Tennessee basketball wins at Kentucky 82-71: Three takeaways

After falling behind by 10 in the second half, Tennessee basketball used a 12-0 run and a 26-6 run overall in the second half to take control in Lexington, Ky. at Rupp Arena. In the process, the Vols scored an 82-71 win at the Kentucky Wildcats. Ranked No. 11 in the AP Poll and No. 10 in the Coaches Poll, Rocky Top scored a rebound win here after losing 52-50 at the Ole Miss Rebels.

John Calipari’s team, meanwhile, suffered its third straight loss. This is the first time since 1976 and 1977 that UT beat UK on the road two years in a row. Rick Barnes is the first Vol coach since Don DeVoe to beat Kentucky at least once for six straight seasons.

In the process, Tennessee basketball improves to 13-4 and 6-4 in the SEC with a Wednesday home game against the No. 22 ranked Florida Gators up next. Kentucky falls to 5-12 and 4-6 in the SEC with the Arkansas Razorbacks at home up next on Tuesday. Here are three things we learned from this game.

1. Freshman guards were unbelievable.

Keon Johnson had 27 points, three assists four rebounds and a steal. Jaden Springer had 23 points, five rebounds and a steal. They shot a combined 18-of-33 from the field. Springer also had an amazing three blocks on the night.

This is why these guys were five-stars. Kentucky is famous for its ability to maximize the talent of freshmen under John Calipari, but in this case, Barnes had the elite freshmen. The two five-stars on Rocky Top carried the way.

2. Nobody made little mistakes.

From the outside, Tennessee basketball shot 5-of-19, or 26.3 percent, from the three-point line. That’s significantly below average. However, the Vols benefitted from Kentucky shooting 4-of-17, or 23.5 percent, from the three-point line.

Meanwhile, UT took advantage of the little mistakes. They only had 11 turnovers while UK had 13. Also, they hit 13 of 15 free throws, shooting 86.7 percent from the field. They also outrebounded the Wildcats 41-37. Josiah-Jordan James was the versatile star here, coming away with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

3. Inside game needs to improve.

Although the elite of the Vols’ guards is to be commended, the inside play is still an issue. Yves Pons was okay, coming away with six points, five rebounds, a steal and a block. However, he wasn’t dominant on the interior the way he usually is.

Meanwhile, John Fulkerson was all but useless once again. He only played 10 minutes and got into serious foul trouble, finishing with no points. There wasn’t much help off the bench. Tennessee basketball needs help here if it’s going to be successful. They got away with these issues Saturday, but it won’t last.