PREVIEW: Kentucky WBB meets Tennessee in round two of SEC Tournament

After defeating Georgia 64-50 on Wednesday, Kentucky Women’s Basketball will be meeting an old rival in the second round of the SEC Tournament. On Thursday afternoon in Greenville, SC, Kentucky takes on five-seed Tennessee for the second time this season, and the first time didn’t end too well.

In Wednesday’s win over Georgia in the first round of the tourney, we saw a lot of great things from Kentucky defensively. The offensive end still lacked energy, since the ‘Cats finished with 17 turnovers and only shot 20-51 (39.2%) from the field. What Kentucky did do though, is hold Georgia to only 25 rebounds and 0-11 from the three-point line.

The key to beating the Volunteers this time around will be cleaning up mistakes from their first matchup. Kentucky proved in the first half against Tennessee on Jan. 7 that they can keep up with good SEC teams, it’s just a matter of execution. Now, Kentucky is without Maddie Scherr (concussion protocol) and will need to play like they did against Georgia if they want to come out with a win.

After scoring nearly 50 points in the first half against Tennessee the first time around, the ‘Cats only scored 20 in the second half. Kentucky even led at the end of the first quarter, 18-14. The Volunteers didn’t slow down though, and defeated Kentucky 87-69. In the second half, Kentucky shot a staggering 8-34 (23.5%) from the field, compared to their rivals, who shot 18-31 (58%). Cleaning up shooting is going to be crucial for the ‘Cats to come out on top.

Tipoff is set for 25 minutes after the conclusion of the first game of the day, which starts at 12:00 p.m. EST at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena. Expect the game to get rolling around 2:30 p.m. EST.

Scouting Report: Tennessee Volunteers

Here, folks, we have “The Kyra Elzy Game”. She was born and raised a Kentuckian, played and coached at Tennessee, and now she’s back in the Bluegrass as the head coach of the ‘Cats. Elzy is just 2-5 against Tennessee in her four years at the helm at Kentucky, but there’s a chance that she can manage a third win over the Lady Vols on Thursday.

Kellie Harper’s squad is led by First Team All-SEC selection Rickea Jackson. Since returning from injury earlier this season, the fifth-year senior has been prolific. Jackson averages 19.7 points per game, which ranks tops in the SEC. Unfortunately for her, a lack of availability disqualified her from being the official leading scorer in the conference. That title belongs to LSU’s Angel Reese who averages 19.1 points per game.

We’re going to keep this short and sweet for you all. This isn’t the Tennessee of old. Obviously, they’re a solid team that could make noise in the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament, but they are very beatable. Kentucky had this team down by 17 at one point this season.

All it’s going to take is 40 minutes of hard-nosed, aggressive basketball. If Kentucky can come out and play like they did in the first round against Georgia, then Elzy and the ‘Cats could very well punch a ticket to the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament.