
Big Blue Preview: Kentucky at Tennessee
Kentucky guard Jaxson Robinson has played a lot of college basketball. In fact, Robinson has played in 115 college games, so he knows the nature of the college game, and that things are not always going to go in your favor.
“I’ve been doing this for five years and I know that conference play is up and down,” Robinson said. “It’s not going to be uphill the whole time. You’re going to have your ups and downs but you have to keep pushing through it. Eventually, you will see the light at the end of the tunnel.”
Robinson and his Cats have lost two games in a row, falling to Alabama then to Vanderbilt. Now, Kentucky goes on the road to face eighth-ranked Tennessee in what’s sure to be a hostile Thompson-Boling Arena. Robinson knows how good the Vols are and that they will pose a big challenge for Kentucky.
“They’re a tough team, everybody knows that,” Robinson said. “So, just going in there with a chip on our shoulder, knowing we’ve got something to prove, especially after the last game and the performance we put out there in the first half. We’re just looking to fix it and change it and hopefully come out with a win.”
Tennessee has lost two of its last three games. Like Kentucky, the Vols lost at Vanderbilt, but UT was able to rebound to beat Mississippi State before falling in a tough game at Auburn on Saturday.
On that same Saturday, in UK’s loss at Vanderbilt, Kentucky was uncharacteristically sloppy with the ball. The Cats had 17 turnovers, which tied a season high. Robinson believes that Saturday’s game was the exception rather than the rule.
“I think we were just careless,” Robinson said. “I think there were a lot of errors that we don’t normally make. But we’re human, we make mistakes. All we can do is go and learn from it. I think we’ll see that the rest of this year.”
The Cats are currently on the roller coaster that is the 2025 season in the Southeastern Conference. As Robinson said, there are going to be plenty of ups and downs, and Kentucky hopes to get back on an upward trajectory on Tuesday in Knoxville.
Cats Charge Back, Fall Late at Vanderbilt
Kentucky erased a 14-point halftime deficit to lead by as many as seven points in the second half, but ultimately stumbled late and fell on the road to Vanderbilt, 74-69. It marks the first time UK has dropped back-to-back games this season.
Otega Oweh scored 21 points and had a career-high 12 rebounds for what was his second career double-double and first as a Wildcat.
Making his first start of the season in place of an injured Andrew Carr, Ansley Almonor was 4-of-5 from 3-point range, matching his season high with 12 points.
Trailing 41-27 at the half, the Cats began the second period with an 11-0 run to close to within three of the Commodores. UK would eventually tie the game at 51 on a trey from Jaxson Robinson, and proceed to take a 58-51 lead courtesy of a 17-2 spurt.
The game went back-and-forth down the stretch, and Kentucky held at 69-68 lead with 2:56 remaining, but Vandy scored the game’s final six points to grab the victory.
Some additional notes from the game:
• Kentucky is now 3-1 in games following a loss this season
• UK outrebounded Vanderbilt, 43-30. The Cats are now 11-1 this season when winning the battle on the boards
• Kentucky outshot Vanderbilt from the field, shooting 48.1 percent from the floor, while holding the Commodores to 43.9 percent. The Wildcats are now 13-3 when shooting a higher percentage than their opponent this season
• The Cats came up one triple short of double-digit 3s, going 9-23 from deep. UK is 10-1 when making at least 10 3-pointers in the game, but just 4-4 when hitting less than 10 triples
• Kentucky’s 27 points in the first half were its fewest in any half this season
• The Cats matched their 27-point total from the first half just 9:44 into the second half
• Jaxson Robinson has now made at least three 3-pointers in four-consecutive games
• Trent Noah played a season-high 12 minutes and grabbed four rebounds
Blue and Orange Just Clash
Not only is Kentucky vs. Tennessee one of the most heated rivalries in the SEC, but the two teams play vastly different styles of basketball on the court. Tuesday’s outcome will hinge largely on what prevails: Kentucky’s potent offensive attack, or Tennessee’s stout defense.
Blue vs. Orange statistically:
– Kentucky ranks second in the SEC and third in the country in scoring offense (88.1); Tennessee ranks first in the league and third in the country in scoring defense (58.4)
– In SEC play – Kentucky ranks first in field-goal percentage (48.9%); Tennessee ranks first in field-goal percentage defense (38.4%)
– In SEC play – Kentucky ranks first in 3-point percentage (39.9%); Tennessee ranks second in 3-point percentage defense (27.2%)
– In SEC play – Kentucky leads the conference with 10.89 made 3s per game; Tennessee is allowing opponents to make just 6.6 3s per game
– Per KenPom, Kentucky has a raw tempo rating of 72.8, possessions per 40 minutes and an average possession length of 15.9 (31st in country); Tennessee comes in at 65.7 tempo and an average possession length of 18.0 (244th in country)
– In 19 games this season, the average combined point total in Kentucky’s games is 164.1 points; In 20 games for Tennessee average total points is 133.45