Tennessee basketball allows 100 points for first time since 2006 in blowout at Kentucky

LEXINGTON, Ky. — Zakai Zeigler threw a hand up as he ran by Kentucky guard TyTy Washington.

It didn’t matter. Washington swished the 3-pointer and Kentucky took a 22-point lead over Tennessee basketball. Zeigler offered a semi-shrug in the corner in front of the Wildcats’ bench. There was nothing he could do nor anything Tennessee could do in the face of an offensive onslaught from Kentucky.

Tennessee had no Rupp Arena magic on Saturday. It was all misery in a 107-79 loss, the first time the Vols allowed more than 100 points since 2006.

“It was almost like they had a magnet in the rim," Vols coach Rick Barnes said.

No. 17 Kentucky (14-3, 4-1 SEC) torched the vaunted Vols defense, which was ranked second nationally in defensive efficiency entering Saturday. Kentucky shot 78.6% in the first half, breaking No. 23 Tennessee (11-5, 2-3) in a way no opponent did in the first 15 games.

Santiago Vescovi led Tennessee with 20 points. He was 4-for-6 shooting on 3-pointers.

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Tennessee had not allowed more than 100 points since a 101-87 loss to North Carolina on Nov. 24, 2006 at Madison Square Garden. The Vols had won two in a row and three of their past four at Rupp Arena.

Kentucky was blistering hot in the first half

Kentucky forward Oscar Tshiebwe tossed a short hook shot over Uros Plavsic with 11:59 to play in the first half to put UT behind 18-13. Kentucky made 15 of its next 17 shots, crushing the Vols 52-38 in the first half days after the Vols allowed 46 points to South Carolina.

"You can say it was a bad day, we allowed them to get going," Barnes said. "We really did, at the start of the game with our defense. Just made it way too easy for them."

The Wildcats were hot early after making their first five field goals, but Tennessee hung strong behind its first-half 3-point shooting. But Kentucky buried the Vols late in the first half.

Tshiebwe’s shot started a stretch of seven straight made field goals as Kentucky took a 34-27 lead. Tshiebwe started another run for the Wildcats in the final 3:37. He hit a midrange jumper, the first of six straight field goals to close the half.

Tennessee’s turnover woes

Tennessee got its 3-point shooting back into form, which was a welcome sign for a team that has struggled shooting during the first four games of SEC play.

But the good shooting was paired with a flurry of turnovers and Kentucky taking advantage of them. UT had a season-high 20 turnovers, which Kentucky turned into 32 points.

"You simply can’t give a team this good that many points off turnovers," Barnes said. "They’re going to shoot 80% if you let them get those runout dunks and runouts where they were getting to the corner and they were going to shoot it. When they’re making those shots, it’s tough. But the turnovers were a big part of the game."

Tennessee shot 53.4% from the field, the best it has shot since Dec. 14 against USC Upstate. The Vols made 11 of 23 from 3-point range, its best 3-point shooting percentage since Nov. 30 against Presbyterian.

Tennessee’s post players were missing in action

Tennessee’s post trio of John Fulkerson, Olivier Nkamhoua and Plavsic played 28 first-half minutes. They didn’t get a rebound, while combining for six turnovers and four points — all from Nkamhoua.

Fulkerson and Nkamhoua did not get a rebound in 37 minutes.

"They have to rebound the ball," Barnes said. "That’s their job. They’ve got to do that."

Fulkerson also was held scoreless, but drew plenty of attention from the Kentucky crowd that recalled his foul-drawing abilities and his 27-point outing at Rupp Arena in March 2020.

Freshman Brandon Huntley-Hatfield didn't play until the final 10 minutes. He scored 11 points on 4-for-5 shooting. Barnes praised Huntley-Hatfield's work in practice in the two days before Saturday.

Up next

Tennessee plays at Vanderbilt on Tuesday (9 p.m. ET, SEC Network).

Mike Wilson covers University of Tennessee athletics. Email him at michael.wilson@knoxnews.com and follow him on Twitter @ByMikeWilson. If you enjoy Mike’s coverage, consider a digital subscription that will allow you access to all of it.

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Tennessee basketball buried by Kentucky offensive onslaught