Nightmare in Tampa: Awful Offense Dooms Kentucky in 69-62 Loss to Tennessee

Whatever could go wrong, went wrong for the Wildcats Saturday afternoon. The Kentucky offense that scored 107 points in January against Tennessee, missed its first 11 three-pointers vs. the Vols in the SEC Tournament semifinals. Kentucky few valiant late comeback attempt to get within striking range, but it was too little, too late. After splitting the regular season series, Tennessee won the rivalry rubber match 69-62 in Tampa.

Ice Cold First Half for Kentucky

Tennessee took control of the game right away with a 15-2 run. The Vols were 4-of-7 from three-point land while UK was just 4-13 from the field. At one point the Wildcats had just two made field goals in 9+ minutes, missing 12 of 13 shots. When the halftime horn sounded Kentucky was 0-for-8 from three, 27.6% from the field and trailing by 11 points.

Kentucky finished the night 2-for-20 from three-point land and shot 34.4% from the field. The Wildcats had just eight assists on 22 made field goals.

Two Early Momentum Swings

When Kentucky struggled to make shots, they resorted to attacking the rim and drawing fouls. The boat was kept afloat at the charity stripe, until it was time for TyTy Washington to strike. Taking contact at the elbow, he pulled up and sank a bucket after a Volunteer was whistled for a foul. It appeared to be a three-point play, but an official took two points off the scoreboard, calling the foul on the floor. Instead of cutting the deficit to two, Washington missed the front end of a one-and-one. Tennessee scored on the following possession to grow the lead to seven.

That huge swing happened with Oscar Tshiebwe on the sideline. The frontrunner for National Player of the Year picked up his second foul with 11 minutes remaining and John Calipari chose to keep him on the sideline for the rest of the first half. Fortunately, Kentucky actually caught a break. Tennessee did not make the Wildcats pay, going just +2 with the Big O on the bench.

Second Half Surge

Kentucky showed some life to start the second half, thanks to Oscar. John Calipari went right to Tshiebwe as soon as he returned and it worked as well as you might expect. He had seven quick points to help shrink the deficit to six. The Wildcats were finally within striking range, but it wasn’t meant to last. UK went four minutes without a bucket, giving Tennessee an opportunity to grow that lead back up to 13.

One Final Push for Kentucky

Keion Brooks made Kentucky’s first three-pointer with just under seven minutes remaining. The make injected a little life into the pro-Kentucky crowd at Amalie Arena, helping UK get back within six. Those hopes were dashed when officials fell for a Fulky flop that fouled out Oscar Tshiebwe. Oscar still had a double-double (13 points, 11 rebounds), while Brooks led UK in scoring with 19 points.

UK made one final run with a few miraculous buckets. Trailing by 12, Washington sank a three to start a scoring outburst, while the Vols kept missing free throws. Brooks turned a turnover into a bucket in transition, Sahvir Wheeler added one on the break and Washington sank a pair of free throws to make it 65-62 with 90 seconds to play.

Brooks had the chance to get the game within one. Santiago Vescovi pulled in the rebound, but he delivered a strong shoulder into Wheeler’s face, giving the ball back to Kentucky. Calipari drew up a play to get Kellan Grady an open three but UK’s sharpshooter could not buy a bucket, finishing 1-of-8 from the floor and 0-for-5 from behind the three-point line. Wheeler, Grady and Mintz combined to shoot 4-of-25 (16%) for 13 points.

Box Score