Kentucky Guards Step Up in Upset of No. 5 Tennessee

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What if I told you the Kentucky Wildcats would take an under-manned team to Knoxville, survive horrible officiating and knock off the No. 5 Tennessee Volunteers?

A majority of Kentucky’s fanbase would have been skeptical of that prediction – and rightfully so after the team’s embarrassing home loss to South Carolina on Tuesday.

But Kentucky indeed managed to pull off what seemed to be the impossible with a 63-56 win over the Volunteers. And needless to say, it wasn’t exactly easy.

The Wildcats announced less than 10 minutes before the start of the game that veteran point guard Sahvir Wheeler wouldn’t be able to play due to a shoulder injury. They also announced that sophomore big man Daimion Collins would miss the game with a foot injury.

So, before the game even began, the Wildcats were down two key pieces. They then lost Cason Wallace for almost half of the first period due to back spasms, which put a major strain on Kentucky’s ball-handling duties.

But John Calipari’s team didn’t flinch.

Veteran guards Antonio Reeves and CJ Fredrick stepped up beautifully, combining to score 31 points. Freshman Adou Thiero, who didn’t play Tuesday in the team’s loss to South Carolina, scored four points and also had opportunities to handle the ball in the team’s half-court offense. Wallace, who at times this season has been deemed Kentucky’s best player at both ends of the court, didn’t score and had four fouls in 22 minutes of playing time.

It was a comforting sight to see players step up and play hard, but the main highlight of Saturday’s game was Kentucky’s success at the free throw line. Coming into the game, Kentucky was one of the worst teams in all of college basketball from the charity stripe. Critics have been able to point out that the team’s struggles in that area had cost the Wildcats in several games this season. But on Saturday, free throws were the reason Kentucky came out on top. The Wildcats made 22 of their 25 attempts and it was even more significant that the team’s primary ball-handlers (Reeves, Fredrick and Thiero) combined to make all 14 of their attempts.

Kentucky’s defense also answered the call, holding Tennessee to 40% shooting (13% from behind the arc) and limiting the Volunteers to their tied-lowest point total of the season.

Aside from the first five minutes of the game, Kentucky looked like the better team for a majority of the contest. That’s despite multiple injuries, several bad officiating calls and a whopping 19 turnovers. Being the better team is not something that’s been said much about this year’s Kentucky team – at least against ranked opponents. But this victory is something the Wildcats can build on as they prepare for the remainder of an incredibly tough January schedule.

Kentucky will host a testy Georgia team at home on Tuesday before a showdown with a good Texas A&M team next Saturday. They’ll then travel to Vanderbilt on the 24th before hosting No. 1 Kansas on the 28th. Fans should go one game at a time, but this win over No. 5 Tennessee could very well be the turning point of the Wildcats’ season. If it’s going to happen, now is the perfect time.

12 Responses

  1. Great article Larry. What about Thiero and his PG duties that he showcased today? The effort and energy was great today.

  2. Today I saw a UK team that did not back down, and gave back as much or more than it was given by the University of Thugs.

    This is what UK basketball ought to be every game.

    I like what I saw from this group playing together today, Reeves, Fredrick, Toppin, Oscar, and Wallace. I also thought Livingston and Thiero contributed. A lot of turnovers, but the rebounding by this group made up for that, and the collective defense was as good as I have seen from this team at any time this season.

    This was such a welcome sight for these old BLUE eyes.

  3. Okay, I have cooked the crow, but haven’t eaten it yet. Maybe Tennessee reads our posts and got too overconfident. Maybe the Cats read these posts and got pissed off and decided to prove me wrong. The Vols missed 5 or 6 layups, thanks to the basketball gods, that would have changed the game. When was the last time a KY team took 30 freethrows to UT’s 10 in Knoxville? When was the last time this team went 28 of 30 from the foul line? The biggest difference I saw was how much better our defense was without Wheeler playing and how everyone hit the boards. Plasvic had Oscar’s number most of the day, but Big O still came through for us though. Kudos to Frederick and Reeves for stepping up. However, one win does not a disaster undo. If we can win out this month, including Kansas, then maybe… Today shows how much Wheeler impacts the team in a bad way. He is just too small and too soft to play in rock fights like today. Collins can’t take the punishment either. Will Calipari stick with this lineup?

  4. Free Throw shooting, group rebounding, and hard nosed defense will win a lot of games.
    Good throw shooting can also be enhanced by who is handling the ball and when. That comes from good decision making by teammates.
    The 19 turnovers is horrible, but great defense can overcome a lot of mistakes.

  5. Went to the locker room to have a celebratory cocktail after the game – wonder of wonders – couldn’t find my two UT buddies – wonder why ??

  6. Good to see that the "Sky is not falling". I am sure we have never gotten that kind of free throw advantage down there before. Great overall game. Good to see Cal out coach that Barnes guy and the team win at bully ball. I didn’t give up on these guys. Yesterday they showed everyone why! ! Great win for a team that has not played up to expectations. Winning makes everything better and quiets the distractors(for a day at least)!

  7. Finally!! The Fredrick and reeves we thought we was getting when they transferred finally showed up. I still believe this a better team when a healthy Wallace is running point and wheeler on bench. Thought Theiro played well to.

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