LEXINGTON, Ky — Tennessee basketball had taken control of the game with just under five minutes to play after trailing for the vast majority of the game. Then Kentucky dominated Tennessee in winning time, closing the game on a 17-4 run to knock off the Vols’ 75-64.
Here’s three quick takeaways as Kentucky completes the season sweep of Tennessee.
Poor Start And Close To First Half Costly For Tennessee
Bad starts have plagued Tennessee this season and it showed up again in the first two minutes of Tuesday night’s matchup. Lamont Butler ripped Zakai Zeigler and finished a transition layup on the first possession of the game.
Kentucky jumped out to a quick 6-0 lead with Tennessee turning it over on two of its first three possessions. Igor Milicic helped stabilize the Vols in the short term and Tennessee kept things tight for much of the first half.
Zakai Zeigler’s layup with just over five minutes to play in the first half cut Kentucky’s lead to just one point. That’s when things went sideways for Tennessee. The Vols lost Trent Noah twice in a three possession stretch and he buried both attempts.
Tennessee took a timeout and drew up a nice backdoor play for Chaz Lanier but his shot was blocked at the basket. Kentucky drilled another three-pointer before Felix Okpara finally stopped the bleeding with a pair of free throws in the final minute of the half. Still it was a 9-3 run for the Wildcats to end the first half.
In the first two and final four minutes of the first half, Kentucky outscored Tennessee 15-3. In the middle 14 minutes, Tennessee outscored Kentucky 23-28. But the start and close were costly for the Vols.
Tennessee Has Three-Point Philosophy Change, Kentucky Red-Hot Again
Rick Barnes was clearly upset postgame when Tennessee attempted 45 three-pointers in its loss against Kentucky in Knoxville two weeks prior.
And the Vols used a clear strategy change in the rematch, looking to get the ball inside and not settle for perimeter jump shots. Tennessee attempted just 18 three-point attempts including only five in the first half and some late game bombs The Vols had some success doing it, scoring 32 points in the paint compared to 24 in the first meeting and got to the line to shoot 19 free throws.
But Tennessee is not a great inside team and didn’t find consistent success there. And while they took fewer threes, Tennessee did not shoot well from deep. Igor Milicic was the only Tennessee player to hit a three-pointer and the Vols finished just three-of-17 from deep.
On the other side, Kentucky was once again red-hot. After shooting 12-of-24 from three-point range in the first game, the Wildcats again shot 12-of-24 from deep on Tuesday night.
Tennessee had some defensive lapses that gave Kentucky open looks but the Wildcats made a number of difficult shots. In the two meetings this season, Kentucky made 50% of its three-point attempts. That’s a pretty crazy number in that long of a stretch.
More From RTI: Tennessee Basketball’s Top 25 Streak is at 74 Weeks And Counting
Igor Milicic And Zakai Zeigler Keep Tennessee In It
Tennessee’s two best players on Tuesday night were Zakai Zeigler and Igor Milcic. That’s becoming a common theme for the Vols as of late.
Milicic settled the Vols in the first half with an and-one to get them on the board and some contested rebounds that capped off crucial defense possessions. But after scoring just those three points in the first half, Milicic got going in the second half.
The senior forward caught fire from deep, hitting three second half triples to go along with some needed buckets at the basket. He finished the night with 16 points and nine rebounds.
Zeigler was a studying force for Tennessee on both ends throughout the night. No one encapsulated the Vols’ offensive philosophy change more than their point guard who took just two triples.
But Zeigler got to the basket as well as he has in any game this season and went for a massive points and six assists though he had a costly four turnovers.
Their efforts weren’t enough but the game would not have been competitive without them playing as well as they did.
Final Stats
Up Next
Tennessee basketball returns to Knoxville on Saturday afternoon when they’ll look to avenge last month’s loss against Vanderbilt. Tipoff between Tennessee and Vanderbilt is at 1 p.n. ET. The SEC Network is broadcasting the game.
One Response
Barnes had better get over his love affair with Ziegler… if not he’ll ride him right into a a first round loss in the Dance…