Josiah-Jordan James: Kentucky 'just wanted to win more' than Tennessee
Josiah-Jordan James was candid Saturday afternoon, after No. 5 Tennessee’s 63-56 loss to Kentucky at Thompson-Boling Arena. The senior wing didn’t focus on rebounding or missed layups. What he pointed out wasn’t in the box score but was maybe the biggest difference in the game.
“They just wanted to win more,” James said. “They came in for 40 minutes, they were more aggressive, they were more physical. That’s the result. You lose games when you don’t play to win.”
Tennessee (14-3, 4-1 SEC) had won 25 straight home games entering Saturday and five of the last seven when Kentucky was in Knoxville. The unranked Wildcats (11-6, 2-3), on the other hand, limped to town after a 71-68 home loss to South Carolina on Tuesday.
Vols “played scared in a sense” in loss to Kentucky
The Gamecocks were a 19-point underdog at Rupp Arena and were coming off a 43-point home loss to Tennessee on Saturday. And they followed the upset of Kentucky with a 41-point home loss to Texas A&M.
“There’s obviously a lot of things I’m disappointed with with our guys,” Tennessee coach Rick Barnes said after the game, “but you have to give Kentucky all the credit in the world. Coming off obviously a tough loss and they won the game. They won it.”
Kentucky won it by playing a tougher brand of defense — Tennessee has been No. 1 in adjusted defensive efficiency in the KenPom.com ratings for the last seven weeks — and dominating on the glass. The Cats had 43 rebounds the Vols’ 21.
Kentucky had 13 offensive rebounds. Tennessee had four. Kentucky scored 12 second-chance points. Tennessee had four.
Oscar Tshiebwe (13) and Jacob Toppin (8) nearly outrebounded the Vols on their own.
Tennessee started the game on an 8-0 run, shutting Kentucky out until after the first media timeout, but then gave up a 10-0 run to the visitors. It was a five-point Wildcat lead by halftime, after the outscored the Vols 31-18 over the final 12 minutes of the half.
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“I feel like me, Jonas (Aidoo) and Zakai (Zeigler) came in,” James said, looking back at the 8-0 to start the game, “and we just didn’t do our job. We couldn’t execute on offense. Defensively, we gave them too many second-chance points and let them get confident.”
Up Next: Tennessee at Mississippi State, Tuesday, 7 p.m. ET, ESPN2
Kentucky coach John Calipari said after the game that his team was willing to give up points in the paint while focusing on perimeter defense. The Kentucky coaching staff didn’t believe Tennessee could hit enough twos to win the game.
The Vols went 20-for-36 inside the 3-point line and 3-for-21 from the 3-point line.
Uros Plavsic scored 19 points on 9-for-11 shooting and Santiago Vescovi scored 13, but the senior guard was just 1-for-6 from three. James finished with five points, with his own 1-for-6 mark from the 3-point line.
Still, after the game, James was focused on want-to and toughness. His team didn’t have enough of it. And it showed.
“It’s tough because we pride ourself on being the toughest team,” he said. “I feel like everybody has to look — myself included — look at themselves in the mirror and do a self-reflection because we can’t go out and play like that.
“Play scared in a sense. We have to be the more aggressive team.”
