Tennessee has now won six of the last nine games against the
Cats.
LEXINGTON – March 3, 2020 – Bradley Charles – Bluegrass
Sports Nation
It was a shocker of all shockers. Kentucky held a 17-point
lead in the second half against an unranked opponent inside Rupp Arena and
failed to emerge victorious. It’s the type of thing that just doesn’t happen,
but it did tonight. In many respects, tonight’s game had an Evansville-type
feel to it. The crowd was stunned and in total silence. By the end of the game,
a large portion of the crowd had left their seats. Ultimately, a lot of things
happened tonight that you almost never see happen inside of Rupp Arena.
First Half:
There was no slowing down the Cats early on in the game as
UK held a 24-11 lead at the mid-way mark of the half. However, Tennessee
responded with an 8-0 run off back-to-back 3-pointers from Jalen Johnson and a
layup from Jordan Bowden. Kentucky’s lead was cut to five (24-19) with 8:32 to
play in the opening half.
Kentucky answered back with 10-3 run which was capped off by
a 3-pointer from Immanuel Quickley and one from Johnny Juzang. The Cats led
34-22 with 5:28 to play in the half. From that point on in the first half,
Kentucky’s lead never fell below seven points and the Cats held a 42-31 lead at
halftime. Tennessee’s John Fulkerson led all scorers with 15 points on 7-of-7
shooting from the floor in the first half.
Second Half:
Early in the second half, the Cats appeared to be in total
control. Kentucky held a 48-31 lead with 17:31 remaining in the game. However,
Tennessee responded by cutting the lead down to eight points with under 14
minutes to play. The Volunteers continued to chip away at the UK lead and
finally regained the lead with under seven minutes to go in the game.
Once Tennessee had the lead, it was clear they weren’t going
to give it up too easily. In fact, Kentucky never regained the lead and
Tennessee cruised to an 81-73 victory.
Player Notes:
Tyrese Maxey tallied 14 points in the opening half on
5-of-7 shooting from the floor. Maxey finished the game with 21 points
on 8-of-15 shooting from the floor and 2-of-4 shooting from 3-point range.
Nick Richards recorded 12 points and nine rebounds to
go along with three blocks in 30 minutes of play.
Immanuel Quickley accounted for 15 points on just
5-of-16 shooting from the floor. Quickley was 2-of-5 from 3-point range.
Ashton Hagans tallied 11 points and four assists in
just 26 minutes of play.
Team Notes:
The loss to the Volunteers snaps UK’s eight-game
winning streak.
Kentucky is now 24-6 on the season with a 14-3 record
in the SEC; Tennessee is 17-13 this season with a 9-8 record in SEC
play.
UK is 150-41 under John Calipari in regular-season
SEC games.
In 44 seasons at Rupp Arena, this is one of only 21 seasons
where the Cats lost at least two games in front of their home crowd.
What’s Next?
Kentucky’s next game is on March 7th on the road against the
Florida Gators. The game is scheduled to start at 1:00 p.m. and will air on
CBS.
