Tennessee Basketball Destroyed 83-58 at No. 13 Kentucky: 3 Takeaways from Vols’ Loss

Tennessee basketball got blown out by the No. 13 ranked Kentucky Wildcats at Rupp Arena 83-58 Tuesday. Here are three takeaways from the Volunteers’ loss.

The last time these two teams met, the game launched Tennessee basketball into the NCAA Tournament conversation. This time, however, it might have knocked the Vols right back out of it.

John Calipari’s group got revenge on Rick Barnes’s unit for that loss in Knoxville with a dominating 83-58 win at Rupp Arena in Lexington, Ky. Tuesday night.

Tennessee did jump out to a 5-0 start, but Kentucky took control after that. They took the lead for good after a Derek Willis three-pointer made it 7-6 with over 16 minutes to go in the first half, and the Vols never even got back within double-digits after Kentucky went up 26-15 with over eight minutes to go in the first half.

With the win, Kentucky improves to 21-5 overall and 11-2 in the SEC, while Tennessee basketball falls to 14-12 overall and 6-7 in the SEC.

Here are three takeaways from the Vols’ loss to the Wildcats.

1. Easy buckets are hard to come by.

This has been a problem for Tennessee basketball all year, but it was a serious issue tonight. The Vols missed at least 15 shots inside the paint, most of which were layups, against that elite Kentucky defense. There’s no way around it. Tennessee got abused.

And it killed their shooting percentage. Overall, the Vols shot under 35 percent from the field, and they could not hit their three-pointers either, going 3-of-16. If you miss your easy shots under the basket and your three-pointers aren’t falling, a team like Kentucky will blow you out. But who’s at fault for these struggles?

2. Robert Hubbs III and Grant Williams did not show up.

Tennessee basketball senior Robert Hubbs III continues to show that he’s playing through pain, and a guy who usually has a dominant offensive game inside 15 feet missed three easy layups in this game. Hubbs is clearly hurt, and he finished the game 2-of-6 from the field with only 7 points.

Meanwhile, Williams was not much under the basket either, as Kentucky’s big men dominated him on both sides of the ball. He finished with 8 points on 3-of-7 shooting. In fact, the offensive play on the inside came from the bench from both teams, with Admiral Schofield leading the Vols in scoring with 17 points. That was odd. But while Hubbs is hurt and continuously getting worse as he tries to play through the pain, Williams simply looked like a freshman out there. Add in the shots not falling from the outside, and he had no chance.

3. Perimeter defense was atrocious.

You can live with a group of freshmen guards having an off-night shooting the three ball. It happens. But the way the Vols’ guards played on defense was a travesty. All three of Kentucky’s starting guards scored in double figures. Dominique Hawkins added 10 points off the bench.

And the Wildcats hit 11 threes, shooting over 40 percent from beyond the arc. They also only had 7 turnovers. It was absolutely atrocious. Sure, Kentucky is a great team and looks like they put it all together tonight, but the Vols’ guards completely turned it off on defense. When you’re having an off-night on offense, this is the result you’re going to get.