Watch the Tape: Tennessee Volunteers

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Hopefully, over the next few weeks, Big Blue Nation gets to experience plenty of excitement. However, no matter what, there are few feelings sweeter than beating the Tennessee Volunteers in Knoxville. Kentucky led for the overwhelming vast majority of the game and came away with an 85-81 win at Thompson-Boling Arena on Saturday evening. The victory secured the #2-seed in the Southeastern Conference Tournament for the ‘Cats who will await the winner of Texas A&M and Ole Miss in the quarterfinals at 7:00 p.m. Eastern Time on Friday night.

When Kentucky lost 103-92 to the Volunteers at Rupp Arena to fall to 5-4 in the league on January 31st it would have been hard to predict a second place finish. However, this team continues to peak at the right time. They finished the regular season on a five game winning streak and have won seven of their last eight. During that span, they’ve won at Auburn, blown out Alabama, won at Mississippi State, and now won at Tennessee. Those are some of the more impressive wins in college basketball this season.

Reed Sheppard and Antonio Reeves each scored 27 points to lead the Wildcats in Knoxville. The former also pulled down seven rebounds while the latter finished with six rebounds and five assists. Justin Edwards continued his scorching hot shooting streak connecting on four three-point shots on his way to 16 points. Rob Dillingham added 11 points to round out the double-figure scorers for Kentucky. Meanwhile, Ugonna Onyenso impacted the game without attempting a shot. The 7-footer finished with six rebounds and four blocked shots, while altering many others, in one of his best defensive performances of the season.

As always, we’ve been hard at work inside of the KSR Film Room breaking down Kentucky’s latest contest. The ‘Cats led by as many as 14 points midway through the second half, but Tennessee also had a three in the air to potentially tie the game in the final seconds. This game wasn’t without its ups and downs, but overall it was an excellent performance by the Wildcats against an excellent team in a hostile environment. Kentucky continues to do their best work away from home which is a good sign in the month of March. We will highlight several of the defensive plays that led to Saturday’s road win while, once again, giving due credit to the best offense in college basketball. Let’s dive on in and take a closer look at Kentucky’s 85-81 win over the Tennessee Volunteers.

High-Level Defensive Execution

High-level offensive execution is often the focus of these “Watch the Tape” articles. However, on Saturday, Kentucky turned in some of their most impressive defensive possessions of the season. Dalton Knecht scored 40, and the Tennessee Volunteers clawed their way to 81 points in the end, but the Wildcats’ defensive awareness, execution, and urgency gave them an opportunity to win the game. We witnessed a championship-caliber effort in Knoxville.

This is about as well executed of a defensive possession as you will see from Kentucky. The only thing you could critique at all is Antonio Reeves going underneath the handoff to #3 Knecht, but he did so with enough urgency to make it okay. At the end of the possession, Reed Sheppard did an excellent job of not flying at #15 Mashack on the catch. His sound defense ultimately forced a very low percentage shot. All five Wildcats were connected for a full 30 seconds during this possession.

D.J. Wagner has the highest defensive IQ on the team. He has good awareness, plays really hard, and is able to process the game at a really fast rate. What you see in this clip is what Kentucky needs more of defensively. As we’ve labeled it before, “often wrong, but never in doubt.” Be willing to make a decision and act on it with aggression. Wagner is able to see Ugonna Onyenso get screened here as #0 Aidoo comes open across the lane. However, Wagner switches the screen and aggressively goes to make a play on the ball. His effort leads to a Tennessee Volunteers turnover. Excellent recognition by the freshman guard.

Kentucky’s defensive ceiling doesn’t include turning into Houston or Iowa State. However, what they can do, is create havoc. Blocking shots and getting steals are the strengths of this defense. If they can use that to their advantage, and create easy offense from their defense, it’ll be enough to string together some wins over the next few weeks. He is about to get his own section of this article, but Ugonna Onyenso was excellent here again when switched onto #3 Knecht. He didn’t panic and simply continued to guard him. Then, Reed Sheppard jumped the passing lane as he does so well which led to a beautiful pull-up three in transition. Forcing turnovers leads to easy offense.

Ugonna Onyenso’s Best Game as a Wildcat

Ugonna Onyenso had 10 blocked shots in Kentucky’s win over Ole Miss back on February 13th. He then followed that performance up with 11 rebounds as the ‘Cats beat Auburn in their next outing. However, what he did on Saturday evening against the Tennessee Volunteers was the most impressive showing of Onyenso’s career. The box score will show six rebounds and four blocked shots, but his impact went well beyond that production. The sophomore 7-footer completely changed the game around the rim and set the tone defensively from the opening tip for Kentucky. Even without attempting a shot, Onyenso had a massive impact on the game.

