Just one matchup really caught a lot of attention heading into Saturday, even though a few others might been underrated. There was no question that Tennessee’s visit to Kentucky was the game many were looking forward to. It’s a rivalry game, the Wildcats were coming off a tough home loss, and Tennessee is atop the polls with a 19-game winning streak.
The game didn’t quite deliver, although the result certainly does in terms of impact. Kentucky’s 86-69 win is a solid bounce-back and one more indication that this team has really rounded into form.
Putting aside any controversy involved, the Wildcats’ loss to LSU earlier in the week really served to tell more about LSU as a legitimate SEC contender than anything about Kentucky. If the call goes the other way and the Wildcats win in overtime, how different are they? Maybe they come into Saturday’s game feeling a little different, but chances are, it doesn’t change much.
Kentucky has now won 11 of 12 since a tough loss at Alabama in their SEC opener. At that point, we still weren’t sure if this team was quite like they were thought to be before the season, but they have resoundingly answered that question since then. Their defense has been a big reason for that, and it was on Saturday as they held Tennessee below 41 percent from the field and had a 39-26 rebounding edge. They held Admiral Schofield to 7-18 from the field before he fouled out.
Meanwhile, Kentucky shot 54.7 percent from the field at their end, and P.J. Washington continues to emerge as a star. The best player on the floor on Saturday had 23 points on 9-12 shooting, topping 20 points for the seventh time in eight games and now shooting over 52 percent on the season. He did this against two of the SEC’s best in Grant Williams and Schofield, the former being the reigning SEC Player of the Year.
Once Kentucky scored the first 14 points of the second half to turn a close game into a 20-point lead, you had a sense this one was over. Tennessee could never get much momentum going thanks to the Kentucky defense, and even when they did score 13 unanswered points, it came after Kentucky had matched their largest lead, and the Volunteers appeared to run out of gas after that as they got no closer from that point on.
The Wildcats are right on the heels of the Vols and LSU in the SEC standings, but ultimately that is not as important as how they are trending. We’ll see if this knocks the Vols down a peg, although the way they have been playing suggests a temporary setback only. In Kentucky’s case, the loss to LSU certainly didn’t bring them down a peg, so the top three teams are set for quite a finish. Tennessee will play LSU next Saturday and they will see Kentucky again, so there is much to be decided before the SEC Tournament.
Side Dishes
For notes on much of the game action on the day, please see the Saturday Notes.
Kansas State has already gone without Dean Wade for a stretch this season, and now they have to hope they won’t have to go without him again for long. The senior big man came up limping just past the halfway point of the second half of the Wildcats’ loss to Iowa State as he tweaked his right foot. Wade has been limited in practice all week and previously hurt the same foot against Georgia State in non-conference play, but head coach Bruce Weber said this is not the same injury. The Wildcats have been playing well with him in the lineup, so they hope to not lose him for long if at all.
Mississippi State got a nice road win at Arkansas with a big second half, and they did so without starting guard Nick Weatherspoon, who they suspended indefinitely before the game for a violation of team rules. They may have won this one without him, but they will need him to earn his way back if they are going to make a run later in the season.
Tonight’s Menu
While the slate is lighter, plenty of games on it are important.
- That starts right away with Ohio State visiting Michigan State (1 p.m.)
- The MAAC has a busy slate led by Siena hosting Quinnipiac in a battle of 8-5 teams (2 p.m.)
- George Mason has a tough road test as they visit St. Bonaventure (2 p.m.)
- In the Big East, Creighton needs to start winning if they want any hope of reaching the NCAA Tournament as an at-large, and they have a test as Seton Hall comes to town (3 p.m.)
- A showdown is on tap in the Missouri Valley as Missouri State travels to Loyola-Chicago, trailing the Ramblers by a game (4 p.m.)
- One other Big East game on tap is St. John’s hosting Villanova (5 p.m.)
- The day closes with Miami going to Boston College (6 p.m.) and Colorado hosting Arizona (8 p.m.)
