By SCOTT FELTS
The 25th ranked Tennessee Volunteers began a two-game SEC road trip in Lexington on Saturday night, taking on Kentucky. The scene was different but the story was the same as the Volunteers (16-7, 6-4) blew a double-digit first half lead and lost 74-71 to the Wildcats (17-7, 8-3).
How did Tennessee collapse again to the Wildcats? We break it down in our Beyond the Box Score feature.
Big Lead Vols: Leading by as many as 14 points in the first half, Tennessee has played just two games this season that did not feature a double-digit advantage for at least one team. The lead and subsequent loss however spotlighted a problem seen in most games this year as Nate Ament and Ja’Kobi Gillespie combined for 44 of Tennessee’s points, and 33 of the 47 points in the first half.
Ice Cold Streak: Tennessee opened the second half 3-for-20 from the field in the first 13 minutes. That ineptitude led to the ‘Cats taking their first lead since early in the first half with 6:15 to play. The teams traded shots down the stretch but after a Collin Chandler 3-pointer with 33 seconds remaining, a visibly tired Ament missed a contested 15 footer with 16 seconds left and the Vols never led again.
So Goes Nate: With his 19 points at Kentucky, Ament has scored 17 or more points in each of UT‘s last eight outings with 22-plus in five of them. He’s averaging a team high 22.1 points per game. He scored 19 in the first half on 7 of 11 shooting and, though he finished with 29, went just 3-for-6 from the field in the second half.
Not All Rebounds Lead To Points: Tennessee outrebounded Kentucky 46-31 and 19-7 on the offensive glass. However the Wildcats dominated points in the paint by a 44-24 margin. The most important rebound of the game came on a missed free throw by Chandler, a 90% free throw shooter, that was rebounded by Kentucky’s Mouhamed Dioubate with seven seconds left and sent UK back to the line with just over three seconds to play.
Oh boy, Otega: Senior guard Otega Oweh and even though he beat his season average of 17 points per game with 21 points on 10-for-17 shooting it was one of his two assists that made the difference. Oweh drove to the basket on the baseline and wrapped around a pass, out to an open Chandler for his go-ahead 3. Oweh finished with 21 points, four rebounds, and two assists.
Close But No Cigar: The Vols point guard Gillespie scored 15 points with one rebound, four assists and two steals, but one of his seven misses from 3-point range clanged off the backboard and rim as the horn sounded. Had Gillespie made the shot, the game would have gone to overtime. After shooting 5-for-9 in the first half, Gillespie went 0-for-6 in the second half.
Nothing’s “Free”: Both teams struggled from the line missing a combined 17 of 47 free throws which was about 64%. As good as the game was and as talented as the rosters are, neither will get far in March if the free throws don’t start falling in.
Next Up: Tennessee travels to Mississippi State (11-12, 3-7) for a late 9 p.m. eastern Tuesday night tip. The Bulldogs are coming off a 20-point Saturday home loss to Arkansas.
Tip Ins: This is the ninth series meeting in a row with Tennessee ranked above Kentucky. … The Vols’ eight road wins at Rupp Arena are the second most of any team, trailing only Florida’s 10. … Tennessee is now 11-9 against Kentucky under Rick Barnes. In the 22 seasons before Barnes’ arrival UT went 9-35 against Kentucky.