Playing at Tennessee is the ultimate gut check for any Kentucky team. Traditionally, Kentucky's advantage over UT is that Kentucky has better basketball talent -- better shooters, better ball handlers, more team speed. But when Kentucky goes to Knoxville, those skills aren't as helpful as you might expect. Tennessee always plays a physical, banging sort of game, and on their home floor they can usually make it impossible for Kentucky to run the type of intricate offensive sets that are usually the hallmark of good basketball. Meanwhile, UT's awkward offense works much better when the Vols get to spend much of their day at the line. The result for UK is usually two and one-half hours of immense frustration. Rupp's Runts lost in Knoxville. The 1975 team that played for the national championship lost in Knoxville. The Unforgettables lost in Knoxville. The 1993 Final Four team lost in Knoxville. Even John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins lost in Knoxville. Going to Knoxville is, in many ways, the ultimate test, because Knoxville lets us know how you will react when the breaks are going against you and when life just doesn't seem fair.
Rarely has Kentucky had a team that I thought was less prepared for Knoxville than this one. Three freshmen. Only six guys who really play very much. So many close losses. So many passes bobbled down the stretch, or rebounds lost to the other team, or key misses at the end of games. Plus, this was going to be their first game all year on Sunday. And it was at the odd time of noon E.S.T. And it was Senior Day in Knoxville. And they were honoring Allen Houston. And this: in each of Bruce Pearl's first four seasons at UT (2006-2009), he finished ahead of UK in the standings. Last year, of course, we finished ahead of them. But a win today would make UT the number 2 seed to UK's number 3, while a loss would give UK the number 2 seed and leave UT at number 5. Bruce Pearl loves to talk about finishing ahead of UK, and he would love to get that talking point back. In short, the stakes could not be higher.
And sure enough, Kentucky was terrible in the first half. They kept trying to work the ball in to Jones, but of course he can't shoot when UT's goons are hanging all over him. Normally your best bet at Knoxville is to take three's -- like when we beat them a few years ago on Jodie Meeks's hot shooting. But UK hasn't shot three's well on the road all year. So they were down 29-22 at the half, and it could have been worse than that. Calipari used four of his five timeouts before halftime.
But in the second half, UK got hot. Knight, Lamb, and Miller hit UT with a barrage of threes (UK would make 6-13 in the second half) that staked the Cats to a 40-33 lead. Then came the free throws as UT worked its way back into the game. (The Vols scored 20 points from the line and only 38 points from the field, which is very odd). When UT took a 52-51 lead late in the game, it looked like the elements were in place for another heartbreaker.
For this team, however, the sort of horrors they were facing at UT were no different than what they have already experienced time after time on the road. And unlike other UK teams that have gotten frustrated or discouraged in Knoxville, they just kept playing. Here were some of the big plays down the stretch:
1. Trailing 52-51 with just over five minutes to go, Knight takes a contested 3 that has no chance. It looks like a potential run-out for UT, but HARRELLSON grabs the rebound and passes to Jones, who takes advantage of the chaos surrounding the rebound battle to make one of only three field goals he scored all night (he was 3-15 for the game). UK retakes the lead.
2. UK is up 56-52 with just over three minutes to go when Scotty Hopson (the pride of University Heights) scores and is fouled by Liggins. That's five fouls on Liggins, who has done a great job on Hopson all night. Hopson makes the free throw, and cuts the lead to 56-55. On the ensuing possession, Jones comes across the lane, drawing his usual horde of pursuers, and kicks the ball over to MILLER, who buries a three-pointer to put UK up four. Miller had 15 points (to only 13 for Hopson), and was absolutely critical to UK's victory. (This was UK's last field goal of the game.)
3. UK is up 59-56 with just over 2 minutes to go with the ball. With 1:39 left on the clock, Jones tries a long three, which misses (of course), but HARRELLSON grabs the rebound. Kentucky resets the offense, and with 1:12 left, Knight tries a contested three -- which also misses -- but JONES AND HARELLSON battle for the rebound. At one point three or four players are on the floor, but Jones squirts the ball out to Knight, who is fouled with 1:02 left. KNIGHT then makes both free throws, and suddenly UK is up five with only a minute left.
4. UK is up 61-58 with 21 seconds left and the shot clock is about to run out when Miller ties a very difficult 15-footer. It misses, but HARRELLSON is there again. The only way UT can stop him from getting the ball is to knock it out of bounds. Now UK has the ball and a 3-point lead with only 18 seconds to go.
5. With 18 seconds left, UK cannot get the ball to Knight (who was 6-6 from the line), so they inbound to JONES, who is a 66 percent free throw shooter and who has already missed five free throws in this game. But he makes both of them to put UK up five and effectively seal the win.
As you can see, except for Miller's jump shot and Jones's free throws, all of the key plays down the stretch were effort plays -- a question of getting a loose ball and holding onto it. This has been a big problem for the Cats all year -- it killed them at Arkansas -- but they finally did it today.
One other point should be made. UK benefited enormously from UT's lack of outside shooting. The Vols were only 2-9 from three-point range, making this one of the few UK road games where we haven't been hit with a barrage of threes. I think this is probably the most important issue for the Cats in the NCAAs. If you were to ask me, "In what round will UK be eliminated?" I would say, "In the round where the other team makes at least 8 threes."
What happens next? Well, this was a huge win for many reasons. UK gets the number 2 seed in the SEC East, which puts them on the opposite side of the bracket from Florida (number 1 in the East), Mississippi St. (number 2 in the West), Vandy (number 3 in the East), and Tennessee (number 5 in the East). UK will play the winner of Ole Miss/S. Carolina on Friday, and if they win that game they will play either Alabama (number 1 in the West), Georgia (number 4 in the East), or Auburn (number 5 in the West) on Saturday. These will be difficult games -- and let's hope UK won't go back to underestimating their opponents -- but they are winnable.
I do think it is very important for UK to keep winning -- not only because it would mean a lot to win the SEC Tournament but because this team really needs the best possible seed in the NCAAs. I think UK may have one big upset in them -- but I would like them to have to pull it later rather than sooner.
But to be honest, this is not a day for thinking about the future. It is a day for glorying in the present. Winning in Knoxville is its own reward, and today was one of those days that just makes you happy to be a fan. Whatever else happens with this team, I will always remember that they beat U of L in Louisville and they beat UT in Knoxville. That counts for a lot with me.
Yeah!
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