Just when it looked like the Tennessee Vols basketball team was going to be able to get some revenge on Kentucky, the Wildcats pulled away late and posted a season sweep of the Vols. Yup, there was a lot to dislike about the performance from UT in Lexington.
With under five minutes to go, Tennessee took a 60-58 lead following a bucket from Zakai Zeigler. However, the team went cold the rest of the way, with the Wildcats outscoring the Vols 17-4 to post a 75-64 victory.
As you might have been able to guess, head man Rick Barnes was not happy after the final whistle. While speaking to the media, the veteran head coach of course brought up the sloppy play from his players down the stretch in the loss to a hated SEC rival.
Rick Barnes was not happy with Tennessee's sloppy play in loss to Kentucky
"You know, some of it is, some of these guys haven't been in situations like this, a little bit of it," Barnes said via 247Sports on the team's late issues. "But by now, with as many games as we've played, I don't buy that to be honest with you. I think it goes back to individual guys. We know our guys and we know we got some guys that are pretty cool, calm. Some guys we know get a little bit too emotional and kind of zone out at the wrong times. I mean, I think every team I've coached, there's been different personalities like that, but it can't happen at that time. I can only tell you that. I mean, when you work hard enough to get yourself in position to win on the road against anybody in this league, the mental part of it, you've gotta take care of it. And that's on both the offensive end and the defensive end. The breakdowns that we had in the last 10 points they scored, it can't (happen). I mean they made a couple shots, but it was our execution really."
You can't blame Barnes for having that reaction. Tennessee was in a prime spot to land a jab on Kentucky and Mark Pope on the road, but it was the Wildcats who landed the knockout blow on Tuesday night. Now, UK fans are trolling Vols Nation left and right, which makes things worse.
Prior to Tuesday's loss, No. 5 Tennessee was on a three-game winning streak, taking down Florida, Missouri and Oklahoma. Unfortunately, those wins were sandwiched between the two losses to Kentucky. Should these two teams go on to face in the SEC Tournament again, we can only hope Tennessee will find a way to take UK down. In order for that to happen, late mistakes must be avoided.