Three takeaways from Kentucky basketball’s loss to the Tennessee Volunteers

Three takeaways from Kentucky basketball’s loss to the Tennessee Volunteers

1. D.J. WAGNER HAS to return to Kentucky. This is not to argue that, had D.J. Wagner been in the starting lineup, 10th-ranked Kentucky would have defeated No. 5 Tennessee on Saturday. Tennessee is the superior team right now in the season. The Vols are more seasoned, older, more proficient on defense, and more adept with the glass. Coach Rick Barnes’ Volunteers could make it back to the Final Four this year for the first time since 2003. But one thing cannot be denied. Without their rookie point guard, Kentucky has a 0-3 record. Wagner was sidelined with an injury during the Cats’ 80-73 loss against UNC Wilmington on December 2 at Rupp.

Wagner was sitting out last Tuesday’s 94-91 overtime loss to Florida at Rupp Stadium due to an ankle ailment. On Saturday, he was sidelined for the second straight game due to an ankle injury, and his teammates lost again. Adou Thiero remarked, “He’s our leader and our point guard.” “He can drive it to the basket and score when the offense falters.”

Wagner is also capable of playing defense, particularly when it comes to on-ball defense. Additionally, he maintains the team’s productive rotation by starting alongside Antonio Reeves and substituting Rob Dillingham and Reed Sheppard off the bench. Sheppard played 37 minutes on Saturday after playing the entire 45 minutes against Florida. Reeves put in 35 games. Dillingham scored 35 points in 27 games. Although Wagner’s return wouldn’t solve every issue for John Calipari, it would undoubtedly be helpful.

2. KENTUCKY NEEDS TO GET TRE MITCHELL BACK: Unlike Wagner, Tre Mitchell is healthy, or so we’ve been told. The 6-foot-9 senior is playing, but he’s not the same indispensable Tre Mitchell we’ve seen in a lot of games this season. It’s just not in the last two games. In that Florida home loss, Mitchell finished with just five points, missing all five of his 3-point attempts. He did pull down nine rebounds and dish out three assists, but overall, he wasn’t the kind of all-around player this team needs.

Mitchell went scoreless for the first time this season on Saturday against Tennessee. He only took three shots in a 24-hour period, and he missed all of them. Two came from 3-point territory. On the front end of a bonus situation, he missed his one and only free throw. He only pulled down five rebounds and received one assist. When questioned about Mitchell later, Calipari responded, “We’ll have to sit down and talk about it.”

The Cats need to solve the issue, whatever that may be. Tre Mitchell’s comeback is essential for this team to get back on track.

3. Kentucky has to, you know, get… Tennessee fired right out of the gate. The Vols took an early 21-10 lead after making two 3-pointers in the first minute and five by the 14:20 mark. Barnes’ team had made 12 of their 30 3-point tries by the end of the contest.

Not so fun fact: In four SEC games this season, Kentucky has allowed double digits in 3-pointers made. Of the four, the Cats are winless. Zakai Zeigler, a point guard for Tennessee, finished with 26 points, 13 assists, and three of his six 3-pointers were hit. In UT’s seven SEC games, Vols forward Josiah-Jordan James had made just one of his eighteen 3-point tries. On his way to 26 points against Kentucky, he was 4-for-9. Dalton Knecht was restricted to 16 points in the Vols’ victory, an 11-point victory, after averaging 31.8 points per game in his previous six games.

Despite all of the 3-pointers, Tennessee may have won the game on three inbounds plays where they scored easy baskets. “Those kinds of things happen when you don’t have the right guy on the ball,” Calipari stated. Kentucky keeps making mistakes on defense. Since Arkansas in 1992, Tennessee was the first SEC team to score 100 points at Rupp Arena. The Vols averaged 1.367 points per possession, which is the eighth time the Cats have let up more than 1.0 PPP in nine SEC games. Another unfun fact: Duke’s 1.409 PPP in their 118-84 victory against the Cats in the 2018 Champions Classic was the highest average by a UK opponent since the 1.367 PPP.

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