If the earliest of returns are any indication, life on the road this winter in Southeastern Conference men’s basketball could be brutal.
Kentucky and Tennessee opened league play in impressive fashion Saturday afternoon with victories over Florida and Arkansas, respectively, but the No. 6 Wildcats and No. 1 Volunteers fell flat Tuesday night. The Wildcats were thumped 82-69 at Georgia, while the visiting Vols were overwhelmed 73-43 by No. 8 Florida.
“I have no idea about some of the things I was watching out there,” coach Rick Barnes said in a news conference after Tennessee produced the lowest point total of his 10 seasons in Knoxville. “I don’t think it was our guys not playing hard. I just don’t think we played very smart.”
As Barnes was speaking in Gainesville following Tennessee’s first loss after its 14-0 start, Kentucky first-year coach Mark Pope was trying to make sense of what he had just witnessed inside Stegeman Coliseum. The Wildcats were dazzling offensively Saturday, shooting 57.8% from the floor and 48.3% from 3-point range against the Gators while racking up 25 assists to only six turnovers.
Against the Bulldogs, the Wildcats shot 37.5% from the floor and 24.0% from 3-point range, and they had eight assists to 14 turnovers.