The flight from Knoxville to St. Pete was a bit more turbulent than normal. It also featured way more blue than usual.
If there was any curiosity in regards to how Kentucky was going to travel to Tampa for the SEC Tournament, we got a pretty good indicator from our 7:50 flight Wednesday morning from McGhee Tyson Airport.
“All the flights from Lexington were sold out,” explained the twenty-something Kentucky fan across the aisle from me. The flight tickets from Knoxville to Tampa, roundtrip, were $130 with a carry on. That’s just one of the reasons that the SEC Tournament should come back to Central Florida as quickly as it can (Nashville starts a ten-year contract next year unfortunately).
After hanging around for a few days and running in to a lot of fans from the Bluegrass State, we discovered that many of the Wildcat faithful who take over the SEC tournament each year don’t get to see the Kentucky play live in its home stadium. As a result of the non-existent tickets for games at Rupp, these fans plan their vacation around the tournament each year.
Despite the crowd being ¾ in favor of the Wildcats, Tennessee ensured that Kentucky will not be playing in its 43rd Tournament final on Sunday. Instead, UT will be played for its fifth title after a 69-62 dub over the Cats. If Tennessee can defeat the white-hot Texas A&M Aggies on Sunday, it will be the Vols first title since Bert Bertelkamp’s 1979 squad cut down the nets.
UT won the tip and got the scoring started.
Freshman guard Kennedy Chandler drove and found fellow youngster Brandon Huntley-Hatfield who fumbled the pass but gathered. He overshot his target miss but Uros Plavsic got the offensive rebound and put it in.
Kentucky guard Tyty Washington scored on Kentucky’s first possession and Kellen Grady got a bucket after a steal to go up 4-2.
Sparkplug guard Zakai Zeigler came in a bit earlier than normal, just over two minutes in to the game and Josiah Jordan James (JJJ) incendiary shooting carried over from yesterday. After two JJJ threes and two JJJ free throws, the Vols were up 10-4. If the SEC were to name a most valuable player of the tournament at this moment, it would have to be James.
Oscar Tshiebwe finally got his first touch of the game, which was a big dunk. Then out of nowhere, Huntley-Hatfield pump faked and crammed one on the other end. Four minutes in to the game, Tennessee had the Cats doubled, 12-6.
Jonas Aidoo and John Fulkerson checked in and Huntley-Hatfield wanted to stay on the court. If this is the new Huntley–Hatfield, look out world. “Brandon is getting better each time out,” said Tennessee coach Rick Barnes of the youthful talent after the game. He finished the game with 8 points and six rebounds.
Out of a timeout, JJJ and the Vols as a whole played incredible defense. That led to a forced Tshiebwe shot and a three for Santiago Vescovi on the other end. 15-6 Vols.
After a kicked ball that eventually went out against Kentucky, Kennedy Chandler came running out of the locker room like a Lamar Jackson/Willis Reed hybrid.
He entered the game on the inbounds and after a Sahvir Wheeler block, Tshiebwe picked up his first foul of the afternoon.
Immediately, Tshiebwe got an offensive board but Aidoo blocked it. On the other end of the court, Tshiebwe returned the favor.
The crowd roared after Kentucky got a bucket but as Chandler hit a three, the other quarter of the crowd took it’s turn. It’s one of the greatest happenings in all of sports, this tournament. These are hated college basketball rivals on a neutral court. One team hits a three, those fans stand up and scream. The other squad hits one right after, the standing team sits down and the hitters stand up. There’s just nothing like it.
At the under 12 minute media break, UT led 18-8 and the crowd was at (tampa) bay.
Huntley-Hatfield again went up strong and sent Tshiebwe to the bench with two fouls with 11:32 to go in the half. He missed both free throws, but Tshebway sat for 12 minutes as a result.
The pace drastically slowed as both teams settled in defensively.
Eventually Washington found Brooks for an alley-oop and the crowd went wild. UK followed with a long possession that was extended after an offensive board on a missed free throw. As Tennessee brought the ball up to court, its fans joined the mix and no one knew who was cheering for whom at this point. Vescovi hit a three to stop the bleeding and UT led 21-14 with over six to go in the half.
Huntley-Hatfield used the glass on a baseline bucket then dished it to Victor Bailey Jr. who also used the glass from the baseline with success. The Vols had a nine-point advantage with 2:50 to go in a slugfest against Big Blue.
Then, of course, Barnes and company sent out a lineup that none of the members of media row seem to remember. It featured Chandler, Vescovi, Bailey Jr., Plavsic and Huntley-Hatfield.
