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The ‘Cats stormed back from down 14-points at halftime to beat the No. 25 Tennessee Volunteers by a score of 74-71 in front of a frenzy of a Rupp Arena crowd. The comeback was initiated by a focused and improved second half defense from the ‘Cats that looked to contain Gillespie and Ament for the Volunteers. The duo combined for 33 first half points but was held to just 11 points in the second half, 10 of those points coming from Ament. The Kentucky offensive attack was balanced, but focused around Oweh and Aberdeen down the stretch. Oweh scored 21-points in the game, while Aberdeen added 16-points and hit two big free-throws in the closing seconds. The biggest shot of the game, however, rolled off the hands of Collin Chandler. Oweh drove with the shot-clock winding down and connected with Chandler who nailed a three that gave the ‘Cats a 71-69 lead with just 30-seconds to play. In a night that recognized the 1996 National Championship team and debuted the signature throwback denim jerseys, it was a fun-filled, high-intensity rivalry win at home for the ‘Cats and Big Blue Nation. The crowd was the best of what Rupp Arena has to offer and impacted the game in key moments. The ‘Cats are rolling in conference play, winning 8 of their last 9 games and standing in 2nd place in the standings for the time being. Kentucky gets a basketball “bye” week this week, with no mid-week game. They hit the road and take on the red-hot first place No. 17 Florida Gators next Saturday in Gainesville.
Pre-Game Overview:
The starting lineup for the ‘Cats featured Denzel Aberdeen, Otega Oweh, Collin Chandler, Andrija Jelavic, and Malachi Moreno
The spread for Saturday nights game was -1.5 (Kentucky) and the Over/Under was set at 146.5.
Game Recap:
First Half
Tennessee won the opening tip and scored the first points of the game late in the shot clock off a dunk from Estrella. The ‘Cats scored their first points with an Oweh and-one opportunity. He missed the free-throw. Gillespie nailed the first three of the game for the Volunteers. Jelavic scored at the rim for the ‘Cats to make it 5-4 Tennessee. The ‘Cats forced a turnover on the other end. Moreno backed down Estrella and scored. Jelavic grabbed a big rebound on the other end and Oweh scored on a drive. The Volunteers mishandled another entry pass to the post and the ‘Cats regained possession with a 8-7 lead. Moreno was called for a loose ball foul. Garrison checked in for Moreno. The ‘Cats and Vols couldn’t connect offensively for over 2-minutes of action. The ‘Cats led 8-7 at the under 16-minute media timeout. Garrison shot and missed a three. Gillespie again nailed a deep three. Chandler missed an open corner three off a pump fake. Estrella connected on an and-one chance for the Volunteers. Garrison collected an offensive board and scored with a foul. Evans picked up two quick fouls for the Vols on consecutive plays. The ‘Cats trailed 12-10 at the under 12-minute media timeout. Estrella made a basket at the rim and Oweh responded with an and-one chance. He missed the free-throw. Aberdeen tricked his way to the rim for an easy score. Ament answered with a three. Jelavic stole a pass and attacked the rim and was rewarded with a foul call. He missed both as the ‘Cats began the game 0 for 5 at the free-throw line. Ament nailed another three at the top of the key. Ament again scored a mid-range jumper for a 22-14 Tennessee lead. Oweh answered with a long two pointer. Ament hit another corner three. Oweh scored again but Gillespie answered with another long three of his own for a 28-18 Tennessee lead with the Volunteers converting on five consecutive field goals. Ament and Gillespie combined for 22 of Tennessee’s first 28 points in the game. Oweh scored under the rim off an easy layup. Aberdeen nailed a fade away mid-range jumper. The ‘Cats trailed 28-22 with 6:20-minutes to play. Gillespie hit his fourth three of the game. Aberdeen answered with the ‘Cats first of the game. Ament hit another corner three for Tennessee. The Vols went back up by 10 points at 35-25. Chandler nailed a deep three for the ‘Cats. Noah stole the ball from Ament and was fouled in transition. The ‘Cats trailed 36-28 with 3:03-minutes to play in the first half and Noah heading to the line after the break. Noah hit both free-throws. Ament again went on a scoring spree and scored consecutive field goals to lengthen the Tennessee lead back to double digits at 43-30. Moreno scored in the paint for the ‘Cats. Johnson fouled off a missed shot just before the buzzer to give the Volunteers to grow their lead. Boswell hit both free-throws. The ‘Cats trailed 47-33 at halftime.
Both teams shot over 50% for the half but the difference was Tennessee’s three-point shooting. The Volunteers combined for 8 first half threes, 4 each from Gillespie and Ament. It is clear the ‘Cats are missing injured Kam Williams in the game with the inability to guard Ament and connect beyond the arc to begin the game. Ament led all scorers with 19-points, while Gillespie added 14-points for Tennessee. The ‘Cats were led by Oweh with 12-points and Aberdeen with 7-points. Tennessee assisted on 15 of 17 made field goals and Kentucky 8 assists on 14 field goals. The ‘Cats will look to defend Ament and Gillespie in the second half and convert efficiently on the offensive end with improved three-point shooting.
