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Tennessee to Bring 'Improved Leadership' Since Last Meeting With Kentucky

Tennessee Vols Basketball to Bring 'Improved Leadership' Since Last Meeting With Kentucky Wildcats Basketball
Jack Foster|
Tennessee to Bring 'Improved Leadership' Since Last Meeting With Kentucky
Tennessee to Bring 'Improved Leadership' Since Last Meeting With Kentucky

KNOXVILLE, Tenn.– The newly ranked No. 16 Tennessee Vols basketball team will host the No. 4 Kentucky Wildcats in Thompson-Boling Arena on Tuesday at 9 p.m. ET.

In their last meeting, the Vols got blown out in Lexington 107-79 despite shooting over 50% from the field.

"That team would've beaten anybody in the country," Barnes said of the Wildcats in the mid-January game.

Since then, Tennessee has been undefeated (7-0) in SEC play, the second-best conference winning streak in Rick Barnes' career on Rocky Top, and has won seven of their past eight. Kentucky is 7-1 since the meeting in Rupp, with all their games coming against conference opponents. The Wildcats' lone loss came to a Top-5 squad Auburn on the road.

So what's different about this Tennessee-Kentucky matchup than the last one?

Well, for starters, Tennessee and Kentucky have only gotten better. The Wildcats' 18-point win over Kansas in late January proved that. The Wildcats' performance against Tennessee in Rupp is still one of their best of the season, as their 67.9 field goal percentage against the Vols remains a season-high for the blue and white. In addition, Kentucky scored the most points they have in a game all season against the Vols (107).

But since then, Kentucky has continued to handle opponents such as Alabama, Florida and Kansas comfortably.

A big reason for Kentucky's recent success is star forward Oscar Tshiebwe is on fire, as the junior is averaging 16 points and a nation-leading 15 rebounds per outing this season.

The former Mountaineer is coming off an incredible 27-point, 19 rebound performance against Florida.

Tshiebwe's recent dominance will meet a Vols' defense that has allowed opponents to score only 87.9 points per 100 possessions, a stat that puts Tennessee sixth in the nation in adjusted defensive efficiency, according to KenPom.

"You can't talk about a national player of the year without bringing his name up," Rick Barnes said of the star Wildcat. "The numbers that he is putting up are incredible, and the consistency with which he does it with. The fact that he does it when every coach before the game is trying to slow him down; no one has found a way to do that. John (Calipari) and his staff have done a great job putting him in areas to be successful and Tshiebwe has responded well to that. Again, you can't mention national player of the year candidate without mentioning his name."

Tennessee's solid defensive play as of late has been crucial to their winning streak, and Josiah-Jordan James has been a big reason why, as the junior ranks second in that nation according to one defensive metric.

James also has been stellar on the offensive side of the ball, combining with freshman Zakai Zeigler in Tennessee's offensive resurgence since the Texas loss. James and Zeigler have accounted for 49 percent of the team's scoring in UT's four-game winning streak.

James has logged five straight double-digit outings to Zeigler's astonishing six, and James' 66 points over his past four games are his most in a four-game stretch on Rocky Top.

This week, the media asked the junior about the meaning of this Kentucky game considering the outcome of the one in January. James called it the most significant matchup of the season for Tennessee.

"The next game against Kentucky is the biggest game of our season," James said. "It is huge for both programs. We definitely go out each and every game trying to win every game but this one is especially special just because of the rivalry and history that we have between these two programs. It is always good when we get to meet up either here at Thompson-Boling or at Rupp Arena, it's always special."

And with the 'biggest game of the season on the docket for the hot Vols, Rick Barnes and Josiah-Jordan James said on Monday that leadership sets the Vols apart from the January team the most.

"It's different," Barnes said of the leadership. "We're a different team in terms of our leadership. It's been fun watching our guys the past few weeks—watching them talk to each other, coach each other, and accept each other's coaching has been good for us. We've talked about that for a long time and it's neat watching that part of our program development."

And who has stepped up in the leadership department?

Who other than Santiago Vescovi and Josiah-Jordan James.

"You expect it to be the older guys that play in terms of, Santi and Josiah and certainly," Barnes said. "Uros and Olivier, they were all trending that way. I think overall it's been a group effort, but certainly, Josiah and Santi. We have so many more guys that are locked in on the defensive end with our game plan. Leadership, concentration, whatever you want to call it, but when they are able to coach and talk about themselves and coach themselves, that's when you have a chance to be a good basketball team."

Tennessee seemed to rally around Josiah-Jordan James after his missed game-winning three-pointer against Texas a couple of Saturdays ago. They have done the same with Olivier Nkamhoua, having won two straight in his absence.

With that type of leadership on display to go with a home crowd, the Vols will give the Wildcats more of a fight than they did in Lexington.

"It's the crowd," James said of the reason the Vols are able to win big games at home such as Arizona and LSU. "I give praise to everyone who comes here and feeds the floor. It's just how TBA is, man."

Tennessee-Kentucky will likely draw a massive Thompson-Boling Arena crowd on Tuesday night, but to send Vol Nation home smiling ear-to-ear, Rick Barnes noted consistency is vital in terms of making shots, playing defense, especially with the bigs, and not turning the ball over, something UT did 24 times against the Wildcats in January.

"The way we turned the ball over and allowed them to score a lot off turnovers, you're not going to win basketball games anywhere doing that," Barnes said. "Consistency is what we want even though some nights the numbers will be a little bit different. What we want more than anything from our bigs is consistent defense, especially our ball-screen coverage."

Tennessee is a much, much better team, the best they have been all season, now than they were when they played Kentucky in Rupp. And the guard play, ball movement and defense as of late ignite a positive outlook from Tennessee hopefuls for the remainder of the Vols' season.

But as for Tuesday night, Kentucky is just a different animal...

Prediction: Tennessee 76, Kentucky 81

The Vols hang tight with the Wildcats from tip-off to the final seconds, but Kentucky goes home a 22-win team. Oscar Tshiebwe and Kellan Grady will be too much for the Vols to handle for 40 minutes, and the lack of stellar post presence from Tennessee will be the difference. 

The Vols have won four of the past six meetings in Knoxville, but Kentucky will come one game closer to tying the series in TBA in the Rick Barnes era and continue to show they are worthy of a Top 5 ranking. And on the other hand, Tennessee will continue to show they can be a true contender in March, but they are not yet on the Wildcats' level.

Photo Credit: Tennessee Athletics 

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Jack Foster
JACK FOSTER

Jack is a sophomore at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville majoring in Journalism/Electronic Media. Jack grew up in Paris, Tennessee, but now spends the majority of his time in Knoxville doubling as a student and sports journalist for Volunteer Country. Jack has been a sports junkie since he was a young kid and always watched NFL football with his dad on Sundays. Jack still follows the NFL religiously, as he is an avid fantasy football player. Jack started with Volunteer Country in May of 2021 and has since helped provide full coverage of football, baseball and men's and women's basketball. Jack also works as a recurring member of WUTK's Rock Solid Sports show on Wednesdays and Fridays, and he also serves as head sports producer of The Volunteer Channel's Vol News, a student-run show at the University. When Jack is not watching or covering sports, find him on the golf course or back home spending time with his parents, younger sister and friends. Follow Jack on Twitter and Instagram by clicking "Twitter" and "Instagram" to see all of his work with Volunteer Country as well as student media.