Kentucky rallied from a 17-point deficit to stun No. 24 Tennessee 80-78 on the road Saturday, as the Wildcats completed their third straight double-digit comeback in SEC play.
Just as they did at LSU on Wednesday — when Kentucky rolled from 18 down to win at the buzzer — veteran guards Denzel Aberdeen and Otega Oweh led the charge against the Volunteers.
Oweh’s transition dunk with 34 seconds remaining gave UK (12-6, 3-2 SEC) its first lead of the game at 78-77 and prolonged a dreadful finishing stretch for the Volunteers (12-6, 2-3), who did not make a basket from the field over the final 5:38.
The senior guard finished with 10 points and two steals in the second half. Aberdeen scored 18 of his 22 points in the second half including seven straight to open the second half as Kentucky narrowed a 13-point deficit to eight. While Kentucky’s comeback win over Tennessee bore some uncanny resemblance to its wins over LSU and Mississippi State, which also required big rallies, it illuminated the play of some different characters.
Mo Dioubate came off the bench to play 27 minutes, which is more than he logged in the last two games combined. The physical Alabama transfer provided some desperately needed toughness on the glass for UK after the Wildcats grabbed just one offensive rebound in the first half.
With Dioubate playing all but three minutes in the second half, UK grabbed 10 offensive rebounds, which it converted into 17 points. Consequently, Kentucky attempted 36 shots in the second half compared to just 22 for Tennessee. Freshman guard Jasper Johnson also added 12 points for Kentucky.
Johnson’s contributions
There is mounting evidence to suggest Kentucky is a better team with Johnson on the floor. With UK’s offense reeling early, the slender lefty kept the Wildcats in it with eight points off the bench in a span of fewer than six minutes. He also chipped in a couple of jumpers over the last three minutes of the first half just as Tennessee’s lead ballooned to 17 points. Johnson’s late surge helped the Wildcats close the half on a 7-1 run and remain within striking distance.
In addition to his 5-of-6 shooting performance, Johnson finished with a team-high four assists. He leads the team in assists per 40 minutes and is the most natural passer on the team now that Jaland Lowe has been ruled out for the season. Even before the strong offensive performance from Johnson, data showed UK has tended to be better with him on the floor.
In games against high-major opposition, five of the Wildcats’ 10 most-efficient 3-man combinations involved Johnson, per CBB Analytics. Yet, he’s still been struggling to get steady minutes. That ought to change moving forward. If anyone can replace the passing and on-ball playmaking that Lowe provided before UK shut him down for the season, it’s Johnson, and he proved it again on Saturday at Tennessee.
Bracketology implications
The win marks a gold-plated Quad 1 victory for Kentucky and improves the Wildcats to 3-5 in Quad 1 opportunities, providing significant insulation for the Wildcats’ at-large resume. The win will have little risk of slipping outside of Quad 1, as there is virtually no scenario in which Tennessee will fall outside the top 75 of the NET. As a result, the Wildcats are expected to solidify themselves as a No. 9 seed in CBS Sports Bracketology, which calculates seedings as if Selection Sunday were tomorrow.
The initial CBS Sports Bracketology projection calls for Tennessee to slip from a No. 6 seed to a No. 7 seed. For the moment, the loss is a Quad 2 defeat for the Volunteers, marking their first loss outside of Quad 1. However, if UK moves into the top 30 of the NET (the Wildcats were No. 34 before the win), then it will be a Quad 1 loss.
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