Halftime: Kentucky 33 – Tennessee 47
Second Half
The first play of the second half saw a back door cut from Oweh for a slam. Gillespie drove and was fouled by Oweh. He made 1 of 2 free-throws. Moreno was fouled and hit both free-throws. Aberdeen answered a Estrella slam with a jumper. Chandler found Jelavic for a slam. Chandler nailed a three to make it 54-44 Vols. Aberdeen collected a long offensive rebound and nailed a rhythm three to make it 55-47 Tennessee. Oweh blocked a dunk at the rim but was called for a foul and Boswell hit both free-throws. Dioubate scored on consecutive plays with a slam for Kentucky. Aberdeen missed a wide-open three. Kentucky trailed 57-51 with 11:54-minutes to play. Johnson spun his way into drawing a foul and went to the line. He hit both to make it 57-53 Tennessee. The ‘Cats fumbled a couple of open threes to get closer from Johnson and Chandler. The ‘Cats forced a shot clock violation on the defensive end. Oweh went back door for a baseline slam. The ‘Cats went on a 8-0 run over a 5-minute stretch of game action to climb within 2 points at 57-55 with 9:25-minutes to play. Tennessee finally scored at the rim with Brown. Johnson quickly responded with an isolation layup. Ament was fouled and went to the line. He hit 1 of 2 to make it 60-57 Vols. Oweh scored at the rim from Johnson. The ‘Cats forced another shot clock violation to get the ball back down 1-point. Oweh went up and under for the lead. Boswell answered for Tennessee. Ament picked up a loose ball and scored with a foul. He made the free-throw to make it 65-61 Tennessee. Oweh was fouled and hit 1 of 2 free-throws. Oweh threw the ball away and then Garrison missed a wide-open layup at the rim to keep the score at 65-62 Tennessee heading into the under 4-minute media timeout. Garrison picked up an Oweh miss and put it in. Ament hit two free-throws to make it 67-64 Tennessee. Moreno scored over Okpara. Moreno collected a defensive rebound and the ‘Cats called timeout to draw up a play down 1-point with 1:41-minutes to play. Aberdeen drove and was fouled on a shot. He hit both for a 68-67 Kentucky lead. Ament scored for the Volunteer lead at 69-68 with 50-seconds to play. Oweh drove and found Chandler for a three to give the ‘Cats a 71-69 lead with 27-seconds to play in the game. Ament missed a mid-range shot and Moreno collected a big rebound. Moreno went to the line for a one-and-one free-throw. He made the first. He missed the second and Tennessee collected the rebound and called their last timeout with 8-seconds to play. Garrison fouled Estrella on the inbounds and Estrella went to the line for two free-throws. He hit both free-throws to make it 72-71 Kentucky. Oweh found Chandler and Ament fouled him to send him to the line. Dioubate collected the missed free-throw and Aberdeen was fouled to go to the line. He hit both free-throws to give the ‘Cats a 74-71 lead. Gillespie had a clean look at a half court shot attempt that banged off the backboard, then off the rim, for a Kentucky win!
Final: Kentucky 74 – Tennessee 71
Game Stats:
Tennessee FG %: 37% (38% 3PT – 8 of 21) (68% FT – 17 of 25)
Kentucky FG %: 50% (26% 3PT – 5 of 19) (59% FT – 13 of 22)
Rebounds: 46 – 31 Tennessee
Assist/Turnover Ratio: 16:9
Turnovers: UK (9), Tennessee (13)
Bench Points: 14 – 4 Kentucky
Points off Turnovers: 12 – 10 Kentucky
Fast Break Points: 15 – 10 Tennessee
Paint Points: 44 – 24 Kentucky
Player Stats:
Otega Oweh – [(21 points) (4 rebounds) (2 assists)]
Denzel Aberdeen – [(16 points) (2 rebound) (3 assists)]
Malachi Moreno – [(10 points) (5 rebounds) (3 assists) (2 blocks)]
Collin Chandler – [(9 points) (2 rebounds) (3 assists) (2 steals)]
Brandon Garrison – [(4 points) (7 rebounds) (1 assist) (2 steals)]
Andrija Jelavic – [(4 points) (4 rebounds) (1 assist) (1 block) (1 steal)]
Mouhamed Dioubate – [(4 points) (2 rebounds) (1 assist) (1 block) (1 steal)]
Jasper Johnson – [(4 points) (2 assists)]
Trent Noah – [(2 points) (1 rebound) (2 steals)]
Jayden Quaintance – [OUT/DNP right knee swelling]
Kam Williams – [OUT with foot surgery]
Jaland Lowe – [OUT for the season with right shoulder surgery]
Next Game:
The Kentucky Wildcats (17-7, 8-3 SEC) will get a mid-conference play “BYE” week this week and will take on the No. 17 Florida Gators (17-6, 8-2 SEC) on Saturday, February 14 in Gainesville. Tipoff is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. EST. The game will be televised on ABC.
