Coming into the season, this Kentucky Wildcats team had talent. This is a roster that came into the season with expectations of being more athletic and versatile than last year’s team. The one concern was this team’s ability to shoot the ball.
Saturday in Knoxville, this team showed that it can shoot. Kentucky made 11/24 3-pointers and shot 47.5% from the floor in a come-from-behind 80-78 win over the Tennessee Volunteers.
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Trailing by as many as 17 points late in the first half, the Wildcats clawed back into the game by making shots and playing tough defense. Kentucky made 6/11 3-pointers in the second half, outscoring Tennessee 49-36 in the second half and holding the Volunteers without a basket in the final 5:38 of the game.
Saturday’s win can build confidence. Coming back from down 18 at LSU is one thing, but coming back from down 17 at Tennessee, a team led by its bigs, without Jayden Quaintance and Malachi Moreno scoring just three points on four shot attempts, is the kind of win that builds confidence, character, and resilience.
Kentucky vs. Tennessee Stars of the Game
1. Collin Chandler: 12 pts, 4-6 3-PT FG, 3 rebs, 2 ast., 1 blk, 3 stl, 24 mins
Chandler looked like the player on Saturday that many Kentucky fans had hoped he would be this season. Every time he took a 3-point shot Saturday, it felt like there was a good chance it was going to go in.
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All six of Chandler’s shots on Saturday were from 3-point range, and he made four of them. Every one of those four 3-pointers was crucial.
For the second straight game, though, it was an assist by Chandler that won Kentucky the game in Knoxville. With 40 seconds to play, Chandler stole a pass from the Volunteers’ leading scorer, Ja’Kobi Gillespie, and then threw it ahead to Otega Oweh, who converted what proved to be the game-winning and-one six seconds later.
“It was great coming to Knoxville again. Our team loves playing in Knoxville,” Chandler said.
It’s great to see Chandler shooting the ball well again. Even more so, he’s making winning plays without scoring. That’s a testament to his growth in his sophomore season.
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2. Denzel Aberdeen: 22 pts. 7-11 FG (3-6 3-PT FG), 5-6 FT, 2 ast., 2 stl, 29 mins
Kentucky doesn’t get back into this game without Denzel Aberdeen. He made an impact in the paint and from beyond the arc Saturday in leading the Wildcats with 22 points. Aberdeen went 7-11 from the field overall and 3-6 from 3-point range.
The most impressive part of Aberdeen’s performance was playing all 20 minutes in the second half. He didn’t pick up a foul in the second half, after picking up two in the first half.
Aberdeen scored 18 of his 22 points in the second half and hit all three of his 3-pointers in the final 20 minutes.
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3. Jasper Johnson: 12 pts, 5-6 FG (2-3 3-PT FG), 4 ast., 2 rebs, 19 mins
Johnson did all of his scoring in the first half Saturday, but he had a team-leading three assists in the second half.
All three of his assists were crucial. First, he found Denzel Aberdeen for a 3-pointer to cut the deficit to 58-54 with 11:12 to play. Then, he hit Otega Oweh for a 3-pointer to make it 65-62 with 7:52 to play. Less than 30 seconds later, he found Malachi Moreno for an and-one to cut the deficit to 67-65. That’s when I told many people around me on press row that Kentucky was going to win this game.
Mark Pope talked after the game about Johnson’s progression throughout his freshman season.
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“He’s coming. He’s coming, he’s on his way. He gave us a massive lift when we were stuck. I’m proud of him, his future in this game is so bright.”
Not only is Johnson finding his own rhythm, but he’s playing within Kentucky’s offense and distributing the ball to his shooters.
4. Mouhamed Dioubate: 10 pts, 4-11 FG, 2-2 FT, 6 rebs (4 off.), 1 stl, 27 mins, +16
Dioubate delivered in a big way yesterday. For starters, he was 2-2 on his only trip to the free-throw line. In a two-point win, that is crucial.
Kentucky was +16 when he was on the floor. That’s incredible.
In the second half, Dioubate had eight points and four rebounds. All of them were on the offensive glass. Kentucky had 17 second-chance points in the second half on 13 offensive rebounds.
Even with picking up four fouls in the second half, he played 17 minutes. That shows the trust Pope had in him.