Jahmai Mashack came in for Bailey after a few very productive minutes from the senior. Mashack grabbed the board from an errant three that would have set the place on fire and played excellent defense on Washington and forced an ugly shot. Mashack and Bailey Jr.’s minutes were huge and could easily be overlooked, but those are the kinds of minutes that win games in March. Chandler got a bucket on the other end and Tennessee led 33-22 at the half and everyone in the building was nervous.
Both teams went back to their starting lineups after the break.
Tshebway got his own board and scored to bring the lead into single digits to open the half.
Vescovi got to the line and hit both. The Vols shot 17-25 from the stripe. They need to improve from 68% if they want to make a deep run in the big dance.
Tshiebwe got an “&1” and Keion Brooks added another bucket. Back and forth they went.
Chandler answered on an isolation play where he just cleared everyone out and took Washington to the laundry mat. UT scored again when Chandler pushed it upcourt to James. He found a slashing Huntley-Hatfield and he athletically rolled it into the rim for his seventh and eighth points of the afternoon. UT stretched the lead to 12 on two Fulkerson free throws.
Kentucky was forced to use its next-to-last (or penultimate for all you brainies out there) timeout just before a five-second call could be made on the inbounds.
Tshiebwe sent Aidoo to the line with 12:12 to go and then Aidoo did the same to him on the other end of the floor. It was Tshiebwe’s third foul and Aidoo’s second. Tennessee will take that trade all day, e’ry day.
Up to this point, the Vols had kept Kentucky and it’s powder-keg-of-a-crowd in check, but everyone knew Kentucky had a run coming at some point.
Tennessee’s lead was 13 when Tshiebwe missed a pair of free throws but UK built the foundation for a starter home with three three-point bricks in a row.
At that point in the game Kentucky had shot 0-11 from behind the arc. It finished 2-20.
Zeigler got his first bucket of the game when he slashed to save a possession that seemed destined for failure as the shot clock wound down, then he got fouled on his next drive and hit one of two free throws. Again, UT must improve from the line.
Then the Vols got sloppy.
With 8:05 to go and after two Kentucky steals in a row and a 6-0 stretch, Barnes called for a family meeting on the sideline with the score 51-43.
Barnes called up a Chandler iso play and he hit the floater, then immediately got a steal and run out for a dunk. Just like that, the lead was back to 12.
Brooks hit the Cats’ first three of the game with under seven to go to bring the lead to nine. Tshiebwe got to the line but only hit one of two. Wheeler got to the rack and the lead was six.
Then on perhaps the most patient play of the year, Vescovi dribbled about and lulled the Cats to sleep and Chandler cut to the basket for an easy backdoor layup. 57-49 with under five to go.
Fulkerson drew Tshiebwe’s fourth foul with 3:50 to go and UT was finally in the bonus.
Tshiebwe fouled out on the next trip down the court as Fulkerson laid wrapped around his feet like Bambi when she was first learning how to walk. Fulkerson is as good as anyone at drawing fouls. You can’t help but wonder if he was the kid on the baseball team that always got hit by pitches. Tshiebwe finished the game with 13 point and 11 rebounds.
Zeigler hit an enormous three on the next possession to stretch the lead to 61-49. Brooks answered on the other end. The pace was quick in the building that houses the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Every time Kentucky made a run, Tennessee had an answer. Chandler drove, got fouled and hit both free tosses confidently. Chandler led the Vols with 19 points and looked better than ever during spurts of the game.
Kentucky wouldn’t go away, though.
Washington hit a corner three to cut it to nine with 2:28 remaining. Brooks laid it in after a steal to get it to seven. Chandler got fouled again and missed the front end of a one-and-one and Wheeler hit both of his on the other end.
Then Zeigler did the pull up thing where the trailing defender crawls over his back.
As one Kentucky fan yelled “Miss em both, Bow Wow,” another whistled the theme from Mighty Mouse. Zeigler made both.
Two Kentucky free throws shrunk the lead to 3 and after Chandler missed a pair of shots, Vescovi somehow ended up with the ball on perhaps the most crucial play of the game.
He was fouled with 58.4 and made the first. 66-62. “I thought the biggest play was Santi’s rebound,” said Barnes of the play.
Vescovi again got the board after a missed UK three but was somewhat mysteriously called with a foul while securing said board.
With 37.4 seconds left, it was Kentucky’s ball, down four.
Brooks shot a fall way three and Zeigler, the smallest guy on the court, ended up with the board. He was fouled and made both. On the next possession Zeigler was fouled again.
It’s interesting that it was Tennessee’s guards that secured the games most precious rebounds. They’re all heart and that’s what matters in March.
Tennessee will face Texas A&M tomorrow at Amalie Arena for the SEC Tournament Championship and a top two seed in the NCAA Tournament.
