SEC Basketball: Kentucky gets revenge on Tennessee
The Kentucky Wildcats are on a roll as they have won four straight SEC basketball games.
At the beginning of February, Kentucky traveled to Knoxville to face off against Tennessee and it looked like the Wildcats were going to run the Volunteers out of their own gym. Instead, Rick Barnes’ squad came back down 21 points to stun the road team, giving John Calipari his second straight loss.
But on Thursday night at Rupp Arena, the Wildcats notched their revenge as they defeated the Volunteers 80-70 in a game that wasn’t as close as the score indicates.
Derek Willis and Jamal Murray combined for 53 points on 16-of-24 shooting and 14 rebounds to lead Kentucky while Tyler Ulis added 11 points and dished out nine assists. Marcus Lee struggled to catch the basketball in the first half and left the game with a lower back injury, but the Wildcats received key minutes from Isaac Humphries and Skal Labissiere off the bench.
The Volunteers leading scorer, Kevin Punter, finished with 19 points and Armani Moore put up 21 points, but it wasn’t enough to stop the hungry home team.
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Willis and Murray were unstoppable from downtown
The Wildcats have not shot the ball well from beyond the three point line (35 percent on the year) but they were in the groove from downtown versus the Volunteers and that proved to be the difference. Kentucky knocked down 45 percent of their long balls with Willis hitting seven treys and Murray adding three.
Since Willis was inserted into the starting lineup (before the Arkansas game), Kentucky has played better at both ends of the floor. The senior forward creates space because of his ability to step out and consistently knock down jumpers and his underrated defensive rebounding skills have helped the Wildcats end possessions on the other side of the floor.
Meanwhile, Murray has caught fire the last five games as he’s averaging 26.8 points and has become more efficient from the field. He’s picking his spots, playing under control and showing off his natural scorers mentality.
Tennessee had no answer for these two sharp shooters.
Where is Punter?
If Tennessee had any chance to sweep the Wildcats, they needed a monster game from their leading scorer, Punter, who averages 22.3 points per game. That was far from the reality as Ulis and Charles Matthews played lockdown on-ball defense to make life difficult for the lead guard.
He shot just 4-of-14 from the floor, dished out one assist and didn’t convert his first field goal until the 3:18 mark in the first half. The senior was clearly bothered by Kentucky’s feistiness and length as there were no lanes to attack the cup and Ulis showed off his excellent footwork to slide in front of Punter on his dribble drives.
Punter drilled a couple of long perimeter shots in the second half, including one that cut the Wildcats’ lead to 13, but the home team already had command and were clicking on all cylinders on the offensive side of the ball.
Guard play wins in March
Calipari’s team has dealt with plenty of adversity this season. The Wildcats lost at Auburn, lost at Tennessee, were shocked by a young Ohio State team at a neutral site and were handled by UCLA in Los Angeles. Before this stretch of four straight wins, the SEC’s best team (yes, they are the best team in the conference now) wasn’t playing up to their talent level.
Obviously Calipari knows this squad is not even close to as good as last year’s team, but with no dominant roster taking over the college hoops landscape, there is no question this group can make a run. Guard play normally wins out when it matters and the Wildcats have one of the best, if not the best, backcourt in the country with Ulis, Murray and Isaiah Briscoe.
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Even with the lack of strength in the front court, Big Blue Nation should be thrilled with the progression of this young roster.