What else did you expect? On Tuesday night, the Kentucky Wildcats were notoriously hosed against the LSU Tigers following a buzzer-beating tip-in that shouldn’t have counted. The shot was blatantly basket interference but, after review, wasn’t called so.
As if their frustrating defeat wasn’t enough motivation, Kentucky spent the remainder of the week hearing how the No. 1-ranked Tennessee Volunteers were the Southeastern Conference’s “best team.”
When Saturday evening arrived, head coach John Calipari and his fifth-ranked Wildcats performed exactly as you would have expected. Due to a precisely executed game plan, drawn up by arguably the best coach in the country, Kentucky was dominant from start to finish. The Wildcats did bend at points throughout the second half but never broke en route to a throttling win over Tennessee, 86-69.
It all started with sophomore standout PJ Washington, who shared this week’s headlines with Tennessee junior Grant Williams. The two power forwards are regarded as the conference’s best players, with Saturday’s head-to-head matchup having a significant impact on who pulled ahead in the race for SEC Player of the Year.
On Saturday, it was all Washington as he began by scoring Kentucky’s first seven points and providing the fuel to ignite Rupp Arena’s home crowd.
Following suit on the big stage was small forward Keldon Johnson, specifically contributing to instant offense from behind the arc. Johnson quickly swished three shots for nine points in less than two minutes and, like Washington, totaled 13 first half points.
The two thoroughbreds of this team, like many games this season, propelled the Wildcats to a 37-31 halftime lead.
What would come in the second period, though, would ultimately clinch the victory for Kentucky.
The Wildcats had blown many leads late in games this season, most recently on Tuesday.
Needless to say, Kentucky wasn’t willing to let this opportunity slip through their grasp.
The Wildcats began Saturday’s second half with a 14-0 outburst, fully clicking on offense while swarming the ball on defense. While the Volunteers made a 13-0 run of their own later in the period, Calipari called time and gathered his troops to weather the storm.
Kentucky and Tennessee dueled back and forth as the clock ticked away, inching the Wildcats closer to victory. The Volunteers, as they should have, put forth a respectable fight in the second half. However, the deficit was too much to overcome and Kentucky took down the nation’s top-ranked program.
Washington stood tall over Williams in the head-t0-head matchup, scoring 23 points on 9-12 shooting from the floor. Most of all, Washington has flourished as the team’s leader during their rise to a top-five ranking and his head coach was the first to acknowledge the sophomore’s improvements from a season ago.
“I mean, you are looking at him now making shots and skilled with the ball and stuff that a year ago he couldn’t do,” Calipari sad. “Making free throws, playing, sustaining effort, not floating and coming in and out,” he said.
Johnson finished the contest with 19 points, his highest-scoring game since he had 20 points on January 19th at Auburn.
Doing the dirty work for the Wildcats was Tyler Herro, as he once again proved he’s more than just a white kid who shoots long-range jump shots. Herro notched the first double-double of his career, scoring 15 points and grabbing a game-high 13 rebounds.
“I thought Tyler Herro, double double, 13 rebounds,” Calipari said. “He was fighting for balls and Keldon scored the ball. We had a good, it was a good effort,” he said.
Calipari also emphasized “rebound attempts” following Kentucky’s win, which is something Tyler Herro took notice of during the team’s preparation.
“Coach just emphasized that we need to get in the rebound category tonight because they are really big down low,” Herro said. “So, I just tried to rebound the best that I could,” he said.
Joining Herro was Reid Travis, who drew the assignment of Grant Williams for most of the night. Travis denied Williams having hardly any looks at the rim, holding the Tennessee standout to just four shot attempts. Kentucky’s graduate transfer also shouldered the defensive weight for Washington, who was then allowed to exert his energy in the post on offense.
“The difference maker in the game for us was (Reid) Travis,” Calipari said. “Now his numbers, 11 and 8, and you can say what you want, but he was a beast against another beast,” he said.
Overall, the highlight of Kentucky’s night was their defense. The Wildcats held the Volunteers to well below their season average of 85 points while mostly neutralizing the damage done by players not named Admiral Schofield, Jordan Bone and Williams.
PJ Washington echoed the fact that the team’s game plan was drawn up and executed to perfection.
“We really studied our game plan and just tried to force them to take tough shots and make Grant Williams pass the ball, we tried to double him every time and we did a great job with that. Towards the end we kind of let go a little bit, but we still fought back,” Washington said.
As expected, John Calipari once again coached a phenomenal game when it mattered most. Up next for his Wildcats (21-4) will be a road trip to Missouri, where they’ll tip off with the Tigers (12-12) on Tuesday at 9 P.M. EDT.
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