Futile First Half Tanks Kentucky in 76-63 Loss at Tennessee

Tennessee flipped the script on Kentucky. Exactly one month after Kentucky defeated Tennessee 107-79 in Lexington, the Vols handed the Wildcats a 76-63 defeat, UK’s worst loss of the 2022 season.

John Calipari’s Cats had a six-game winning streak, and a two-game win streak in Knoxville, snapped by the Vols. Rick Barnes’ squad out-played Kentucky. They applied pressure and did not relent. The Wildcats looked lost on both ends as Tennessee seemingly scored at will, netting 44% of its shots, and turning 14 UK turnovers into 20 points.

Kentucky entered the matchup with all of the momentum in the world. The BBN can only hope this forgettable performance is a one-off, not the start of a late-season slide.

Early Technicals

The four-letter network was still interviewing Jon Scheyer on ESPN when John Calipari picked up the first technical of the night. Kentucky’s head coach grew irate when Oscar Tshiebwe picked up a ticky-tack personal foul on an offensive rebound. Foul trouble limited the big man to just 12 minutes in the first half. He shot just 5-of-15 from the floor (thanks to a plethora of blocked shots), yet he still finished with 13 points and 15 rebounds.

A few minutes after Calipari’s technical, John Fulkerson fell into the UK bench while saving a ball near the sideline. When his Tennessee teammates went to help Fulkerson up, some words were exchanged with UK strength coach Rob Harris. Nothing physical resulted from the pile of people, but officials still chose to assess double technical fouls.

The Longest Kentucky Scoring Drought

The double technical threw gasoline on Tennessee’s lit fire. The Vols scored eight straight points in the blink of an eye to start a 17-1 run and take a 32-18 lead over the Wildcats. Kentucky went 10:55 without making a field goal. It felt more like 45 minutes without a made field goal, yet the Cats somehow only trailed by 14 after arguably its worst half of basketball this season.

TyTy Washington Plays Sparingly Through Injury

In a shocking twist, TyTy Washington was in the starting lineup Tuesday night, just days removed from taking a nasty spill against Florida. Even though he was available to play, Washington did not look like the player who scored 28 points the last time Kentucky played Tennessee. He really didn’t look like himself at all. The shooting guard played had four points and three turnovers in 12 minutes before he re-aggravated his injured left ankle early in the second half.

Kentucky Second Half Push

The deficit was not insurmountable, thanks to the energy Davion Mintz provided off the bench. He picked up a tough bucket, then drilled a three in transition to spark a 9-0 run that pulled UK within eight points of the Volunteers. Mintz’s effort was admirable, but Kentucky could not turn that early second half momentum into a lasting comeback.

Box Score