Leftover notes and bracket projections from Kentucky basketball’s win at Tennessee
Some leftovers from Kentucky’s 85-81 win at Tennessee on Saturday:
▪ One of the biggest differences between Tennessee’s 103-92 win over Kentucky at Rupp on Feb. 3 and the game last Saturday was Josiah-Jordan James.
James scored 26 points in Lexington. He entered that game having made one of his 18 3-point attempts in league play. He exited 4-for-9 from distance and 9-for-18 overall. He ended up reaching double figures in just four of Tennessee’s 18 SEC games. His 26 in that first game was by far his league high.
Saturday, James scored just eight points. He was 2-for-9 from the floor, including 2-for-6 from 3-point land. After cutting an 11-point Kentucky lead with 55 seconds left to a three-point lead with 31.4 seconds left, it was James who missed a 3-point attempt that would have tied the game.
James took that shot after Dalton Knecht fell down along the baseline as Tennessee was trying to run a play.
▪ Speaking of Knecht, he scored 40 points Saturday. His teammates scored 41. Knecht was 14-for-29 shooting from the floor. HIs teammates were 14-for-45. Knecht was 6-for-15 shooting on his 3-pointers. His teammates were 6-for-20.
▪ UK’s Reed Sheppard scored 22 of his 27 points in the second half. Sheppard is 17-for-20 from long range over his last five games.
▪ Meanwhile, this Myron Medcalf tweet did not go over well with BBN:
▪ UK’s Justin Edwards scored 13 of his 16 points in the first half. Edwards has now scored 36 points over his last three games. He’s 7-for-12 on 3-pointers during that stretch.
▪ Rob Dillingham has made 23 of 25 free throws over his last six games. That’s 92.0%.
▪ As we’ve mentioned before, Antonio Reeves has now scored 20 or more points in seven straight games.
▪ D.J. Wagner went 0-for-4 from 3-point range on Saturday. He was 9-for-14 from beyond the arc in his previous three games.
▪ Over its last six games, Kentucky is 66-for-150 from 3-point range for 44%. It was 15-for-29 on Saturday for 51.7%.
▪ Saturday was the sixth game this season the Cats have shot over 50% from 3 when taking 20 or more attempts.
- Stonehill 17-of-32 for 53.1%
- Marshall 16-of-27 for 59.3%
- Georgia 14-of-25 for 56%
- At Vanderbilt 15-of-26 for 57.7%
- Alabama 13-of-24 for 54.2%
- At Tennessee 15-of-29 for 51.7%
▪ In the previous five seasons, the Cats had five games in which they shot at least 50% from 3 when taking 20 or more attempts.
▪ Through Sunday’s games, Kentucky lead the nation in 3-point shooting at 41.2%. Purdue was second at 41.1%. Dayton was third at 40.7%.
▪ Knoxville News-Sentinel columnist John Adams after Saturday’s game:
So, I didn’t leave Saturday thinking any less of Tennessee, which lost for the seventh time in 31 games. I still consider it a national championship contender despite a rare home-court loss and its troubled history in the NCAA Tournament.
But Kentucky has Final Four potential, too. How many other teams can alternate three 7-footers and challenge a defense with so many 3-point shooters who also can drive through the heart of your defense and find the sweet spot on the glass?
▪ This is just the third time in the Calipari era that Kentucky has finished the regular season on a five-game winning streak.
The last five regular-season games:
- 2023-24 - 5-0
- 2022-23 - 4-1
- 2021-22 - 4-1
- 2020-21 - 3-2
- 2019-20 - 4-1
- 2018-19 - 4-1
- 2017-18 - 4-1
- 2016-17 - 5-0
- 2015-16 - 3-2
- 2014-15 - 5-0
- 2013-14 - 2-3
- 2012-13 - 3-2
- 2011-12 - 5-0
- 2010-11 - 4-1
- 2009-10 - 4-1
▪ ESPN’s Joe Lunardi has Kentucky as the No. 3 seed in the East Regional in Brooklyn. He has the Cats opening up in Pittsburgh against No. 14 seed Charleston.
Lunardi has UConn as the No. 1 seed in the East with North Carolina at No. 2 and Kansas at No. 4. Talk about a Blue Blood regional.
▪ Jerry Palm of CBS Sports has Kentucky as the No. 4 seed in the Midwest Region in Detroit. Palm has UK opening in Spokane against No. 13 seed Vermont.
Palm has Purdue as the No. 1 seed in the Midwest with Baylor at No. 2 and Creighton at No. 3.
▪ Kentucky is 19th in the NCAA NET rankings. The Cats are 6-5 in Quad 1 games and 2-2 in Quad 2.
SEC Tournament
At Nashville, Tenn.
All times EDT
WEDNESDAY
7 p.m.: No. 12 seed Arkansas (15-16) vs. No. 13 Vanderbilt (9-22), (SEC Network)
About 9:30 p.m.: No. 11 Georgia (16-15) vs. No. 14 Missouri (8-23), (SEC Network)
THURSDAY
1 p.m.: No. 8 LSU (17-14) vs. No. 9 Mississippi State (19-12), (SEC Network)
About 3:30 p.m.: No. 5 South Carolina (25-6) vs. Arkansas-Vanderbilt winner, (SEC Network)
7 p.m.: No. 7 Texas A&M (18-13) vs. No. 10 Mississippi (20-11), (SEC Network)
About 9:30 p.m.: No. 6 Florida (21-10) vs. Georgia-Missouri winner, (SEC Network)
FRIDAY
1 p.m.: No. 1 Tennessee (24-7) vs. LSU-Mississippi State winner, (ESPN)
About 3:30 p.m.: No. 4 Auburn (24-7) vs. South Carolina/Arkansas/Vanderbilt winner (ESPN)
7 p.m.: No. 2 Kentucky (23-8) vs. Texas A&M-Mississippi winner, (SEC Network)
About 9:30 p.m.: No. 3 Alabama (21-10) vs. Florida/Georgia/Missouri winner, (SEC Network)
SATURDAY
1 p.m.: Semifinal 1 (ESPN)
About 3:30 p.m.: Semifinal 2 (ESPN)
SUNDAY
1 p.m.: Championship game (ESPN)
This story was originally published March 11, 2024 at 1:00 PM.
