When the pressure to win was at its peak, the Tennessee Volunteers stunned their SEC rival Kentucky, winning by 19 points, with a score of 71-52. Not only does this add to their already superb tournament resume, but will also give them great momentum heading into the SEC Tournament which begins on March 13. Overall, Head Coach Rick Barnes was impressed with his team’s efforts. “I was really proud of our defense from the beginning, we knew where we had to be and our intensity was there.”
The turning point in this marquee matchup was with about four minutes to go until the half when big man Admiral Schofield put down a massive slam to give the Volunteers a seven-point lead. From that point on, Tennessee was able to work as a unified unit, racking up assists, rebounds and points on their way to a 13-point lead at the half. Behind the leadership of Grant Williams, who had 24 points for the game, and top-tier Point Guard Jordan Bone, the Vols never looked back. Each time Kentucky had a big three-pointer or got a steal, Tennessee didn’t falter, but went right back to work and found a way to counter. Perhaps the biggest exclamation point on the game came in the final minute when the game was sealed for Tennessee. A Kentucky turnover led to a massive slam dunk by the Vols who gave the crowd just a little more hype. Although Kentucky has looked good all year, the experience Tennessee has on their roster truly paid off in a big way against the talented freshmen from the Wildcats.
Stats:
Points
Tennessee- Jordan Bone, 27
Kentucky- PJ Washington, 13
Rebounds
Tennessee- Grant Williams, 7 Admiral Schofield, 7
Kentucky- Nick Richards, 7
Assists
Tennessee- Lamonte Turner, 6
Kentucky- Tyler Huerro, 3 Ashton Hagans, 3
How the Top 5 performed*:
Gonzaga- W 86-66 Pacific, W 69-55 Saint Mary’s
Virginia- W 81-51 Georgia Tech, W 73-49 Pitt
North Carolina- W 93-85 Syracuse, W 81-79 Clemson
Duke- L 77-72 Virginia Tech, W 87-57 Miami (FL)
Tennessee- W 73-71 Ole Miss, W 72-51 Kentucky
*-Based on current rankings which came out on Monday
Games to watch this week:
North Carolina- Duke, Saturday 5pm, ESPN: This classic College Basketball matchup will feature Duke’s core Freshmen against veteran Luke Maye and a scrappy Tar Heels team.
Virginia Tech-Florida State, Tuesday 7pm, ESPNU- These two unranked teams are much better than their records show and still battling for a spot in the NCAA Tournament, which means that this game holds a lot of weight heading into the ACC Tournament.
Michigan- Michigan State, Saturday 8pm, ESPN- A rivalry like no other, this game was extremely close the first time these two teams met with the Spartans getting the win 77-70. Will the Wolverines turn the tables and respond with a huge win?
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