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Tennessee basketball: Vols humbled by Kentucky in this week review

By Billy Williford

KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE - FEBRUARY 13: Admiral Schofield #5 of the Tennessee Volunteers dribbles the ball against the South Carolina Gamecoacks at Thompson-Boling Arena on February 13, 2019 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE - FEBRUARY 13: Admiral Schofield #5 of the Tennessee Volunteers dribbles the ball against the South Carolina Gamecoacks at Thompson-Boling Arena on February 13, 2019 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /
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LEXINGTON, KENTUCKY – FEBRUARY 16: Grant Williams #2 of the Tennessee Volunteers and Reid Travis #22 of the Kentucky Wildcats reach for a rebound during the game at Rupp Arena on February 16, 2019, in Lexington, Kentucky. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /

2. Second loss of the season

The first top-five matchup from the SEC in over 15 years didn’t live up to the billing. And, it wasn’t because of Kentucky.

Tennessee looked awful. They weren’t ready to go and couldn’t respond to Kentucky’s aggressive play. The Vols were shaken, and it showed on both sides of the court.

The offense was selfish. There was a lot of standing around instead of fighting to get open. There was a lot of quick shots just because they felt open. And, the Vols didn’t take time to get Grant Williams the ball.

Related Story. Kentucky loss doesn’t end National title hopes for Vols. light

One of my keys for Tennessee to have a successful rest of the season was to get Grant more involved. Let me be fair; the Wildcats did a great job at fronting Williams and not allowing him to get the post position he usually does. Kentucky even threw a lot of double teams at him. However, the Vols weren’t patient.

What was more alarming was the inability to knock down the three-point shot. Everyone knew just how good Kentucky’s interior defense was coming into the game. But, the Vols settled for a lot of three-point jumpers.

Lamonte Turner, Jordan Bowden, and Admiral Schofield shot just 1-for-17 combined from the three-point line. As a team, the Vols shot only 28 percent from deep on 7-for-25.

It’s just Tennessee’s second loss of the season, and they get a rematch in Knoxville in a few weeks.

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