RECAP: Vols storm back from down 17, stun Cats
Kentucky's Ashton Hagans pressured a Tennessee player in Tuesday's game at Rupp Arena. (Jeff Drummond/Cats Illustrated)
Jeff Drummond • CatsIllustrated
Managing Editor Edit
@JDrumUK
LEXINGTON, Ky. -- After spending most of January and February successfully rehabilitating its good name from a couple of head-scratching early-season losses, Kentucky did the unthinkable Tuesday.
The No. 6 Wildcats, just three days removed from clinching the SEC championship, blew a 17-point second-half lead and lost 81-73 to unranked Tennessee on Senior Night at Rupp Arena.
John Fulkerson scored a career-high 27 points in leading the Volunteers to only their 18th win in 110 trips to Lexington. Josiah-Jordan James and Yves Pons added 16 and 15, respectively, for Tennessee (17-13, 9-8 SEC).
"(Fulkerson) was terrific tonight and all of our guys did something great, every guy that played," Tennessee coach Rick Barnes said. "But what he did is one of the great performances I’ve witnessed."
The Vols, who trailed 51-34 with 16:54 remaining in the game, stunned Kentucky with a 27-9 run to take a 61-60 lead on a James 3-pointer with 6:47 to go.
The Cats, who have dominated late-game situations this season, managed to tie the game once but never regained the lead. After committing just five turnovers in the first half, UK had nine in the second. It also shot 33% after the break coming off a 55% showing in the first half.
Kentucky (24-6, 14-3 SEC) wound up trailing by as many as nine points in the final minute of play and looked discombobulated on both ends of the floor.
"The game got physical and we couldn't compete," UK coach John Calipari said. "It just got physical. We tried different ways to try to score and we just, we had nothing.
"But give credit to Tennessee. They could have gone away down 17, but that's Rick Barnes, I mean, he's a terrific coach. He never wavered... Fulkerson killed us, obviously."
Tyrese Maxey led Kentucky with 21 points. Fellow guard Immanuel Quickley followed with 15, while center Nick Richards added 12 points and nine rebounds. Ashton Hagans gave UK a fourth player in double-figure scoring with 11 but it wasn't enough on a night that could be costly to the Cats' NCAA Tournament seed hopes.
"Really quiet," Quickley said of the postgame locker room mood. "Everybody knows we did not play our best today. Like I said, we just have to move forward. Every team, we have had adversity this whole year. We just have to let this morph us in a positive way and get ready for the next team.”
*****
In this Cats Illustrated "Rapid Recap" feature, we touch on some quick-hitters from the UK loss…
THE GOOD:
It's difficult to glean anything positive from a game like this, but the Kentucky team that played the first 22 minutes and 29 seconds looked as good as we've seen all season. At one point, it seemed the Cats may actually record that first blowout victory of the season.
THE BAD:
Like they have done repeatedly this season, the Cats could not build on nice leads. On two different occasions, they built leads of 14 and 17 points but allowed the Vols to chip away at both of them thanks to poor ball security, shot selection, and defensive lapses.
THE UGLY:
The game featured some disconcerting body language from the Cats as their big lead evaporated, including some reports of dissension on the bench between players and coaches. It was an uncharacteristic night for a team that has not shown any of those signs this season, even in their other five losses.
GAME BALL:
John Fulkerson, Tennessee -- "The Incredible Fulk," as his teammates have dubbed him, lived up to the monicker on this night. Although he looks more Bruce Banner than muscle-bound superhero, Fulkerson was 10-of-15 from the field, 7-of-7 at the line, grabbed six rebounds and drew nine UK fouls as the Cats did everything possible trying to defend him. None of it worked.
BY THE NUMBERS:
1st - Time Kentucky has lost a game in which it led by 11 or more points at halftime since Feb. 14, 1998, against Ole Miss.
8th - Loss for UK in 289 games under Calipari when leading at any time by 10 or more points.
15 - Game home winning streak ends for UK. It was the first loss on Senior Night since 2009 against Georgia.
24 - Kentucky points off 15 Tennessee turnovers.
31-26 - Rebounding advantage for the Vols.
52.8% - The Vols became the first team in 17 SEC games to top the 50% field goal mark against the Cats. UK is 0-3 this season when the opponent shoots 50% or better. (Tennessee, Ohio State, Utah)
156-74 - Kentucky's lead in the all-time series with Tennessee. Of the 74 wins for the Vols, the most by any UK opponent, only 18 have come in Lexington.
QUOTABLE:
"We've been doing it all year, giving up leads." -- UK guard Tyrese Maxey
UP NEXT:
Kentucky returns to action Saturday at Florida in the regular-season finale. The Cats defeated the Gators 65-59 on Feb. 22 at Rupp Arena. Florida (18-11, 10-6 SEC) will play at Georgia on Wednesday night before playing host to UK. Saturday's game will tip off at 1 p.m. ET on CBS.
