Kentucky outlasted Tennessee on Saturday afternoon, but just barely.
The Wildcats traveled to Knoxville looking to avenge a 103-92 loss to UT at Rupp Arena in Lexington earlier this season and UK did just that.
The revenge was redeemed thanks to 15 of 29 shooting from three (51%), nine blocks and outstanding play from a pair of its stars.
The pace on this one was wildly unpredictable and it featured a true tale of two halves.
“They’re the most explosive offensive team in the country,” said Tennessee coach Rick Barnes. “John (Calipari’s) teams always get better this time of year.”
Wildcat freshman forward Justin Edwards opened the scoring with a shot fake and a jumper from just inside the three-point line.
Knecht finally scored UT’s first bucket two minutes and 51 seconds into the game. Soon after, he dished to fellow senior Santiago Vescovi and got it back and was hacked without a whistle. It was obvious early on that the refs were going to “let em play,” as they say.
Knecht got scraped on his next drive to the rim and even though it was slighter in contact, he got the call. He hit one of two free throws to tie the game at four early. This was a theme that would last throughout the game.
Jahmai Mashack and Tobe Awaka were the first substitutions for the Vols.
The pace and overall temperature of the building mirrored the dreary conditions outside the arena and Zakai “Zip” Zeigler had seen enough.
The junior guard grabbed an outlet pass and quick-shot from three. He had made his mind up that he was pulling the next time he got the ball and as his shot went through, he hit the ground and the whistle was blown. “And one” on the three-point shot.
Though he missed the extra free throw, the game was tied at seven and the ever-explosive Rob Dillingham was off to the bench with two fouls just over five minutes into the game.
Kentucky big Zvonimir Ivisic joined him on the pine three minutes later with his second foul. “I don’t play guys with two fouls in the first half,” explained Kentucky head coach John Calipari after the contest.
At the 12 minutes and under break, UT led the swamp battle 10-9.
Vescovi hit a slashing Knecht on a beautifully designed play to stretch the lead just a touch.
Tennessee has orchestrated more offense this season than any in recent memory, thanks at least in part to the addition of Knecht.
Kentucky’s first lead came via a Sheppard three. Seeing this cat play is one thing on TV and it’s another to see him in person. What a rascal.
Typically Antonio Reeves is Kentucky’s engineer, and he decided to join the fray next. He added another triple on the Cats next possession to stretch the lead to six. It was the third tree pointer in a row for the visitors.
Knecht stopped UT’s drought with a dunk on a perfect feed from Zeigler and Jordan Gainey picked off a pass and confidently crammed it with 8:45 to go to drop the lead to 18-16.
Freddy Dillione entered the game with 7:53 left in the first to nearly everyone’s surprise. Before the ball was even thrown in, Tre Mitchell clubbed him with a right bicep to the dome and the ball was awarded to Tennessee. It was Mitchell’s second foul and away he went.
It mattered not, as Kentucky repeatedly beat on Tennessee without a whistle and, to the Cats credit, finished their opportunities on the other end.
Tennessee dodged a huge bullet on the defensive end when the stripes missed a Mashack foul on a D.J. Wagner three-point attempt. At this point in the game, this thing was a mess.
It seemed like the refs couldn’t really figure out what kind of game they wanted to call. At times it was outrageously loose and at others surprisingly tight.
Still, Kentucky was the better team in the first half, despite having four players with two fouls apiece and Dillingham having played only two scoreless minutes.
With 3:03 remaining in the half, Tennessee looked tired and trailed 28-18.
Senior Day can really take it out of a squad, veteran-led or not. “I thought we were way too emotional at the beginning of the game,” said Barnes of the first half.
The rotation on defense was a step slow and the offensive confidence didn’t match the levels of previous efforts and again, Tennessee couldn’t make free throws. The late-clock push was coming, though.
As the clock wound under two minutes, Knecht got the ball at three quarters court and you could see the look.
If you watched the Vols this season, you know the one.
Push the dribble in front a little extra. Breathe. Stare the opponent down. Add a little pep to the step.
His teammates certainly recognize it and as they cleared the right side of the court, he charged toward the basket with a mission. His attempted dunk was just short but he got the offensive board and was fouled on his way back up. He hit one of his free throws and after a UK turnover, he hit a three on UT’s next possession.
As time expired for the half, Knecht drove to the basket and missed but Jonas Aidoo was there to clean it up with an emphatic dunk as the clock hit triple zeros.
You know what I say about momentum at this point, and going into the half, Tennessee was spicy.
There was a lot to digest as the second half began. Tennessee trailed by four but ended the half on a 9-2 run. Vescovi and Jordan James combined for zero points on 0-9 shooting and Aidoo’s first basket was the buzzer beater.
