KNOXVILLE - Tennessee men's basketball coach Rick Barnes wasted little time getting acclimated to the program's heated rivalry with Kentucky during the 2015-16 season, his first in Knoxville.
He didn't have much of a choice.
Barnes' Volunteers (13-9, 6-4 Southeastern Conference) will welcome John Calipari's 15th-ranked Wildcats (17-5, 7-2) to Thompson-Boling Arena at 1 p.m. Saturday for the latest meeting between the old foes. CBS will televise the game.
Kentucky leads 155-73 in a series that tipped off in 1910, but the Wildcats hold just a 55-52 edge in Knoxville and are only 16-15 at Thompson-Boling.
"Obviously, you are talking about one of the great college basketball programs in the country - a program that everybody wants to beat when you're not a part of that program, just like they do any of the other schools that have had great success over many decades," Barnes said Thursday. "Kentucky is one of them, and obviously just being 2 1/2 hours up the road is (one reason for the rivalry's intensity).
AP photo by Mark Humphrey / Tennessee men's basketball coach Rick Barnes, left, laughs at a comment made by Kentucky counterpart John Calipari, right, during an SEC tournament semifinal on March 16, 2019, in Nashville. Tennessee won 82-78."To be quite honest, I didn't understand the rivalry between Tennessee and Kentucky when I got here. I didn't because I had no reason to understand it, but the fact is I have a lot of respect for John, and I think he is the perfect coach for Kentucky. I don't think you can find a guy more suited for a job than he is, and what he has done has been a terrific job. I just hope we can go out and play well and that we can continue to improve."
The Vols are 6-4 against Kentucky during Barnes' tenure, including a win in the semifinals of last season's SEC tournament in Nashville. They are coming off a 69-68 win at Alabama on Tuesday, the same night the Wildcats defeated visiting Mississippi State 80-72 to bounce back from last Saturday's loss at Auburn.
Tennessee could be without 6-foot-6 guard Josiah-Jordan James, who this season leads the Vols in 3-point success (36.7% with 22 makes), is second in rebounds (5.7 per game) and is fifth in points (7.8 per game). The freshman has been dealing with a lower body injury and sat out the win at Alabama as well as last Saturday's 86-73 loss at Mississippi State.
AP photo by Mark Humphrey / Kentucky guard Ashton Hagans lies on the court after being called for a foul in the final minute of an SEC tournament semifinal on March 16, 2019, in Nashville.
Here are three keys for a Vols victory:
1. Sustain the aggression: Before Tuesday's win, Tennessee was 0-11 during Barnes' tenure when handing out fewer than 10 assists in a game. This season's team doesn't have the sort of playmakers who can create shots off the dribble, so the Vols have had to rely on crisp passing and ball movement to generate scoring opportunities. The Vols were very strategic in their attack against Alabama, though, and in turn shot a season-high 32 free throws, making 23. While the Vols are going to have to hit some shots against one of the bigger front lines in the SEC, that can't come at the expense of settling and not attacking the rim.
2. Stop penetration: The Vols might need their best perimeter defense of the season. The Wildcats attempt only 23% of their shots from 3-point range, the lowest rate in the SEC, but a lot of the Vols' interior woes are actually a result of poor perimeter defense, which has forced the interior defense to collapse and led to easy putback baskets. If James is out again, this could be an opportunity for freshman Davonte Gaines to play more after contributing significant minutes at Alabama. Statistically he is the best perimeter defender on the team - his defensive rating of 87.3 would rank second in the SEC if he had enough minutes to qualify.
3. Use the crowd: Regardless of how good - or average - Barnes' Tennessee teams have been, they have shown up against Kentucky. With him at the helm, Tennessee is 4-0 in Knoxville against the Wildcats and has played them in front of an average crowd of 20,513. The Vols have had only one other game so far this season that really registered on the national radar, and they struggled in a 51-47 loss to Memphis. That Tennessee team looks nothing like this one, though, considering senior guard Lamonte Turner is not an active member any longer and Uros Plavsic and Santiago Vescovi are. The Vols have played well enough at times for fans to not give up on them and their hopes of salvaging the season. Could a win against Kentucky be the reward?
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenley3 or at Facebook.com/VolsUpdate.