KNOXVILLE – Two weeks ago, the Tennessee men’s basketball team strolled into Lexington ranked No. 1 in the nation and on a 19-game winning streak.
After 40 minutes of game time, the Volunteers left battered and bruised, physically dominated by the Kentucky Wildcats, who won the Feb. 16 matchup 86-69 – and in every way imaginable beyond the scoreboard, too.
Tennessee had no answer for the Wildcats’ interior depth as Kentucky finished with 36 points in the paint. The Vols couldn’t stop P.J. Washington, the sophomore forward who had 23 points on 9-for-12 shooting, to the point that after the game, Kentucky freshman Tyler Herro said he thought the Vols were “scared of P.J.”
“I think a lot of people are scared now that he’s scoring like he is and doing what he’s doing,” Herro told The Athletic’s Kyle Tucker after that game.
It was the first time all season the Vols had been physically dominated – a shocking sight for a lineup that features Grant Williams (6-foot-7, 236 pounds) and Admiral Schofield (6-6, 241). A loss at No. 13 LSU last week didn’t quell the perception the Vols were a team whose national ranking had been built on the backs of inferior competition.
Now, with the past two week’s fallout as the backdrop, they have another opportunity.
The No. 7 Vols (25-3) host the No. 4 Wildcats (24-4) at 2 p.m. Saturday at Thompson-Boling Arena in a game with Southeastern Conference championship implications. Both teams are 13-2 in SEC play and atop the league standings along with LSU (23-5) – which visits Alabama (17-11, 8-7) for a noon tipoff – with only three games remaining for each before the conference tournament begins March 13 in Nashville.
Even if the Vols ultimately fall short of winning the league’s regular-season league title, a victory against the Wildcats would build confidence to win similar matchups against tough opponents.
“You expect that this time of year,” Tennessee coach Rick Barnes said Friday. “You go back and look at your league play and you get down to the end, there’s no easy games. I don’t care if a team hasn’t won a game in the league and you go into that building or wherever you play, you know they have the ability to play.
“Teams keep getting better, especially where you are, in a league where there’s terrific coaches and players work hard. You really truly expect going down the stretch you will be in some close games.”
The Vols’ program-record winning streak, which started in late November, included a 76-73 neutral-site win against Gonzaga, which was No. 1 then and returned to the top spot this week. It also included plenty of lopsided wins against overmatched opponents.
But Tennessee’s schedule is backloaded with tough tests against teams expected to make the NCAA tournament.
“The fact of the matter is, those games we won by big margins earlier in the year, we weren’t expecting that,” Barnes said. “Some of that had to do with we did have an experienced team coming back and other people were trying to find themselves. Right now, I think our guys know every game we are going to be in – if both teams play up to their ability – are going to be like we came out of the other night.”
Tennessee won 73-71 Wednesday at Ole Miss, knocking off the Rebels (19-9, 9-6) by finishing the game on a 5-0 run in the final 33 seconds. It was the third consecutive game Tennessee had shown a better defensive effort and suggested the Vols becoming more like the team they were last season: a tough-minded defensive unit.
But more importantly for the Vols, they’re starting to become more like they were at the beginning of the season: a fun-loving unit. Barnes wants to see more of that from the core of a team that won 16 games just two seasons ago yet recently spent a month at No. 1 in the country.
“It is (important) because it has been a long year in a lot of ways with the notoriety that these guys have worked to bring to the program,” Barnes said. “You want them to enjoy it, and they did, but they came right back the next day and got back to work. You have to enjoy it because that’s what you do it for.
“They’ve handled it pretty well. We’re sitting here at the end of the year having a nice season, but they know we still have work to do.”
Their next assignment is Kentucky.
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenley3 or at Facebook.com/VolsUpdate.