Kentucky Shocks Critics in Historic Upset Over No. 5 Tennessee
Well, it’s a good thing they didn’t fire Kentucky basketball coach John Calipari after that loss to South Carolina last week.
The Wildcats were coming off a defeat against one of the worst Southeastern Conference opponents that ended their 28-0 home win streak, and limped into Knoxville (Tennessee) on Saturday with only two starters. This was its worst SEC start in 1987 at 1-3.
They danced off the ground with a 63 to 56 win over No. 5 Tennessee before 21,678.
The critics will soon be quieted for now.
This was the first victory by an unranked Wildcats basketball team over a top five SEC opponent, in Kentucky basketball’s history. With more depth and health, the Volunteers were 12-point favorites (14-3, 4-1)
“We needed to win a game,” Calipari stated. “And to do this here is incredible with all the clutter these kids were dealing with.”
There was even talk that Calipari would be let go and take the open coaching job at Texas, but it’s amazing what a major victory can do.
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Kentucky won (11-6, 2-3), without senior Sahvir Wheeler due to a shoulder injury, and sophomore forward Daimon Collin due to a foot injury. Cason Wallace, the guard, played sparingly due to his back spasms from Tuesday’s 71-68 defeat to South Carolina. He only played 22 minutes and went 0-for-2 with five turnovers. He did add six assists.
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“We’ve been through a lot,” C.J. Fredrick scored 13 points. “This is where we go. We go from here.”
The Wildcats led 8-0 at the start, but they quickly took control and led 33-26 at the end. The Kentucky team outrebounded a strong Tennessee team 43-19. Vols’ 7-foot-1, 265-pound forward Uros Plavsic scored 19 points, but he managed only three rebounds. Tennessee’s 6-11 forward Jonas Aldoo was the leader in rebounding, with just four.
“What we found out is we have some fight,” Calipari stated. “We did some dumb things down the stretch, but we played good defense.”
Oscar Tshiebwe, a senior forward from Kentucky, was dominant inside. He looked just like the national player-of-the year last season with 13 rebounds and 15 points. Antonio Reeves, the guard, scored 18 points off the bench.
“That’s awesome,” Fredrick said of the Wildcats’ rebounding. “I love this team. After what happened against South Carolina last week, there was no doubt we were going to come here and win.”
South Carolina was defeated by Texas A&M by 94-53 (4-0, 12-5). The result drops the SEC’s record to 8-9 overall, and to 1-3 in the SEC. The SEC was also in deficit by 40 points on Saturday. LSU was beaten by Alabama (15-0, 5-0), the largest margin of victory in the series, and the widest in SEC history since 2005’s 94-53 win against Auburn.
After four losses this season in the Quad 1 category, Kentucky won its first Quad 1 victory.
At 9 p.m. on Tuesday, ESPN will broadcast the Wildcats hosting Georgia (13-4 and 3-1 SEC). Mississippi State hosts Tennessee on Tuesday (7:05 p.m. ESPN2).
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