Kentucky faces Tennessee for a third time this season in Indianapolis on Friday night, in a Sweet 16 game that could be the biggest game in the history of a long and storied series.
The Wildcats defeated Tennessee 78-73 in Knoxville back in late January and then took down the Vols 75-64 in Rupp Arena the next month.
Here are some of the themes from those wins.
- Kentucky shot exactly 50% in both wins. They were 25/50 FG and 26/52 respectively in those wins. Kentucky didn't attempt a huge number of shots.
- Ansley Almonor was a big factor in both games. He was 4/7 FG with 12 points in Knoxville and 4/5 with 13 points in the Lexington win.
- Oweh was okay both times. He was 4/11 from the field and averaged 13.5 points. Basically, Kentucky got as much offense from Almonor as from Oweh, and the former was more efficient.
- Trent Noah chipped in both games. He had five points in the first game and 11 points as the top bench scorer in the second game. He only missed one field goal in those two games combined.
- Tennessee didn't turn it over much. The Vols turned it over nine times in one game and five times another. Lamont Butler wasn't available for the game in Knoxville, when UT only turned it over five times.
- The Vols dominated second chance points and won the boards overall. Tennessee beat Kentucky in second chance points 35-11. They were +3 and +7 respectively on the boards in those two games.
- UT senior guard Jordan Gainey and didn't shoot well. He's only a 39.8% field goal shooter but was 4/12 and 2/9 from the floor in those two games. He took a lot of shots and wasn't on. Chaz Lanier also didn't shoot well (5/14 FG and 3/13 FG).
- Tennessee shot poorly from three-point range. The Vols were 11/45 from three-point range in the Knoxville game. That was a huge number of three-point shots and the Vols were only 24%. They didn't shoot nearly as many in Lexington but were only 3/18.
- Kentucky led by 35 minutes in both games. The Wildcats set a tone early and didn't relent. They have stayed in control through two games in the NCAA Tournament as well.
- UT finished both games cold, but credit Kentucky's defense. UT only hit one of its last dozen field goal attempts in that 78-73 UK win in Knoxville and they missed their last four field goals in the Lexington loss.