This play set the tone for what was to come from Ugonna Onyenso and the Kentucky defense as a whole against the Tennessee Volunteers on Saturday. #3 Knecht does not get his shot blocked very often. However, the length of Onyenso was enough to block the jump shot on this possession. Then, Onyenso forced a miss on Knecht’s driving layup attempt as well. One blocked shot, one altered shot, and one defensive rebound to end the possession.

Earlier in the season we talked a lot about how Ugonna Onyenso was an elite shot blocker, but still needed to grow as a true rim protector. On Saturday, the sophomore center was a rim protector. Three different Wildcats played a hand in protecting the rim in this clip. Onyenso was there to get vertical as #30 James drove to the rim, then Adou Thiero unleashed his explosive athleticism for a big block. Justin Edwards got a piece of #0 Aidoo’s putback attempt as well. This is what rim protection looks like. Kentucky made it very difficult for Tennessee to score around the basket as the Vols shot just 42.1% from two-point range.

Effort and urgency go a long way on the defensive end of the floor. Kentucky showcased plenty of those traits on Saturday in their win over the Tennessee Volunteers. Rob Dillingham doesn’t take the easiest path to #5 Zeigler, electing to squeeze up through as opposed to chasing, but he goes with such urgency that it really doesn’t matter. His quickness really makes up for some defensive mistakes. Then, he forces Zeigler to drive it left where Ugonna Onyenso is waiting for yet another block. Excellent defensive execution by the Wildcats on this possession.

Not that Kentucky really needs any help creating offense, but when they block shots and create steals it generally leads to some easy points. Take a look at the urgency from Ugonna Onyenso. Not only does he moves his feet and corral #5 Zeigler as he drives it along the baseline, but he then flips his hips and recovers to #0 Aidoo for a big block at the rim. That defensive play got the ‘Cats off to the races as Justin Edwards found Antonio Reeves for a transition three. What could have been Tennessee cutting it to seven was quickly flipped to a 12 point Kentucky lead.

The Best Offense in College Basketball

Welcome to our recurring “Watch the Tape” segment where we highlight what spectacular things the Kentucky Wildcats did offensively. On Saturday, they put up 52 points in the second half against one of the best defenses in college basketball. Reed Sheppard went off, Antonio Reeves did Antonio Reeves things, and Justin Edwards stayed hot from beyond the arc. The Tennessee Volunteers have allowed 85 or more points just four times this season. Two of those four have been to Kentucky. Here are some of the offensive highlight’s from the Wildcats’ 85-81 win at Thompson-Boling Arena.

“Shoot ’em all, Reed” isn’t just a fun Twitter shtick. When you shoot 52.6% from three-point range you really can’t take a bad one. Sheppard should be hunting every attempt possible. This was a great pull-up in transition that got Kentucky rolling midway through the first half in Knoxville. Also, credit to Aaron Bradshaw for the screen that got Sheppard open. He played just two minutes, but accounted for six points as Antonio Reeves and Reed Sheppard hit back-to-back three-point shots as a direct result of his screening.

When you have really good players, offense can become very simple. This is nothing more than a high ballscreen from a Horns set that results in a beautiful backdoor cut by Antonio Reeves. Justin Edwards makes a great, under control pass to Reeves for the dunk. He wouldn’t have had the poise to make this play a month ago. Also, credit to Ugonna Onyenso inside for sealing his man off as Reeves cut in for the dunk.

Playing through Rob Dillingham and Reed Sheppard leads to really good things offensively. The Tennessee Volunteers elected to switch the screens with #11 Awaka in the game as a small-ball 5-man, but that left him on an island trying to guard Sheppard on the perimeter. Recognizing the mismatch, Dillingham attacked the gap, drew just enough help from Awaka, and found his fellow freshman running mate for a three on the wing. Excellent offensive execution from the two best freshmen in college basketball.

The Tennessee Volunteers quickly cut a 14 point Kentucky to just five with five minutes remaining. However, instead of panicking on the road, Coach Calipari slowed things down and dialed up some floppy action. This was an excellent baseline drive by Antonio Reeves and a very strong finish when the ‘Cats really needed a bucket.