves.
When these Kentucky Wildcats looked at themselves in the mirror on Wednesday morning, each player no doubt asked himself, “How in the world did we lose to South Carolina at home on Tuesday night?”
Four days later, flip the script. Now there’s this question: How did this Kentucky team beat No. 5 in Tennessee on the Vols’ home court just four days later?
Pride. Without Sahvir Wheeler (shoulder) and Daimion Collins (foot) and with Cason Wallace fighting through back spasms, the Cats looked inside and locked it down to give by far their most consistent and most impressive performance of the season.
The same Kentucky team that made just seven of 14 free throws before its home crowd on Tuesday — that had been borderline horrific from the foul line from the season — made 22 of 25 at the stripe in front of a hostile Big Orange crowd Saturday.
The same Kentucky team that experienced defensive lapses throughout the season, that saw South Carolina shoot 48.2 percent and average 1.197 points per possession, held Rick Barnes’ team to 40.4 percent from the field, including 3 of 21 from three-point range, and 0.815 points per possession.
Meanwhile, Kentucky shot just 35.3 percent and found a way to beat a top-5 team on its home floor.
2. Kentucky’s rebounding was a key
Tennessee center Uros Plavsic had his way offensively against UK’s Oscar Tshiebwe. Tennessee’s 7-footer went 9 of 11 from the floor for a game-high 19 points. Ah, but Plavsic ended up with just three rebounds.
In fact, Kentucky won this game on the glass, pounding Tennessee 43-23 on the boards. “We told our guys we had to outrebound them to have a chance to win this game,” UK head coach John Calipari said. “They had been outrebounded in both their losses.”
Tshiebwe finished with another double-double, collecting 13 rebounds to go with his 15 points. Jacob Toppin, back from the shoulder injury that kept him out of the South Carolina game, gathered eight rebounds. Chris Livingston and Antonio Reeves grabbed four rebounds each.
Kentucky was especially effective at keeping the Vols off the offensive glass. Tennessee ended up with just four offensive rebounds, compared to Kentucky’s 30 defensive rebounds for an offensive rebounding percentage of just 11.8. Meanwhile, UK grabbed 13 of its 32 offensive rebound opportunities for 40.6 percent.
Yes, technique and positioning matter in rebounding. The main ingredient is effort, and UK’s effort shined on the glass.
3. Was this the turnaround game UK needed?
Remember, the Cats entered the border war 10-6 overall and 1-3 in the SEC. Tennessee had won four of the last six meetings between the two teams. Barnes was 10-7 against his good friend Calipari since arriving in Knoxville.
Tennessee beat South Carolina 85-42 in Columbia last Saturday. South Carolina beat Kentucky 71-68 on Tuesday. Little wonder Tennessee was a double-digit favorite on Saturday, the spread ranging from 12 to 14 points.
This was a different Kentucky team on Saturday, a much different team, one that looked focused and determined, from the point it fell behind 8-0 in the first few minutes to the one-minute mark when Tennessee had cut the visitors’ advantage from 58-50 to 58-56.
So was Saturday the breakthrough this team needed? After a string of double-digit losses to marquee teams, was this the victory to catapult Cats’ forward?
Antonio Reeves, who led UK with 18 points, was asked what could Saturday’s result be the start of for this Kentucky basketball team?
“Something great,” said the guard. “Something legendary.”
This story was originally published January 14, 2023 at 3:55 PM.
