Will John Calipari be as happy again Saturday as he was in Knoxville after UK beat the Vols. (UK Athletics Photo)
Kentucky is coming off a win at Mississippi State and will be trying to complete a season sweep of Tennessee when the Cats host the Vols Saturday.
However, as huge as the win in Knoxville was, there will be nothing easy for UK in Rupp Arena against one of the nation’s best defensive teams.
Kentucky only had 63 points in the seven-point win at Knoxville. The Cats were only 18 of 51 from the field — 35.3 percent — but went 22 of 25 at the foul line and also out rebounded Tennessee 43-23. The Cats got 13 offensive rebounds.
Tennessee got to the foul line only 10 times and went 3-for-21 from 3-point range. But the Vols did have a 36-18 advantage in points in the paint, a stat to remember going into this game.
Tennessee is coming off a 68-59 win over No. 1 Alabama on Wednesday night in Knoxville that put the Vols’ stifling defense in the national spotlight.
The Vols had seven steals in the first half against Alabama and outscored the Tide 17-0 in points off turnovers in the first half and 26-2 in the game thanks to 19 Alabama turnovers.
Alabama was unbeaten in SEC play but had a season-low 17 field goals against Tennessee and shot 35.4 percent, its second lowest mark of the season. National player of the year candidate Brandon Miller was 4-for-11 from the field for Alabama. Alabama also had just four second-chance points.
The Vols (20-6, 9-4 SEC) lead the country in opponent 3-point percentage and defensive efficiency while ranking among the national leaders in opponent field-goal percentage (second) and scoring defense (third). Tennessee’s 37.7 percent offensive rebound rate also ranks fourth in the country.
Guard Zakai Zeigler, a top contender for SEC defensive player of the year, averages 2.04 steals per game — third-best in the conference. Zeigler and Jahmai Mashack are two of only 19 high-major players to record a steal on at least four percent of possessions when they are on the court. Santiago Vescovi ranks 24th nationally in steal percentage (3.8).
The Vols made a believer out of Alabama coach Nate Oats, normally one of the nation’s most confident coaches.
“Tennessee proved why they have the No. 1 defense in the country. They did a great job on us, and we turned the ball over way too much,” Oats said after the game. “They had nine turnovers, we had 19 turnovers; we scored two points off their turnovers and they scored 26 points off our 19 turnovers, to me that is the biggest area of the game and to me it was their physicality.
“They got into our guards, and we did not handle it well and we obviously didn’t do a good job of preparing our guys to go against the physicality that was going to come with this game.”
That means if Sahvir Wheeler and/or CJ Fredrick can’t play again, Cason Wallace and Antonio Reeves better be ready for physical play. Kentucky did survive at Knoxville when Wheeler was out with a shoulder injury.
Tennessee is third in the SEC at 9-4 behind Alabama (12-1) and Texas A&M (11-2). Auburn and Kentucky are both 8-5 while Missouri, Vanderbilt and Florida are all 7-6.
“I know their record isn’t what everyone thought it was going to be in conference but maybe they have been the unluckiest team I have seen with the last two losses (on buzzer-beating 3-point shots by Missouri and Vanderbilt),” Oats said.
“I don’t think I have ever seen a team lose back-to-back games like that, but this is a really good team and they showed it tonight.”
Also Tennessee beat Alabama with two starters — Josiah-Jordan James (ankle) and Julian Phillips (hip flexor) — not playing.
One Response
Mississippi State almost came back to win against the Cats owning to its defense and TN is much better than State. Cal had better put together a plan to overcome the TN defense that is iron clad. The Cats have, generally, not faired well against aggressive defenses. Here’s hoping we can pull this one out. Go Cats
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