After a very solid first 28 minutes to start the game, Kentucky grabbed a 10-point lead at the 12-minute mark in the second half only to get dusted by Tennessee’s two wing freshmen as the Vols ended the game on a 34-13 run. UK is 3-7 in the last 10 games against their border rival and have now lost six of seven games in SEC play.
Things are not good and it doesn’t appear that they are going to get better anytime soon.
Offense
Kentucky scored 71 points in 74 possessions posting .959 points per trip against the best defense in college basketball. The first half was excellent with the Wildcats posting 1.13 points per possession with just two turnovers and 13 made free throws. However, it got ugly in the second half with 11 turnovers in 39 possessions and just .744 points per trip.
When Kentucky recruited Keion Brooks Jr. out of high school this was the player we thought we would see. The modern day four figured to be a matchup nightmare for opposing opponents due to his face-up ability with the skill to put the ball on the deck. Playing against a small Tennessee front line, Brooks went off for a career-high.
He scored 23 points while playing over 30 minutes for the first time all season. He shot 8-of-14 from two-point range while going 7-of-8 from the charity stripe. He led the team with three offensive rebounds and looked like the player many of us expected to see this season. He had some help at point.
Devin Askew had the best game of his career scoring 14 points on seven shots with four assists. He gave Kentucky some quality stretches after really struggling the last couple of weeks. Meanwhile, it was a struggle for Davion Mintz scoring four points on eight shots with a team-worst minus-11 while he was on the floor.
On the wing, Brandon Boston Jr. scored just six points on 11 shots. Dontaie Allen saw some more minutes, but finished the game just 1-of-6 from the floor. The fact that Kentucky had a productive offensive night despite their three best shooting options going 4-of-25 from the floor was a win.
In the pivot, Olivier Sarr posted 14 points on nine field goal attempts. Sarr is now 5-of-10 from three this season and it’s fair to wonder why he hasn’t been squeezing off more treys. Isaiah Jackson scored four points, but played just 12 minutes. Why? Lance Ware and Jacob Toppin combined to score three points on six shots.
Thanks to forcing the issue, UK was able to get out in transition for 15 fast break points and it was clear from the jump the plan was to stay away from a grind it out in a half court game. However, things went dry once the team grabbed a 10-point lead and before they knew it they were down double-digits.
Once again, UK is being caught in no man’s land when it comes to shot attempts. The offense attempted 35 field goals from either three or at the rim. Elsewhere they had 30 shot attempts. As everyone else in basketball is trying their hardest to get away from mid-range, UK keeps plugging away.
Defense
Tennessee scored 82 points in 75 possessions posting 1.09 points per trip. This was UT’s highest point total in SEC play and they did it despite getting just 28 points from threes and free throws. Tennessee hammered Kentucky with 44 paint points while shooting 55.1 percent from two-point range. After being destroyed by Mizzou’s backcourt, it was Tennessee’s wings who dominated the game.
Both Keon Johnson and Jaden Springer were top-20 prospects in the class of 2020 who entered Knoxville with five-star rankings. However, to this point, both had just been role players for the Vols but they looked like future superstars last night. Both off-ball players went off for career highs as they dominated Kentucky.
Johnson scored 27 points on 16 shots with nine makes from the free throw line in 28 minutes. Springer produced 23 points on 17 shots. The Vols got 60.98 percent of their scoring from this duo who are averaging barely over 20 points per game combined. They were able to play downhill and consistently created paint touches for the offense.
Supporting the young players were starting two Victory Bailey Jr. and sophomore wing Josiah Jordan-James. Bailey, an Oregon transfer, scored 11 points on nine shots and Jordan-James chipped in 10 points on 10 shots with a team-high two three-pointers. After destroying Kentucky last year in Rupp, post John Fulkerson was very quiet with zero points in 10 minutes. The same was true for point guard Santiago Vescovi who scored just three points in 20 minutes.
The Vols were dominant in the second half shooting 50 percent from the floor and scoring 1.3 points per possession. They were able to cash in for 11 points from the charity stripe as Johnson and Springer combined to score 31 points on 20 shot attempts.
Isaiah Jackson has been one of the best defensive players in college basketball but he was mysteriously absent for most of the game. For the second outing in a row, Kentucky’s solid defense was sliced up by an average offense. Just when the offense has started to come alive the defense has taken a step backwards.
Outlook
There’s not much to say right now. Kentucky is 5-12 and is just a legit bad basketball team. This feels like we’re witnessing the worst team of the modern era and they are going to finish the season with one of the worst records in program history. Despite all of this, they keep finding themselves in winnable games but continually find ways to come out on the wrong end.
In the most recent loss, Kentucky came out determined to push the pace and it played out well for them as they built a double-digit lead in the second half. However, a drought arrived and all of a sudden the Wildcats could not buy a stop on the defensive end. In the end, Kentucky is now 1-3 against Tennessee in their last four games in Rupp Arena while Rick Barnes improved to 8-5 against the Wildcats. The Big Orange once again delivered another painful loss to the Big Blue.
It’s getting to a point now where everyone is probably just ready for the season to be over. Kentucky is sitting at 4-6 in SEC play while KenPom is projecting an 8-9 finish in league play. That would mean the Wildcats would get things started on Thursday afternoon in the SEC Tournament playing in the 8 vs. 9 game. That doesn’t sound fun.
Right now it’s all about trying to get better and win some games. We saw some very good things from both Devin Askew and Keion Brooks Jr. on the offensive end. Hopefully they can keep it moving forward. However, it’s hard to find too many positives when you look at the win/loss column. The five coming before 12 just does not sit right.
February 08, 2021 at 03:00AM
https://kentuckysportsradio.com/basketball-2/hard-to-find-positives/
Hard to find positives - kentuckysportsradio.com
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