Tennessee basketball: Three takeaways from Vols’ 81-73 upset at No. 6 Kentucky
In their biggest win of the year, Tennessee basketball beat the Kentucky Wildcats on the road 81-73. Here are three takeaways from the Volunteers’ victory.
With one big game, Tennessee basketball found itself back in the NCAA Tournament race. The Vols shocked the No. 6 ranked Kentucky Wildcats 81-73, coming back from 17 points down in the second half, just three days after holding off the Florida Gators at home.
UT trailed Kentucky 51-34 with under 17 minutes to go in the game but received new life with a 12-2 run right after that. Then, down 60-53, they used a 10-0 run to take the lead. Kentucky tied it at 63 with under six minutes to go, but Yves Pons responded with a three to give Rocky Top the lead for good.
With the win, Rick Barnes’ team improves to 17-13 and 9-8 in the SEC, and their final game is Saturday at home against the Auburn Tigers. Kentucky, meanwhile, falls to 24-6 and 14-3 in league play. Here are three things we learned from Tennessee basketball’s shocking win.
1. John Fulkerson took over…again.
He closed the deal for the Vols against the Florida Gators, and John Fulkerson did it again for the Vols in this game. Fulk went 10-of-15 from the field and hit all seven free throws to score 27 points overall and grab six rebounds.
Fulkerson’s scoring was spread out more in this game, as he did it in both halves. But his hustle plays were key too. Up four with a minute left, Josiah-Jordan James missed a shot, but a hustle play by Fulkerson resulted in the ball landing back in James’ hands, and he hit a layup, which really secured the deal. Those were the types of plays he made all night, and it’s why the Vols won.
2. Shooting efficiency returned.
Jordan Bowden wasn’t even the star on this front, but he did have 11 points and hit a three-pointer. More importantly, though, was the fact that the Vols as a team shot 52.8 percent from the field, 44.4 percent from the three-point line and hit 17-of-21 free throws.
Yves Pons hit six-of-nine attempts and all three three-pointers en route to 15 points, which was incredible for him, and Josiah-Jordan James hit two-of-four three-pointers en route to 16 points. Off the bench, Jalen Johnson also hit two three-pointers to score eight points. So lots of guys showed up in this game, and that was a big deal.
3. Finally, there was a clutch performance down the stretch.
In recent weeks, Tennessee basketball had been collapsing down the stretch of games. That didn’t happen here. We already mentioned the Vols coming back from 17 down in the second half. Well, in the final three minutes of this game, they outscored UK 13-7.
That included a three-point shot and two layups off of offensive rebounds. They also had back to back defensive stops. By the time the final minute of the game arrived, they barely had room to collapse, and instead they held on by hitting their free throws. Is this team turning a corner in just the right time? It might be.