Tennessee vs. Kentucky: Vols drop Senior Night game at home
The Tennessee Volunteers were unable to close out the regular season with a win on Senior Night. The Vols fell to the Kentucky Wildcats by a score of 85-81. Congratulations to Kentucky fans, who acted like yesterday’s game was the pinnacle of their entire lives. This is the same fanbase who loves to live in the past and frequently says “regular season doesn’t matter,” but I digress.
It was a frustrating result, but it shouldn’t change much. The Vols are still SEC regular season champions. The Vols still beat Kentucky In Rupp Arena. The Vols could very well still be a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Kentucky came to play on Saturday, and the Vols didn’t for the most part (save for Dalton Knecht).
Let’s dive into the takeaways.
Reed Sheppard and Antonio Reeves were the difference
Reed Sheppard couldn’t miss on Saturday. The guard went 9-of-14 from the field and 7-of-10 from deep. Sheppard also had five assists and six rebounds to go with 27 points.
Antonio Reeves also contributed 27 points and added seven rebounds. Reeves went 8-of-16 from the field and 3-of-5 from three. Reeves has been on fire for the last month. Sheppard will probably be a lottery pick in the NBA Draft. I cannot wait for them both to leave.
Tennessee’s entire bench and two of the starters were non-factors on offense
Santiago Vescovi and Josiah-Jordan James have been ghosts on offense for much of the season. However, most of the time, Dalton Knecht, Zakai Zeigler, and Jonas Aidoo can do enough to compensate. Unfortunately, when you play against a team as talented as Kentucky, you cannot afford to have two starters do nothing.
I have defended the veterans on our podcast for much of the season. I bought into the idea that the game plan was just to rely on Knecht and Zeigler. However, Vescovi attempted five shots yesterday and made none of them. James attempted nine shots and made two. At least James contributed on defense and on the boards, but it’s frustrating that two of the leaders forgot how to score.
Silver lining?
The silver lining here is that it’s probably good to lose before the tournament starts. Going into the tourney on an insane win streak probably wouldn’t well. Also, Rick Barnes now knows the game plan that teams will have against the Vols in March. I think the Vols will rebound from this disappointment and be better for it in the long run.
Also, Arizona lost to USC last night in embarrassing fashion, meaning the Vols can still be a No. 1 seed. Considering most of the champions are 1 seeds, that has to be seen as a good thing. I have to be honest, though, I don’t want to be in the same bracket as Kentucky.