Nearly two weeks ago, the Kentucky Wildcats beat the Tennessee Volunteers 86-69 in Lexington, and while most everyone else immediately commenced the meltdown, Will simply posed the question of whether the Vols had been educated or exposed by the experience.
A listless performance against the SEC’s worst team, a two-point loss to LSU, and a two-point win over Ole Miss later, and the growing consensus was a rousing and all caps EXPOSED, never mind the fact that the level of competition had increased significantly.
Today’s rematch with Kentucky in Thompson-Boling ended with a 71-52 win for the Vols and a vote of confidence for those in the “educated” camp. Tennessee today looked again like the team that blew through January and February without even trying, and they did it against a rival that was also a legitimate threat to earn a much-coveted 1-seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Jordan Bone was flawless, scoring a career-high 27 points, many of them at key moments when the cornered Wildcats hissed something about coming back and making it a game. Bone just tossed them around by the scruff of the neck, going 11-15 from the field and a perfect 5-5 from the arc, and he added three rebounds, three assists, and two steals just for good measure.
Not shown in the box score is the fact that Bone owns the keys to this offense. He may loan them to Grant Williams regularly, but Bone is the guy that makes this thing go. When he’s at his best, Tennessee’s offense is unstoppable.
Speaking of Williams, he, too, was a major factor in this game. His stat line: 24 points on 7-13 shooting from the field and 2-4 shooting from three, 8-11 from the free throw line, 7 boards, 2 assists, and a steal.
The best news for Tennessee and its fans may be that the game was won with a defensive effort we haven’t seen much this year.
The Vols’ offense looked like it just got unstuck from the mud, and the buys shot better against the ‘Cats this time both from the field and from the arc. But the real story is the impact the defense had on Kentucky’s shooting percentages this time around.
In the first meeting this season, Kentucky shot 54.7% from the field and 38.5% from the arc. Today? Only 31.8% from the field and 26.3% from three. That’s a huge difference, enough to negate a continued advantage for the Wildcats in free throw and still provide a 19-point cushion.
Credit everybody involved, including whoever came up with the gameplan for Kentucky’s P.J. Washington. In the first game, Washington had 23 points, but today the Vols held him to 13. Somebody figured out that he is allergic to the baseline, and the post defenders played him high, taking the middle away as an option and forcing him into help where he made bad decisions.
Despite the payback win, there are still some concerns and opportunities for improvement for the Vols. Three-point shooting is still an issue, as Lamonte Turner and Admiral Schofield were a combined 0-10 from the arc. Whether that’s shot selection (probably) or something else, they need to start hitting those or stop taking as many of them. Jordan Bowden — also in a recent three-point shooting slump — did hit 1 of 3 attempts. All of those guys had good games otherwise, but missing shots from three too often is becoming an ongoing concern.
Also, much like Schofield did earlier in the season, Kyle Alexander has now struggled for several games in a row. It’s getting to the point where it looks like John Fulkerson is being more productive, and might be what led Rick Barnes to starting Derrick Walker in the second half.
In addition to those two things, 29 free throw attempts for your opponent (to your own 14) is a very dangerous thing to keep ing around with.
But this was not only a huge Quadrant 1 win for the Tennessee Volunteers, a definitive answer to the question of whether the earlier loss to Kentucky was a hard bump against a low ceiling or merely an educational experience.
We have our answer, and now we get to see how far it can take us.