SEC Tournament: Three takeaways from Tennessee Vols’ win vs. Kentucky in semifinals
Rick Barnes has still never lost the season series against John Calipari’s Kentucky Wildcats as head coach of Tennessee basketball. The Vols won the rubber match between the two schools 69-62 in the SEC Tournament semifinals Saturday to advance to the Southeastern Conference Championship game against the Texas A&M Aggies.
UT’s only deficit was 4-2, but Josiah Jordan James then hit a pair of free throws to spark a 7-0 run, and they never trailed again. The Vols, ranked No; 9 in the AP Poll and No. 11 in the Coaches Poll, built a 33-22 halftime lead. They went up by as much as 15 in the second half and were up by 12 with under three minutes to go.
However, Kentucky, ranked No. 5 in both polls, went on a furious run and cut it to three, before the Vols pulled away. Rocky Top improves to 25-7 overall, and Kentucky falls to 26-7 overall. Here are three things we learned from Tennessee basketball’s SEC Tournament semifinals victory.
1. Kentucky couldn’t buy a bucket from outside.
It seems like the Wildcats wasted all their three-pointers against the Vols in that first game at Rupp Arena in Lexington, Ky., back in January, when they won by 28. UT has won the last two because UK’s red-hot shooting from outside ran out. They did go 7-of-15 on Friday against the Vanderbilt Commodores to advance.
That was clearly all they had in the tank. The Wildcats shot an abysmal 2-of-20 from three, and they hadn’t hit any until the final five minutes. Give the Vols’ perimeter defense credit, as they had five steals, but the reality was UK is prone to these games, and they had it here.
2. Hustle by the guards saved the day.
Kennedy Chandler led the way with 19 points, Josiah-Jordan James added 10, Zakai Zeigler had 11 off the bench and Santiago Vescovi had nine while going 2-of-7 from three. However, what stood out were their hustle plays in crucial situations. James hitting two free throws and back to back threes to give the Vols the lead for good early on is part of that.
After Kentucky cut it close in the second half, Chandler made a layup then intercepted a pass for another one to go up by double digits. Then, late in the game, when it was down to three with a minute left, Vescovi grabbed a huge offensive board and drew a foul. He and Zeigler then both had key defensive rebounds to clinch the game, allowing the Vols to advance in the SEC Tournament.
3. Dealing with the press is still an issue.
Just like they almost choked against the Auburn Tigers two weeks ago, the Vols almost blew another lead because of Kentucky’s pressure defense. UK turned it on late and forced multiple turnovers. Combine that with two missed free throws by Chandler and one by Vescovi, and you see how they made it close.
Next. Five Vols who won the most. dark
Look, Tennessee basketball just beat Kentucky and will face an unranked team for the chance to win the SEC Tournament Championship for the first time in over 40 years. However, if they want to win a national title or reach the Final Four, they have to fix this one issue when the NCAA Tournament arrives.