I usually like to keep it pretty professional on here.
I’m not today.
Tennessee blew a massive first half lead and a double-digit halftime lead in an absolutely pathetic 80-78 loss to the Kentucky Wildcats. I’ve watched Tennessee basketball for decades. I can’t remember watching a worse half defensively in a long time. As I sit here, I’m not sure how to capture my observations and emotions with a clear head, so on I go.
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For whatever it’s worth, Ja’Kobi Gillespie had a game-high 24 points. Nate Ament added 17 points. Jaylen Carey had a game-high 7 rebounds to go with 6 points.
I don’t have the constitution to recap this one deeply today, folks. Tennessee led 38-22 with under 5 minutes to go in the first half. And then….that was apparently good enough for them. A physical and energetic effort on both ends of the floor went right into the toilet, and Kentucky started to gradually work their way back into it. They cut the lead to 42-31 at halftime.
Then, the worst defensive effort I’ve seen in years showed up in the second half. Kentucky scored 49 points in the frame and ended up going 11-24 from beyond the arc. It felt like 24-24 beyond the arc the way they shot it after the break.
Tennessee saw their big lead evaporate quickly, as UK cut it to 48-42. Tennessee would push it to 7 or 8, and Kentucky would pull it right back down to 4.
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And with 2 minutes left, the Vols let it completely get away. Up one, Gillespie missed a free throw, moving the lead to 2 instead of 3. Then, with the Vols up one with 40 seconds left, Gillespie’s throw was grabbed by Kentucky’s Collin Chandler, who lobbed to Otega Oweh for a go-ahead layup and foul. The free throw was missed, but UK grabbed the offensive rebound and ultimately got a driving layup by Denzel Aberdeen to go up 3.
Tennessee would wander around and look lost after a timeout and not get a good shot off, with Gillespie getting fouled inside the arc with 2.6 seconds left. He’d make the first, miss the second intentionally, with the rebound getting fumbled around until the final horn sounded.
A terrible, awful, no-good loss that, frankly, gives me grave concerns about whether this team can even win a game in March.
