By Keith Taylor
Special to NKyTribune
Kentucky coach John Calipari wanted to get out of Knoxville as fast as he could.
Although he was concerned about the weather conditions, he likely wanted to forget about his team’s shocking 84-77 loss to Tennessee Tuesday night at Thompson-Boling Arena.
“I’m just ready to get on the plane because I don’t want to have to bus back,” he said. “That’s my thought right now.”
Coming off a 90-84 overtime loss to No. 7 Kansas, the Wildcats start off strong and built a 21-point lead in the first half, only to see it crumble to six at the break. The slim lead eventually disappeared in the second half, resulting in a Tennessee victory.
“We had them down 21 and they came back and beat our brains in,” Calipari said. “So you think about it, they end up beating us by 30 in about 25 minutes, and it could have been 50.”
For the first time this season, the Wildcats (16-6, 6-3 Southeastern Conference) lost back-to-back games and is searching for answers following the meltdown in Knoxville. Kentucky, which has fared well in bounce-back games under Calipari, suffered two straight losses for just the seventh time in his tenure as coach of the Wildcats.
“We gotta do some soul searching, (as) individuals, as a staff (and) we gotta keep looking at ways we can help this team get better and demand more, more winning plays,” Calipari said. “But we are what we are right now.”
BOXSCORE: Tennessee 84, Kentucky 77
Tyler Ulis and Jamal Murray were the bright spots for Kentucky offensively. Murray paced the attack with 21 points, followed by Ulis with 20. Alex Poythress, who scored 12 points in the first 13 minutes, finished with 14 points and Isaiah Briscoe added 10 points to go along with eight rebounds for his third straight double-figure outing.
Although he provided Kentucky with a spark early, Poythress fouled out with 3:27 remaining.
“Alex did alright the first beginning of the game,” Calipari said. “It got a little rough and he kind of did some fades and all that. But he’s our post presence and if he can’t play and they have 6-foot-5 guards that can really guard him, it’s tough for us.”
The loss to the Jayhawks didn’t appear to bother the Wildcats until the final 25 minutes of the contest. Calipari admitted he was concerned the setback at Kansas may have an impact on his team’s performance. His concerns became evident as the Volunteers began chipping away at the lead late in the first half.
“I was worried about this game coming off the Kansas game, and then the way it started I thought OK, we’re going to be fine,” he said. “I think we had them ready and I think they just did their normal ‘I’m going to back up and then I’ll get out – I’ll foul out.’ You know what I’m saying? ‘You ready, you ready, and then the stuff gets too rough and I just back up.”
Counting the showing at Tennessee, Kentucky has struggled on the road this season and fell to 2-5 in games played away from Lexington, including a 2-3 mark in the conference.
“We’re not there,” Calipari said. “We got a good team. Obviously, we’ve shown it. We showed it for 15 minutes today and then we revert and then — we just didn’t have the fight that you need to go on the road and win.’
Notes
* Ulis has scored 20 or more points in five straight games and nine of the past 11 contests. Ulis also has recorded at least four assists in 15 straight games but fouled out for the first time in his career in Tuesday’s loss.
* Derek Willis tied Briscoe for the team-high in rebounds with eight. Willis made two 3-pointers and finished with eight points. Willis played a career-high 35 minutes.
* Tennessee has won two of the last three games in Knoxville. The Volunteers’ 34 free-throw attempts were the second-most against the Wildcats this season. Kansas shot 47 attempts from the charity stripe last weekend.
* In its last three setbacks, the Wildcats have allowed eight or more 3s. Tennessee was 8-of-19 from long range and made 30 free throws on 34 attempts.
Game tracker: Florida at Kentucky, 4 p.m., Saturday. TV/Radio: CBS Sports, 98.1 FM WBUL
Keith Taylor is a columnist and senior sports writer who covers University of Kentucky athletics for KyForward.com