The Vols unraveled in the second half of an 80–78 loss to Kentucky. Tennessee still hasn’t beaten the Wildcats in Knoxville since Feb. 15, 2022.
Tennessee lost its focus defensively and got sloppy with the ball after halftime, allowing Kentucky to rally despite a big night from Ja’Kobi Gillespie.
Here are three takeaways from the home loss.
Closeouts Costly
Tennessee’s defense was locked in early, but it slipped in the second half. Kentucky started connecting from deep, and the Vols tried to counter by overcommitting to run shooters off the line. That decision opened up driving lanes, and the Wildcats took advantage by getting downhill and attacking the paint. Kentucky finished the second half 6-for-10 from three and 18-for-36 from the field.
Tennessee also bit on multiple pump fakes, which put the defense in rotation and opened clean looks. One example came with 7:50 left in the game when Bishop Boswell jumped at a Jasper Johnson shot fake, freeing up Otega Oweh for a wide-open three at the top of the key.
Late-Game Lapse
Turnovers continue to be a problem for Tennessee. The Vols played smart in the first half, giving it away only five times, but that discipline disappeared after halftime. Tennessee finished with 12 turnovers (seven in the second half), and the most costly came with less than 40 seconds left. Gillespie floated a careless pass toward Collin Chandler, and it turned into an Otega Oweh fastbreak bucket that gave Kentucky a 78–77 lead.
Some of those mistakes came because of Kentucky’s ball-screen adjustment, but Abram, Boswell, and Gillespie all forced careless passes at different points. Kentucky, meanwhile, turned it over only once in the second half, and that gap helped fuel the Wildcats’ second-half comeback win.
Gillespie’s Green Light
Ja’Kobi Gillespie has been a microwave all season, and it didn’t take long for him to heat up in this one. Tennessee’s first bucket set the tone and immediately stretched Kentucky’s defense. Gillespie rejected a Felix Okpara screen, rose from deep on the wing, and splashed home a triple that forced the Wildcats to stay glued to him outside, opening driving lanes and post space.
Barnes usually frees Gillespie with pindowns, and that remained the plan against Kentucky. With 7:18 left in the first half, Barnes went to a horns look, and Gillespie came off a DeWayne Brown screen for another clean catch-and-shoot three from the top of the key.
The Wildcats adjusted their ball screen defense in the second half. Kentucky started to blitz Gillespie, but after a rough stretch to start the half, Gillespie adjusted and started rejecting the screens and attacking. He finished with a team-high 24 points on 6-of-12 shooting from the field and 4-for-7 from deep.
Despite Gillespie’s strong performance, Tennessee’s second-half defense and ball security weren’t good enough to close it out. The Vols will have to clean up their closeouts and value possessions if they want to stack wins in SEC play.
