Calipari’s Wildcats moved to 11-5 with the win.
Photo by Reed Carringer

LEXINGTON—Tennessee came into the game knowing it would take the best Vol performance of the year to pick up a rare win in Rupp Arena. While the Vols played at a higher level than we’ve seen in the last few games, turnovers and a lopsided margin at the charity stripe doomed Tennessee to a hard-fought 75-65 loss.

Cuonzo’s struggling Vols came out of the gates with confidence and took it to the Wildcats early. McBee opened the scoring for Tennessee with a 3 (his only points of the game) and the Vol offense was clicking. Tennessee led 19-17 before six Vol turnovers in a five minute span allowed Kentucky to build a 25-19 lead. But the Vols didn’t wither. Tennessee fought back and took a 31-30 lead on a Trae Golden runner.

At the half, Kentucky led 34-31. McRae had 11 points but the Vols committed nine costly first-half turnovers. In typical Rupp fashion, Kentucky benefitted from a series of questionable calls and had an 11-0 advantage in free throw attempts at the break.

The Vols didn’t attempt their first free throw until the 13:51 mark in the second half. At that point, the Wildcats had a 45-39 lead. Tennessee continued to fight and at the 7:14 mark grabbed a 54-53 lead on a Derek Reese 3. The game turned when Yemi Makanjoula, Tennessee’s best defender, picked up his fifth foul with 6:47 to play. Kentucky converted their final eight attempts after Makanjoula’s exit.

Calipari’s Wildcats shot nearly 50% for the game and were led by Kyle Wiltjer (17 points) and Nerlens Noel (12 points, 9 rebounds, 6 blocks, 4 steals).

Slumping Vol point guard Trae Golden had a rough night. Golden turned the ball over five times and never seemed comfortable on the floor. The Vol big men also turned in a poor showing. Stokes, Hall, and Makanjoula combined to score 12 points and commit 12 fouls.

McRae is averaging 24 points his last four games.
Photo by Reed Carringer

On a more encouraging note, Tennessee forward Jordan McRae continued his brilliant play with 23 points to lead all scorers. He is averaging 24.0 points over the last four games and for the second consecutive game was the only Vol to score in double-figures. Freshman Derek Reese tallied nine points on 3-6 shooting in 22 minutes of action while fellow freshman Armani Moore scored five points (on 2-2 shooting) and grabbed four rebounds in just 12 minutes of play. Look for Reese and Moore to see more playing time moving forward.

With the loss, the Vols fall to 0-3 in SEC play for the first time since the 1997-98 season.

Up Next: Tennessee (8-7) returns to Thompson-Boling Arena to take on Mississippi State (7-7) in a game the Vols simply must win. Saturday, 4 p.m. TV: SEC Network.

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