KNOXVILLE – The Tennessee men’s basketball team’s 84-77 upset of Kentucky 16 days ago provides the Volunteers the chance to notch the first season sweep of their border rivals since 1999.
It also provides additional motivation for Kentucky as the Wildcats chase another Southeastern Conference regular-season crown.
As Tennessee ventures tonight into Rupp Arena, where it has won just four times since 1976, the Vols can expect to run into a blue buzzsaw with the Wildcats coming off three blowout wins since their defeat in Knoxville.
“I think we let one get away from us,” Kentucky guard Isaiah Briscoe told reporters in Lexington on Wednesday. “Give credit to Tennessee. They played a great game at home, and we’ll get our chance to get back at them tomorrow.”
Tennessee’s chances of knocking off Big Blue a second time in a little more than two weeks appear slim at best.
The Vols are a woeful 1-11 away from Thompson-Boling Arena this season, while Kentucky rarely loses at Rupp Arena. The Wildcats have won 34 straight home games dating back to an overtime loss to Arkansas in February 2014, and John Calipari has lost just four times at Rupp in seven seasons as Kentucky’s coach.
Even coming off a road loss at Missouri, Tennessee can take some measure of confidence into its rematch with the Wildcats given how well the Vols played while outscoring Kentucky 71-43 in the final 26 minutes on Feb. 2.
“It was a great team win,” Vols freshman center Kyle Alexander said Tuesday. “Everybody was really hyped up about it. That does give us confidence, because we know we can get the job done if we come out with the same energy that we did, and as long as we stay poised, we definitely have a chance, as good a chance as everybody else.
“We’ve seen film from the last couple of (Kentucky’s) games, and you notice that they came out fighting and hitting hard with people, but I think if we do the same thing we did last game that we could be surprised at what we do.”
What Tennessee will need to do to win is no different than any other game this season. The Vols play their best when they get contributions from multiple players on offense and stick to the scouting report defensively, but that has not happened enough this season – particularly in road games – for Tennessee to be consistently successful.
In the loss at Missouri, the quartet of Armani Moore, Robert Hubbs III, Admiral Schofield and Detrick Mostella combined for 10 points, which wasn’t enough to supplement the 48 total scored by Kevin Punter Jr., Devon Baulkman and Shembari Phillips.
“Every game we’ve won, we’ve had more than one or two people play (well),” Vols coach Rick Barnes said Tuesday. “It goes back to that. We need Admiral to be a factor. We need Robert Hubbs to be a major factor. We need those guys to score for us.
“We can’t put all that on Kevin Punter. He’s had to do a lot this year. He’s carried the weight for so long. I feel like Armani’s gotten himself back into a good spot, but we need Admiral to be the factor he can be. We need Robert Hubbs to (do) that. We need consistent play from Detrick and Devon Baulkman.
“We just need to know what we’re going to get from them every single night, whether you’re home or on the road, and that’s what we haven’t had.”
One time Tennessee did have that was during the win against Kentucky, when, in addition to Punter’s 27-point performance and Moore’s double-double (18 points, 13 rebounds), three other Vols scored eight or more points.
“This team beat us last time,” Calipari said. “We had a nice lead, and they came back and basically just ran us over. Beat us by 30 in a 25-minute stretch. So we’ve got our hands full in what we’re doing.”
Tennessee won’t have a chance to win if it begins settling for 3-pointers – which the Vols have done too often for their benefit on the road this season – against Kentucky.
Barnes noted that his team is 10-1 when it attempts more free throws than the opponent, with the only loss at Georgia. The 10 wins include Tennessee’s lone road victory of the season, at Mississippi State, and triumphs against Florida, South Carolina and – yes – Kentucky.
Barnes believes the Vols’ effort has been good all year, but there are some things lacking.
“I just think our concentration and our basketball decisions have to be a lot better especially in the ways that we lose some of these games,” he said.
Contact Patrick Brown at pbrown@timesfreepress.com.