Tennessee basketball led for 38:41 and by as many as 17 points, but they didn’t lead when it mattered collapsing late in an 80-78 home loss against rival Kentucky. It marked Tennessee’s fourth straight home loss to Kentucky.
Here’s three quick takeaways on the defeat.
Tennessee Unlocks Offense In First Half By Taking Care of The Ball
Tennessee made six first half three-pointers, but more important to its offensive success was its ability to take care of the basketball. Turnovers have plagued the Vols for much of this season and when they took care of the basketball against Kentucky, their offense got in a groove.
The Vols turned it over five times in the first half but just twice in the first 15 minutes before Ja’Kobi Gillespie picked up his second foul. Tennessee scored 41 points before Gillespie picked up his second foul, but then turned it over three times and scored just four points in the final 4:35 of the half.
Turnovers were somewhere in the middle for Tennessee in the second half. The Vols finished with 12 turnovers which was better than it’s often been but still not great, especially considering the strong start.
Tennessee’s ability to take care of the basketball allowed them to get into an offensive flow where a number of players were involved and contributed.
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Tennessee Struggled To Get Stops In The Second Half
Kentucky has struggled offensively all season, but the Vols struggled to get stops in the second half. Part of it was a major credit to Kentucky. They started the second half shooting five-of-seven from deep and ended up shooting 60% from deep for the half and 45.8% for the game.
While the Wildcats deserve credit for hitting shots, Tennessee struggled to stay in front of the ball and had to play heavy help defense. That set up a number a number of comfortable catch-and-shoot look for Kentucky’s better shooters.
Another significant change was the way Kentucky attacked the offensive glass. The Vols gave up just one offensive rebound in the first half before Kentucky snagged 13 in the second half and turned it into 17 points. Tennessee played some four-guard lineups that contributed to it, but they also just gave up boards with two big-men on the court.
After turning the ball over right times in the first half, Kentucky turned it over just one time in the second half. All of that contributed to a 49-point second half where Kentucky scored 1.581 points per possession..
How Tennessee Collapsed Late
Kentucky was right at Tennessee’s heels for much of the second half, but the Vols had been able to continually keep the Wildcats at arm’s length. Tennessee had the ball, leading by one point with 40 seconds to play. That’s when a poor second half turned into an unmitigated disaster.
Ja’Kobi Gillespie, who had been brilliant for much of the night, committed a terrible turnover. Collin Gillespie jumped in front of a pass and made it a two-on-one. Gillespie fouled Otega Oweh who gave the Wildcats’ their first lead of the night on an and-one.
Oweh missed the free throw only for Kentucky to grab its 13th offensive rebound of the second half. That possession ended with a Denzel Aberdeen floater to put Kentucky up by three points. The Vols got to the line with two seconds remaining but could not get the needed an offensive rebound and put back. And was not able to get it.
Box Score
Up Next
Tennessee basketball has its midweek open date before returning to action on Saturday night in Tuscaloosa. Tipoff between Tennessee and Alabama is at 8 p.m. ET at Coleman Coliseum. ESPN is broadcasting the game.