Kentucky's Ashton Hagans pressured a Tennessee player in Tuesday's game at Rupp Arena. (Jeff Drummond/Cats Illustrated)
Jeff Drummond • CatsIllustrated
Managing Editor Edit
@JDrumUK
LEXINGTON, Ky. -- After spending most of January and February successfully rehabilitating its good name from a couple of head-scratching early-season losses, Kentucky did the unthinkable Tuesday.
The No. 6 Wildcats, just three days removed from clinching the SEC championship, blew a 17-point second-half lead and lost 81-73 to unranked Tennessee on Senior Night at Rupp Arena.
John Fulkerson scored a career-high 27 points in leading the Volunteers to only their 18th win in 110 trips to Lexington. Josiah-Jordan James and Yves Pons added 16 and 15, respectively, for Tennessee (17-13, 9-8 SEC).
"(Fulkerson) was terrific tonight and all of our guys did something great, every guy that played," Tennessee coach Rick Barnes said. "But what he did is one of the great performances I’ve witnessed."
The Vols, who trailed 51-34 with 16:54 remaining in the game, stunned Kentucky with a 27-9 run to take a 61-60 lead on a James 3-pointer with 6:47 to go.
The Cats, who have dominated late-game situations this season, managed to tie the game once but never regained the lead. After committing just five turnovers in the first half, UK had nine in the second. It also shot 33% after the break coming off a 55% showing in the first half.
Kentucky (24-6, 14-3 SEC) wound up trailing by as many as nine points in the final minute of play and looked discombobulated on both ends of the floor.
"The game got physical and we couldn't compete," UK coach John Calipari said. "It just got physical. We tried different ways to try to score and we just, we had nothing.
"But give credit to Tennessee. They could have gone away down 17, but that's Rick Barnes, I mean, he's a terrific coach. He never wavered... Fulkerson killed us, obviously."
Tyrese Maxey led Kentucky with 21 points. Fellow guard Immanuel Quickley followed with 15, while center Nick Richards added 12 points and nine rebounds. Ashton Hagans gave UK a fourth player in double-figure scoring with 11 but it wasn't enough on a night that could be costly to the Cats' NCAA Tournament seed hopes.
"Really quiet," Quickley said of the postgame locker room mood. "Everybody knows we did not play our best today. Like I said, we just have to move forward. Every team, we have had adversity this whole year. We just have to let this morph us in a positive way and get ready for the next team.”
*****
In this Cats Illustrated "Rapid Recap" feature, we touch on some quick-hitters from the UK loss…
THE GOOD:
It's difficult to glean anything positive from a game like this, but the Kentucky team that played the first 22 minutes and 29 seconds looked as good as we've seen all season. At one point, it seemed the Cats may actually record that first blowout victory of the season.
THE BAD:
Like they have done repeatedly this season, the Cats could not build on nice leads. On two different occasions, they built leads of 14 and 17 points but allowed the Vols to chip away at both of them thanks to poor ball security, shot selection, and defensive lapses.
THE UGLY:
The game featured some disconcerting body language from the Cats as their big lead evaporated, including some reports of dissension on the bench between players and coaches. It was an uncharacteristic night for a team that has not shown any of those signs this season, even in their other five losses.
GAME BALL:
John Fulkerson, Tennessee -- "The Incredible Fulk," as his teammates have dubbed him, lived up to the monicker on this night. Although he looks more Bruce Banner than muscle-bound superhero, Fulkerson was 10-of-15 from the field, 7-of-7 at the line, grabbed six rebounds and drew nine UK fouls as the Cats did everything possible trying to defend him. None of it worked.
BY THE NUMBERS:
1st - Time Kentucky has lost a game in which it led by 11 or more points at halftime since Feb. 14, 1998, against Ole Miss.
8th - Loss for UK in 289 games under Calipari when leading at any time by 10 or more points.
15 - Game home winning streak ends for UK. It was the first loss on Senior Night since 2009 against Georgia.
24 - Kentucky points off 15 Tennessee turnovers.
31-26 - Rebounding advantage for the Vols.
52.8% - The Vols became the first team in 17 SEC games to top the 50% field goal mark against the Cats. UK is 0-3 this season when the opponent shoots 50% or better. (Tennessee, Ohio State, Utah)
156-74 - Kentucky's lead in the all-time series with Tennessee. Of the 74 wins for the Vols, the most by any UK opponent, only 18 have come in Lexington.
QUOTABLE:
"We've been doing it all year, giving up leads." -- UK guard Tyrese Maxey
UP NEXT:
Kentucky returns to action Saturday at Florida in the regular-season finale. The Cats defeated the Gators 65-59 on Feb. 22 at Rupp Arena. Florida (18-11, 10-6 SEC) will play at Georgia on Wednesday night before playing host to UK. Saturday's game will tip off at 1 p.m. ET on CBS.