On the other side of the scoreboard, Kentucky had four players with two fouls and shot just 38 percent from the floor. They shot just two free throws in the first half to boot.
Knecht’s boxscore almost always amazes. When you think he has five points, you look up and he has nine. When you think he has ten, he has 16 and when you think, “surely he’s got 12,” he’s got 19.
Kentucky was ticketed with a traveling violation on the second half’s first possession and those two struggling seniors put an end to the drought.
Vescovi threw a bullet to Jordan James, who nailed a three. D.J. Wagner picked up his third a minute and a half into the half but Sheppard replaced him and immediately got a pick and three to stretch the lead back to seven.
His spark created a huge run for Kentucky that would stretch to 51-39 with 15 minutes to go.
Two Knecht buckets brought the lead down to eight but Reeves was fouled on a three and hit every last one of them.
Knecht answered with a three for his 26th, 27th and 28th points and was fouled on the Vols next time down the court.
John Calipari was then called for a technical foul with 12:56 left and Gainey, who is Tennessee’s most reliable free throw shooter, missed the free throw that followed. Tennessee had shot 9-15 up to that point and ended up 13-19 for the game from the charity stripe.
Instead of capitalizing on the opportunity, Tennessee gave it away and Sheppard immediately canned a three and drove and dished to Edwards for yet another three.
With 11:44 to go, Kentucky led 60-46. Timeout Tennessee.
Tennessee got a wild shot from Zeigler out of the timeout but were unscathed on the defensive end. Zip followed his errant look with a much calmer three that trimmed the lead to 11.
Kentucky did everything it could to keep the wolves at bay but from 8:32 – 7:30 on the clock, Tennessee cut the lead from 14 to five. For this minute of play, Aidoo completed and “and one,” Knecht hit his sixth three and Zip hit his fourth.
Tennessee played inspired defense coming out of the timeout and Mashack ripped Dillingham on the next possession. Knecht got another good look at three but it rattled out and Dillingham hit both of his free throws. The score stood at 70-63 with six and a half to go.
Knecht answered on the next play and Reeves followed with the same. Knecht answered for his 37th and 38th point with five and a half to go. Reeves answered again. The low scoring first half had turned into a sidewinder.
The final straw was Sheppard three as time on the shot clock expired to give the Cats a ten-point lead with four minutes left. Or at least it seemed that way at the time.
After a Zeigler layup, Sheppard hit his seventh three (on nine attempts) and it felt all but over again.
The Vols weren’t cooked just yet, as Knecht hit a pull up jumper from the free throw line extended and he had his first 40-point game as a Vol.
With 2:19 left in the regular season, Tennessee trailed 80-71.
Zeigler hit a three and got a steal and an “and one” to drop the score to five with 47.1 left.
What a ride.
Tennessee’s press worked on the inbounds and Jordan James hit two free throws. Three point game.
The heat was on again when Tennesee forced a ten-second call against Kentucky. With 12 seconds left, Jordan James got a good look from Vescovi that went just long. The rebound was reviewed and it was Kentucky’s ball. Aidoo fouled Dillingham and after missing the first of his free tosses, Calipari called timeout. With the score at 84-81, his second free throw was good.
In the end, Kentucky outlasted the Vols on the backs of Sheppard and Reeves, who each ended up with 27 points. Reeves had a team-high seven rebounds while Sheppard had six and a team-high five assists.
Kentucky will claim the number two seed in the SEC Tournament while Tennessee will take the top spot. Each team will enjoy a double-bye and will play Friday.
Other Items of Note:
– After a season full of phenomenal national anthems, having Sarah Williams close out the season on senior day was a fantastic choice.
– Kentucky is very good in an underdog role and was mostly unfazed by the formidable atmosphere of Thompson Boling Arena. The Wildcats usually score a lot and they found a way to win a heavyweight fight in this one.
– Sheppard and Dillingham come off the bench for the Cats. They are without a doubt the most talented duo of non-starters in the country. Sheppard scored 27 in this one and was the difference in a game where Dillingham battled foul trouble throughout.
– Some key quotes from Rick Barnes: “You’re always concerned on Senior Night. We’ve been in such a rhythm for four or five months now. You don’t make excuses for it, it’s just different and every team goes through it. Every time Kentucky needed to make a play they did, so I don’t want to take anything away from them.”
– On Dalton Knecht: “Dalton’s gotta do a better job of getting his teammates involved. You gotta get them off of you and the best way to do that is to get your teammates good shots. I thought he settled on some.”
– On Santiago Vescovi: “He’s gonna have to do it. He’s gonna have to believe in himself. We need him to do it and we need everybody.”
– On what’s left: “We’re going to be in a lot of bigger games this season.”
– Dalton Knecht on his 40-point performance: “At the end of the day, we didn’t win so it really didn’t matter. We gotta get ready for the SEC Tournament and the big one.”
