Tennessee vs. Kentucky
KENTUCKY 84, TENNESSEE 74
Kentucky is now 10-5 overall, having won its seventh consecutive game overall and sixth consecutive home game. UK is 3-0 in the Southeastern Conference, the lone undefeated team in league play.
Tennessee is now 16-2 overall, 3-1 in the SEC.
Kentucky led the entire game.
Key runs: UK opened the game with a 12-2 runIn the second half, when UT closed within 51-47, UK went on a 12-0 run for 63-47 lead
UK won the rebounding battle, 45-35, after having been outrebounded the previous four games
UK held Tennessee to 38.8 percent shooting. It was the fourth game in a row and ninth time this season that UK has held the opponent under 40 percent.
Keith Bogans led the Wildcats with 21 points. He tied career highs with nine FGM and nine rebounds. He scored in double figures for the 11th consecutive game.
Gerald Fitch set or tied career highs with five FTM, six FTA, two assists, two blocked shots, three steals, and 27 minutes played.
Tayshaun Prince scored in double figures for the 12th consecutive game.
After four consecutive home games, the Wildcats go on the road Saturday, Jan. 20, at Mississippi. The game will be televised at 1:30 p.m. EST on CBS. Four of Kentucky’s next five games are on the road.
Tennessee Coach Jerry Green
Opening Statement
“Kentucky did a great job defensively with their pressure the first half. I thought we were sitting back a little bit on our heels. We did a lot of individual stuff, one-on-four and one-on-five and I think that’s why we shot 39-percent from the floor. It’s the lowest that we’ve shot all year and Kentucky had a lot to do with it. We got it within striking range. We played better in the second half, but just did not execute when we had the opportunity to. We never put ourselves in a position to make a strong run and get within three or four. Kentucky was the best team on the floor tonight. I thought their 18 offensive boards hurt us. It’s something that has been a concern. This is just one loss. It is something that we deal with and go on. Kentucky has a fine basketball team when they play together like they did tonight. When they play like that, they can play with anybody in the country.”
On the early Kentucky spurt
“I think early leads are sometimes misleading in college basketball. Kentucky came out with a lot of emotion, a lot of energy and they jumped out to the lead. That is important, but a lot of times it will balance out. They were really ready to play. I thought they had a lot of energy both defensively and composure-wise offensively.”
On playing in Rupp Arena
“Rupp is a great place to play. The crowd really gets into it. They have a great basketball tradition. It’s a lot like Kansas. It’s one where everyone is basketball oriented. They have very knowledgeable fans at the University of Kentucky. They know basketball and what it takes. They support their team second-to-none.
Vincent Yarbrough
“I was disappointed with the game. I think we could have played a better game, but it is tough playing in Rupp Arena.”
“The first five minutes, we were really affected by the crowd. We couldn’t hear anything. The first two years I played here, I didn’t think Rupp was loud at all. Tonight, this was the loudest arena I have ever played in.”
“This was definitely a physical game. We were just trying to counter Kentucky’s attacks.’
“We are going to come out hard against Mississippi State. We will really have to focus for that game.”
“We were fortunate to be down only by eight at the half. Coach Green told us that as horrible as we were playing, we were lucky to only be down that much.”
“Kentucky played great. They were great defensively, in the lane, denying us the ball, and playing post defense.”
“They took our confidence in the first five minutes. We need to come out with a consistent hard effort and play as a team from the beginning of the game.”
Isiah Victor
“Kentucky played a great ballgame. I don’t know though how much of the outcome was due to their great play or our terrible play.”
“This was the loudest I have ever heard it here. We tried to get the crowd out because that was the only time we could score.”
“We knew that Kentucky had been coming on, but we didn’t realize they were coming on this strong.”
“I am looking forward to Kentucky coming to Knoxville on Valentine’s Day. We play Mississippi State on Saturday and that will be sweet, but Kentucky coming to Knoxville on Valentine’s Day will be sweeter.”
“We got rattled a bit and didn’t have our composure. We started playing one-on-one too much and if we could have combined that with a team effort we would have been okay.”
