Kentucky players ready for round 3 against Tennessee: "We're gonna come in playing freely."

The celebration from Sunday’s win over Illinois might still be ongoing for the fan base, but Kentucky players have to quickly turn their full attention to the next opponent. And as fate would have it, that will be the Tennessee Volunteers in the Sweet 16 — a team Kentucky beat twice during the regular season.

There’s an old saying that’s it hard to beat a team three times in one season. It’s one I don’t agree with (as Alabama proved to the Big Blue Nation in Nashville last week). Sometimes, one team has the other’s number. In a two-week span, Kentucky beat the Vols in Knoxville (78-73) and then again in Rupp Arena (75-64). The first win came without Lamont Butler and Andrew Carr. The second win came without Jaxson Robinson while Butler sat out the final 8:40 after reinjuring his shoulder.

The ‘Cats won’t have Robinson for round three, but the rest of the crew will join them in Indianapolis.

“We’re playing win or go home,” Freshman guard Collin Chandler said after Kentucky beat Illinois in the Round of 32. “So I think we’re gonna come in playing freely. We’re going to let it go and play together and stick to what we’ve done the whole season. We’re not going to change up anything. We’re going to do our same old boring habits. I think that’s helped us a lot.

“We’re not satisfied, right? We’re going in with the mentality to win. I think there will be some familiarity. We know their guys, but they’re a great team and we’re ready to go compete a third time.”

That familiarity works both ways, but it didn’t seem to matter when Kentucky executed a similar game plan in the second contest. The sharpshooting Chaz Lanier combined to go 3-17 from deep in two games against the ‘Cats. Zakai Zeigler shot a combined 1-13 from beyond the arc. As a team, Tennessee struggled to score and couldn’t dominate on the glass.

“First of all, we did a really good job of guarding their actions,” Fifth-year guard Koby Brea said of the previous matchups with Tennessee. “We came in with a defensive mind, and like I keep saying, that’s something we’re gonna have to do to continue to move forward. But on top of that, we just stay true to ourselves on offense. We just ran our stuff and I think it gives anybody problems. As long as we continue to do us, I think we’ll keep giving people trouble.”

Tennessee has impressed since losing to Kentucky the second time though. The Vols have gone 9-2 since that defeat, even making the SEC Tournament championship game before falling to Florida. Rick Barnes and company then cruised in the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament (in Rupp Arena, mind you) as a 2-seed with convincing wins over Wofford and UCLA.

“They’re a great team,” Fifth-year center Amari Williams added. “We’ve played them twice. We’ve seen what they did in the SEC Tournament so I feel like it’s how we prepare for this game knowing they’re a great team, just staying true to the scout and being ready.”

“They’re a really good team. They’re super tough,” Fifth-year forward Andrew Carr added. “I think it’ll be similar to tonight (against Illinois), it’s going to be about rebounding. It’s going to be about physicality, making a miss and making sure we get that defensive rebound. They’re a super talented team and they’re experienced in their own right, so it’ll be a exciting game for us.”

The rivalry aspect of this game is not lost on the players either, even though most of them had little to no knowledge of it before coming to play for Mark Pope at Kentucky. Lucas Oil Stadium will be half-filled with orange and half-filled (hopefully mostly filled) with blue.

“I’m so excited. That’s our rival,” Senior forward Ansley Almonor said. “It’s gonna be definitely a great atmosphere, a little closer to home. It’s gonna be definitely fun to go out there and play.”

If the season were to abruptly end right now, the vast majority of fans would be elated with how Pope’s first run went. More Top 25 victories than any team in school history, wins over Duke and Louisville, an SEC Tournament dub, and the program’s first Sweet 16 berth since 2019. But now it’s time to get greedy, if only so we can watch this team play one — or maybe four? — more games. A spot in the Elite 8 is there for the taking.

“We just have a lot of love,” Fifth-year guard Lamont Butler said of his team. “And we’re going to win that game.“