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Tennessee Basketball: 3 Takeaways from Saturday’s win against Kentucky

By Stetson Marlin

KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE - MARCH 02: Admiral Schofield #5 of the Tennessee Volunteers celebrates in the game against the Kentucky Wildcats at Thompson-Boling Arena on March 02, 2019 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE - MARCH 02: Admiral Schofield #5 of the Tennessee Volunteers celebrates in the game against the Kentucky Wildcats at Thompson-Boling Arena on March 02, 2019 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /
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KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE – MARCH 02: Admiral Schofield #5 of the Tennessee Volunteers celebrates in the game against the Kentucky Wildcats at Thompson-Boling Arena on March 02, 2019 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE – MARCH 02: Admiral Schofield #5 of the Tennessee Volunteers celebrates in the game against the Kentucky Wildcats at Thompson-Boling Arena on March 02, 2019 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /

The Tennessee Volunteers reeled in one of their biggest wins of the season on Saturday, as they took down the No. 4 ranked Kentucky Wildcats in blowout fashion.

The Tennessee Volunteers looked to avenge their blowout loss that Kentucky handed them in Rupp Arena just two weeks ago and the Volunteers did just that. The Volunteers dominated the Kentucky Wildcats on Saturday, winning 71-52.

The game started off slow for the Volunteers, as the Wildcats jumped out to an early 6-0 lead, but that was the biggest lead they would hold all game. Behind a few early jumpers from Volunteers point guard, Jordan Bone, they were able to come back and never look back.

Kentucky led 14-13 at the 12:42 mark of the first half after a Tyler Herro jumper, but that was the last lead the Wildcats would hold. Tennessee’s defense was stellar throughout the game, but especially down the stretch in the first half, as they held the Wildcats without a made field goal for over nine minutes.

The stellar defense by the Volunteers helped them take a 13-point lead into halftime. At points, it felt like the Volunteers lead should’ve been more, but they missed out on a few opportunities to increase their lead, missing a few free throws and committing some turnovers.

The Wildcats looked to make a comeback in the second half, but it was all Tennessee at that point. The Volunteers were able to increase their lead to 20 points at one point early in the second half.

There were a few points in the second half where it looked like Kentucky would make a push, cutting the lead to 13 or 14 points, but the Volunteers would answer back every time.

After a few sloppy games in a row, the Tennessee Volunteers needed this win as the SEC Tournament approaches.

Here are three takeaways from the Volunteers big win over the Wildcats:

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