Cats Have Plenty to Learn from High-Level Loss to Tennessee
The conference logo was right there in the middle of the floor, but it was still easy to forget from time to time.
It was an SEC Tournament semifinal game Kentucky and Tennessee were playing, not an NCAA Tournament semifinal.
“It was a dream come true, honestly,” Tyler Herro said. “Playing a game like that is what you dream of as a little kid.”
The Volunteers delivered first-half blows that would have resulted in a knockout for almost any team in the country, but the Wildcats withstood them even with their best player – PJ Washington – on the bench most of the way with two fouls. UK did the same after halftime, but Tennessee never buckled either.
The result was a high-level game and, eventually, a furious Tennessee comeback in the final three minutes that spelled the end of UK’s SEC Tournament with an 82-78 defeat. Tennessee led by as many as five in a thrilling first half, while UK extended its lead to eight points with less than three minutes to go in the game. From there, the Vols outscored the Cats 18-6, hitting four of their final five field goals and scoring another seven points at the line.
“Obviously there some plays that we wish we could have gotten back as far as fouling guys and turnovers and stuff like that, probably get some better shots, but give them a lot of credit,” Reid Travis said. “They started making shots, they were a little more aggressive down the stretch, which you gotta expect. Teams when they’re down, that’s what they’re going to start doing. So for us, it’s going to be a good learning experience. Gotta apply it to future games.”
The Cats have played in all kinds of games this season, a young team building experience bit by bit along the way. The most heart-stopping one yet will likely serve as a preview of coming attractions in March Madness and one final lesson prior to Selection Sunday.
“We play next weekend, so we’re fine,” Washington said. “We knew it was a hard-fought game. Both teams fought really well. Down the stretch we made some mistakes. They capitalized on us. We play next weekend, we’re going to get it right.”
Washington said those words on the podium at the postgame press conference mere minutes after saying the same thing to his teammates in the locker room. As the only player on the roster who has played double-digit minutes in an NCAA Tournament game, he felt it was his responsibility to deliver that message.
“PJ said it well at the end of the game: ‘Pick your head up. We got a lot of basketball to play.’ ” Travis said. “Credit his leadership, his maturity for saying that because it’s true. Obviously we let one go that we wish we could have got today, but we still do have another week of prep to really get ready and the things we want to accomplish this season are still right in front of us.”
UK knows what’s ahead in the abstract, but the specifics won’t come into focus until Sunday evening’s Selection Show. The Cats missed their opportunity to, in all likelihood, lock up a No. 1 seed by losing to Tennessee, but they still boast one of the best résumés in college basketball.
Speculation among the Big Blue Nation – which was exceptionally well represented, per usual, at Bridgestone Arena on Saturday – will surely run rampant regarding UK’s seeding and regional placement. The same can’t be said of the team they cheer on.
“I don’t even pay attention to that or what we’ll be seeded,” Travis said. “I think we just gotta worry about us. Whoever we get matched up with, it’s going to be the same approach. We’re not going to look too far down the line. Obviously it would be nice, but at the end of the day we’re just going come out and compete the same way.”
If UK competes as it did against Tennessee and cleans up some of the issues in late-game execution, the Cats are likely in for a deep run in what they call the “big tournament.” Next time they get in a game like the one they just lost, they intend to win it.
“It’s tough,” Travis said. “We battled, but obviously there was a lot of plays that we’d like back down the stretch. Just gotta be better. At the end of the day, we’re going to get better. We got some big games coming up and we’re just excited for that.”
