Wiedmer: Time is right for Tennessee to win at Kentucky

Tennessee forward Kyle Alexander (11) shoots free throws against Mississippi in the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Saturday, Feb. 3, 2018, in Knoxville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Crystal LoGiudice)
Tennessee forward Kyle Alexander (11) shoots free throws against Mississippi in the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Saturday, Feb. 3, 2018, in Knoxville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Crystal LoGiudice)

In the world of professional golf they call Saturday "moving day" since that's the day you often move yourself into or out of contention for Sunday's final round.

If you paid even somewhat close attention to Saturday's Southeastern Conference men's basketball scores you could argue that the first weekend of February also signaled a moving day of sorts in more clearly separating the contenders from the pretenders in what is shaping up to be the tightest, wackiest race the league ever may have seen.

Well, at least the tightest, wackiest race for second, since Auburn more and more looks like the team to beat after being picked to finish 11th by the media in the preseason.

Instead, the Tigers are now 9-1 in the conference, are on a five-game win streak and have won 19 of their last 20 to rise to No. 8 in the Associated Press rankings.

Yet it wasn't just Auburn's 93-81 win over Vanderbilt on Saturday that should have mightily impressed anyone closely studying the scores, though the fact the Tigers hit a season-high 17 3-pointers should greatly impress everyone.

Yet even that wasn't any more eye-opening than Alabama winning 68-50 at then No. 23 Florida. Or Tennessee rolling to its third straight win of 23 points or more with a 94-61 thumping of Ole Miss. Or Texas A&M, now back from the dead after an 0-5 conference start, crushing visiting South Carolina 83-60. On the eye test alone, the four best teams in the SEC on this first week of February would appear to be Auburn, No. 15 Tennessee, Alabama and A&M, despite its 4-6 league mark to this point.

Which brings us to tonight's Tennessee-Kentucky game in Rupp Arena, where the Volunteers haven't won since 2006, because undiscussed in the above paragraphs is UK, long the king of the SEC but suddenly looking quite fragile after trailing by double figures in the second halves of its last three games and finally running out of miracle comebacks throughout a 69-60 loss at Missouri on Saturday.

"The biggest thing is we still refuse to pass the ball," Wildcats coach John Calipari said after Big Blue's sixth defeat in 23 games. "And I don't have an answer for that."

Passing the basketball - or lack thereof - might be the biggest reason to believe the Vols are poised for their third win in Rupp since 1999. For the season, the Vols are leading the SEC in assists (17.2 per game) while the Cats are eighth at 13.7.

But over the last three games for each school, those numbers are far more dramatic. While UT has recorded 65 assists with their 90 total field goals in those three wins, UK has totaled only 32 assists for its 76 made baskets through two narrow victories and one defeat.

To return to Calipari's comments about refusing to pass the ball, that problem typically arises from three possibilities: No. 1, your team is selfish; No. 2, your players don't have confidence that their teammates will hit the shot if they pass it; No. 3, your players lack the necessary skills to pass the ball or have yet to learn where their teammates are most comfortable receiving the ball to make best use of their offensive skill sets.

With Cal's Cats, Nos. 2 and 3 seem the most likely culprits for the nation's youngest team.

Yet that disparity in assists is also what most caught Calipari's eye during a Monday afternoon news conference.

"(UT's) assists-to-made-baskets has to be one of the best in the country," he said. "That's team basketball. That's creating for each other. That's making the game easier. But again, that's a team that's been together for a couple of years."

And that's why tonight seems like the perfect time for UT to sweep UK for the first time since 1999. Especially since among SEC season-long statistics, Tennessee is second in scoring margin, fourth in scoring defense and fifth in field-goal defense, bettering Kentucky in all three categories.

This doesn't mean the Vols ultimately will overtake Auburn to win the conference, since they get no second crack at AU after losing to the Tigers in Knoxville. If Bruce Pearl's team keeps playing as it has of late - seven of its nine league wins have been by double figures - Auburn just might earn a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament.

As Vanderbilt coach Bryce Drew said of the Tigers' long-range marksmanship: "Obviously your game plan is don't let them shoot 3s. But the problem is they're really, really fast and they have a really quick release."

Tennessee has a really quick team with a really good coach in Rick Barnes. If the Vols listen to Barnes as well tonight as they have for most of the season, Big Orange basketball fans just might be able to party like it's 1999 when this one ends.

Contact Mark Wiedmer at mwiedmer@timesfreepress.com.

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