Three takeaways from Kentucky basketball’s sweep of Tennessee
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Game day: Kentucky 66, Tennessee 54
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 in Rupp Arena.
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Three takeaways from Kentucky basketball’s 66-54 victory over No. 10 Tennessee on Saturday at Rupp Arena:
1. Let’s face it, this team can be hard to figure out
This Kentucky basketball team lost at home to South Carolina. It lost on the road to Georgia. Before last Wednesday’s win at Mississippi State it was 1-7 in NCAA NET Quad 1 games. Then Saturday, it completes a sweep of the Tennessee Volunteers, a team once ranked as high as No. 2 in the AP Top 25. Go figure.
If Tennessee was committed to seeking revenge for its 63-56 loss to the Cats in Knoxville, that all but vanished in the first half. The Vols shot an abysmal 25.9 percent the first 20 minutes. The visitors took 13 three-point shots in the first half, a puzzling strategy for a team that came into the game shooting just 32.7 percent from beyond the arc. Halftime: Kentucky 39, Tennessee 19.
“Thought early in the game our shot selection wasn’t very good and the guys let that seep into the defensive effort,” Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes said afterward.
The Vols did fight back in the second half. Twice the visitors cut Kentucky’s lead to eight points. Kentucky responded, primarily on the defensive end. After Tennessee pulled within 58-50 with 7:23 left, the Cats forced the Vols into four straight empty possessions. By the time Tennessee scored again, UK’s lead was back out to dozen.
To be sure, the Cats made it interesting down the stretch. From the 9:35 mark to the 1:14 remaining, they made just four of 13 free throws. Still, they found a way to win against a Tennessee team that had just handed Alabama the Tide’s first conference loss of the season.
Go figure.
2. Chris Livingston made a major impact
When asked about Kentucky’s first collegiate double-double from freshman Chris Livingston, Barnes cracked, “I don’t know why Cal was thinking (not playing Livingston more early in the season). The UT coach smiled when he said it. After all, the two are old friends.
Indeed, Livingston was a major difference. Kentucky’s win in Knoxville came in large part thanks to the UK’s excellent boardwork. The Cats outrebounded the Vols 42-23. Kentucky’s win in Starkville on Wednesday had much to do with UK’s 38-22 domination on the glass. Livingston had five boards that night.
He doubled that Saturday. He also started fast, scoring seven points in the first 10 minutes as UK jumped to a 15-8 lead out of the gate. By halftime, he had nine points, five boards and a blocked shot.
The Ohio native ended up going 4 of 5 from the floor. He nailed his only three-point attempt. He led the Cats in offensive rebounds with three and did not commit a turnover in 36 minutes.
“I feel like coming into this game I had the same mindset I had against Mississippi State,” he said. “We’re just trying to string wins together and I know what I got to do, what my role is on the team and I just feel like I fulfilled that tonight.”
As the nation’s No. 1 defensive team, according to Ken Pomeroy, Tennessee is a tough, physical team. But both last month in January and Saturday afternoon, Kentucky took the fight right to the Vols.
“The game plan, we knew how well we rebounded against Mississippi State,” Livingston said. “They knew they were going to make it a point to keep us off the glass. But we wanted to be the aggressor throughout the whole game and that’s what we did.”
3. It’s not about whether Kentucky clinched an NCAA berth
During his postgame press conference, UK head coach John Calipari made some comment about “you can’t talk us out of the NCAA Tournament.” If the Cats don’t receive an invitation to the Big Dance, it will be because they did not play well enough to get into the Big Dance.
Saturday, Kentucky certainly played well enough to be included in the Big Dance. The Cats are now 18-9 overall and 9-5 in the SEC. Yes, they have those losses to South Carolina and Georgia, but they also have two wins over Tennessee. UK is now 3-7 in Quad 1 games.
Bottom line: After Saturday, only a collapse over the last four games would keep Kentucky out. Calipari’s club has a road game at Florida on Wednesday. The Gators are without their best player in center Colin Castleton, who suffered a broken right hand last week. Auburn comes to Rupp next Saturday. UK then closes out the regular season with Vanderbilt at home and Arkansas on the road.
What matters more is the way Kentucky is playing. The Cats earned that win against a tough Mississippi State on Wednesday. And they were fantastic the first 20 minutes against Tennessee, then played well enough in the second half to register the win.
Making the NCAA Tournament is good. Making noise in the NCAA Tournament is better. That should be this team’s goal.
This story was originally published February 18, 2023 at 5:16 PM.
