Big Blue Preview: Kentucky vs. Tennessee
Andrija Jelavic was a bit of an unknown at the beginning of the season. After playing for Mega Superbet in the Adriatic League, Jelavic came to Kentucky with a bit of mystery surrounding him.
Early in the season, Jelavic showed some flashes of brilliance, scoring 11 points against Eastern Illinois and 10 against N.C. Central.
However, in late December and early January, Jelavic did not see action in four out of five games, including the first two against Southeastern Conference opponents. UK head coach Mark Pope said that he and Jelavic had many discussions during that period of time.
“At one point, he went several games without playing much and we talked a bunch,” Pope said. “He was like ‘I get it. I knew what I was signing up for and this is how it goes.’ Sometimes things are humming and clicking and going great and sometimes you just put your head down and work really hard and try to grow.”
Now, Jelavic has become a starter and a key contributor. Against Oklahoma on Wednesday, Jelavic scored nine points, made 3 of 5 from behind the arc, grabbed six rebounds and handed out three assists. Pope admits a certain amount of joy in seeing how Jelavic is developing.
“It’s fun to watch him right now because he’s becoming more comfortable in his own skin,” Pope said. “He’s become more comfortable with what we do and how we do it and how it looks and how it feels. With every player, you see it. They have skills and as their comfort level increases, the skills that were already there, they’re now able to utilize them.”
At 6’11”, Jelavic has the ability to step out and shoot the ball, something he has done really well during SEC play.
“He’s shooting the ball, shooting 47 percent in SEC play, which is really important for us,” Pope said. “He didn’t have his best defensive game (against Oklahoma), but he was really good on the defensive glass. He’s making big contributions for us right now.”
Jelavic continues to improve and has helped the Cats win seven of their last eight games. On Saturday, UK faces Tennessee for the second time this season, this time at Rupp Arena (8:30 p.m. ET, ESPN). The Cats topped the Vols 80-78 on Jan. 17 in Knoxville, rallying from 17 points down to win.
If Jelavic can continue to improve, he could be a key component in the Kentucky mix as the regular season winds down.
Last Time Out
Kentucky earned a 94-78 win over Oklahoma on Wednesday to open a two-game homestand.
• Kentucky’s 94 points tonight were a season high against an SEC opponent
• The Wildcats shot 50 percent from the field, 30 of 60. UK is 8-0 this season when shooting at least 50 percent
• Kentucky made 12 3-pointers, a season high against an SEC opponent. UK is 8-1 this season, 24-4 under Coach Pope, when hitting double-digits from long distance
• UK won rebounding 41-25. The Wildcats are 13-2 this season when holding the advantage on the boards
• UK had 21 assists. The Wildcats are 9-0 this season when giving out 17 or more
• Kentucky is 11-0 this season when leading at the half and 32-1 under Mark Pope
• Brandon Garrison became Kentucky’s seventh player this season to score at least 20 points in a game this season, making this the first Kentucky team to have seven different players to score at least 20 points in a game in the same season since 2017-18
Know Your Opponent: Tennessee
Kentucky returns home for its second matchup of the season with its border-state rival in Tennessee:
• Kentucky leads the all-time series, 164-79, and is 95-20 in Lexington
• The Wildcats earned a third come-from behind win in a week, rallying from 17 points down to defeat Tennessee, 80-78, in Knoxville in the season’s first matchup on Jan. 17
• It was the third consecutive game that UK overcame a deficit of at least 12 points, the first time that had occurred since 2017 when the Cats won three straight against Florida (down 12), Vanderbilt (down 19) and Texas A&M (down 15)
• According to ESPN, Kentucky was the first team to record consecutive road wins when trailing by 15 or more points since Florida Atlantic in 2017
• UK was down 11 at the half, marking the largest comeback win at Tennessee in program history
• Tennessee was 100-2 in their last 102 home games when leading at the half, their two losses both coming to Kentucky the last two seasons
• Five Wildcats finished in double-figures led by 22 points from Denzel Aberdeen. 17 of his 22 points game in the second half
• Kentucky led for just 34 seconds in the game
• The Volunteers are 16-6 overall and 6-3 in league play. The Volunteers are on a four-game winning streak — with their last loss coming to the Wildcats
• During the four-game winning streak, freshman Nate Ament is averaging 24.5 points and 6.8 rebounds per game
• Ja’Kobi Gillespie is the team’s leading scorer for the season, logging 18.6 points per game and shooting 35.8% on 63 made 3s
• Tennessee limits opponents to 69.6 points per game, and 29.7% shooting from distance
• Per KenPom, Tennessee once again ranks as one of the nation’s stiffest tests defensively, ranking 14th in defensive efficiency
