Cats, Vols Set for Rubber Match in SEC Tourney Semifinals
On Saturday in the SEC Men’s Basketball Tournament semifinals, Kentucky will face Tennessee for the third time this season. The game will serve as the rubber match between the schools, each having won on its respective home court earlier this season.
The first meeting came on Jan. 15 inside Rupp Arena. And while the temperature outside may have been cold, the Cats were red hot in that contest, which ended as a 107-79 UK victory. Kentucky hit 38 of its 56 shots in the game, for a sizzling 67.9 percent. That included 11 of 18 from behind the arc, a 61.1 percent clip.
TyTy Washington Jr. led the Cats on that day with 28 points, while Sahvir Wheeler had 21 points and eight assists. Kellan Grady added 16 points but Oscar Tshiebwe was held to nine points and 12 rebounds. Santiago Vescovi led the Vols with 20 points.
The rematch came exactly one month later at Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville. And the game was much different the second time around. In this one, Tennessee built a 15-point first-half lead, held a 46-32 lead at the break and went on to win 76-63.
 |
||
| Kentucky vs. Tennessee | ||
|---|---|---|
|
Sat., March 12 – 3:00 p.m. ET |
||
| Coverage | ||
|
TV: ESPN |
||
| UK | Stats | UT |
| 26-6 | Record | 24-7 |
| 80.0 | PPG | 73.6 |
| 65.9 | Opp PPG | 63.2 |
| .489 | FG% | .431 |
| .410 | Opp FG% | .405 |
| 40.2 | RPG | 37.0 |
| .358 | 3PT FG% | .355 |
| .301 | Opp 3PT FG% | .321 |
| 16.4 | APG | 16.2 |
| 6.9 | SPG | 9.5 |
| 4.2 | BPG | 4.5 |
Tshiebwe had 13 points and 15 rebounds in the rematch, while Davion Mintz and Jacob Toppin each scored 11 points for the Cats. Vescovi again led UT, this time with 18 points, while Kennedy Chandler had 17 and John Fulkerson and Zakai Zeigler each had 14 points.
Both teams played in the SEC Tournament for the first time this year on Friday. Tennessee opened its event by pulling away from Mississippi State in the second half on their way to a 72-59 victory. Josiah-Jordan James led the Vols with 16 points, while Zeigler and Chandler each had 11. Vescovi and Brandon Huntley-Hatfield each added 10.
Kentucky had its hands full with red-hot Vanderbilt on Friday but the Cats were able to pull away late for a 77-71 win. Washington led UK with 25 points, including four of five shooting from long-range. Tshiebwe had another double-double with 12 points and 14 rebounds. Mintz and Toppin each had 10 points while Wheeler had eight points and 11 assists.
Tennessee has won five in a row and appears to be peaking at the right time. The Vols have moved into the Top 10 of the national rankings and are improving their seed position for the NCAA Tournament with each subsequent victory. Kentucky, meanwhile, has won three in a row and five of its last six. The Cats are hoping that a number one seed in the Big Dance is still in play.
There’s plenty to play for in Saturday’s game. In addition to bragging rights, one team is going to add an impressive win to its tournament resume.
SEC Quarterfinals: Kentucky Outlasts Vanderbilt
TyTy Washington Jr. scored 25 points, Oscar Tshiebwe tied a half-century-old school record and No. 5-ranked Kentucky beat Vanderbilt 77-71 in the quarterfinals of the Southeastern Conference Tournament on Friday night.
Washington was at his best during a second-half spurt, scoring eight straight points that helped the third-seeded Wildcats (26-6) create a little breathing room in a back-and-forth game. The freshman hit consecutive 3-pointers from the corner, just a few steps from Kentucky’s bench, and then sank a floater in the lane that barely tickled the net and made it 69-60.
He added four free throws in the final 19 seconds to seal the victory inside a packed, pro-Kentucky crowd at Amalie Arena. Washington made 8 of 17 shots, including 4 of 5 from behind the arc.
Tshiebwe, the National Player of the Year, notched his 14th consecutive double-double and 26th of the season with 12 points and 14 rebounds. That matches the single-season mark set by Kentucky great Dan Issel in 1969-70.
Kentucky won for the 15th time in its last 18 games and moved a step closer to securing a No. 1 seed in the upcoming NCAA Tournament. A win Saturday should do it: The Cats advanced to play No. 2 seed Tennessee in the second of two semifinals. Texas A&M and Arkansas will meet in the other.
Tshiebwe also had a career-high five blocks, and the Wildcats needed every one of them and then some to hold off the pesky Commodores (17-16) for the third time in two months.
Kentucky looked like it was going to pull away in the second half when it used a 15-1 run to turn a seven-point deficit into a seven-point lead. But Vandy coach Jerry Stackhouse called timeout to regroup, and the Commodores clawed their way back.
Scotty Pippen Jr., with his famous NBA father cheering behind the Vandy bench, wasn’t nearly as effective as he’s been all season or in either of his first two games against Kentucky (32 and 33 points, respectively).
Pippen ended up with 10 points and seven assists in the quarterfinal matchup, missing 15 of 17 shots from the field and 6 of 7 from 3-point range. He only got to the free-throw line five times, an off night for a guy who essentially lives at the charity stripe.
Jordan Wright picked up the slack, scoring 27 points on 10-of-12 shooting. It wasn’t enough against a Kentucky team with so many options and answers.
Jacob Toppin, who played the second half with a plastic face shield after sustaining a bloody nose, added 10 points. Davion Mintz also added 10.
MORE GAME NOTES
• It was a tightly contested game with four ties and 10 lead changes, with neither team leading by more than nine points.
• Kentucky won the rebounding 37-27, leading to an 11-4 advantage in second-chance points and a 20-9 edge in fastbreak points. UK has a 23-3 record this season when leading the rebounding.
