Tennessee basketball: 3 takeaways from Vols win at Kentucky
Tennessee basketball kept its winning streak alive by sweeping the season series against Kentucky 61-59. Here are three takeaways from the Volunteers’ win.
There were a lot of tears in the eyes of Big Blue faithful as Tennessee basketball beat the Kentucky Wildcats in Rupp Arena for the first time since 2006. Finally, the Lexington drought is over. What a tremendous statement win for this young Vols team that has been proving doubters wrong all year long!
That’s not all. This is only the second team in the history of Tennessee basketball to sweep the season series against both Vanderbilt and Kentucky. The other team to do it was the 1998-1999 Vols.
It wasn’t pretty, and it was one of the sloppiest games of the year for Tennessee. They had stretches of horrible shooting, bad transition defense, and thoughtless turnovers.
But yet again, Tennessee basketball won the game. Like I said against LSU, a win is a win and it doesn’t matter how it comes.
And what a win it shaped out to be! The entire game was hard fought by both teams, and it was going back and forth the whole game. Tennessee basketball was down 58-56, and guess who made a big-time basket. Lamonte “TREY” Turner hit a long three-point shot with little time left on the shot clock to give the Vols a one-point advantage.
18 seconds later, Jordan Bowden got a steal and had the presence to make a beautiful outlet pass to Admiral Schofield for a dunk that drove the nail deep into the coffin.
This wasn’t necessarily a game Tennessee needed to win, but it certainly made a statement to the doubters. And, I think will do wonders for the confidence of the team. There is no uncertainty now that the Vols are serious contenders to make a deep run in the NCAA tournament.
With the win, Tennessee basketball takes a six-game winning streak into Tuscaloosa to face the Alabama Crimson Tide. The Vols are now 18-5 overall and 8-3 in the SEC, which puts them in second place only behind the Auburn Tigers.
We saw a sloppy game from both teams, but the Vols found a way to win the game. Now they can focus their attention on Alabama, which will not be easy to win on the road. Here are three takeaways from Tennessee basketball’s win against Kentucky.
1. Turner is TOUGH
This team is filled with players, and they play well together. But have you noticed what Lamonte Turner has brought to the court in the past four games? He has scored in double digits in all of them and has shot 56% from the three-point line.
Turner plays even better on the road. It’s like he loves having opposing fans to hate him. In the past three games on the road, he has scored 61 points and shot an insanely high 74.6% from the 3-point line.
2. Tennessee basketball found a way.
The sign of a good team is when a team can win a game where they don’t play their best. Tennessee didn’t have its “A” game but found a way to grind it out and get the win.
Grant Williams only made one shot from the field, and the rest of his points came on free throws. Admiral Schofield shot 0-6 from the 3-point line but found a way to grab six rebounds. Jordan Bowden was 1-5 from 3-point range but knocked down all his free throws down the stretch.
This team can blow opponents out and win the ugly games, which brings us to our next point.
3. The Vols are Contenders
All the doubters can now sit back, pop some popcorn and try to enjoy the ride. Tennessee basketball still has Alabama, Florida, and don’t laugh, Mississippi State on the schedule. With the much-improved play in the conference, those games won’t come easy, but this team is good.
No one can question if Tennessee can play with the big boys. They are a big boy. I don’t think there is a team in the country that could blow the Vols out because their defense is too good.
The past eight games, Tennessee has held their opponents to under 65 points. Kentucky isn’t the greatest shooting team, but the Vols held them to 21% shooting from the 3-point line.
If they can continue to play that type of defense, watch out for a Final Four run.
Bonus Takeaway
It is okay Vol fans, take it in and celebrate. It has been over ten years since you can say your team beat Kentucky in Lexington. Many of you will probably have Rocky Top on repeat for the next 48 hours with a smile on your face.
If you need something to tell your Kentucky friends at work tomorrow or just want to send a text message to them merely say or text, “Barnes > Calipari.”
*Kyle Alexander block update: He has had at least one block in each of the past eight games. That gives him a total of 21 in that eight-game span.*