By Keith Taylor
Kentucky Today
Kentucky and Tennessee have never met in the NCAA Tournament. Their first meeting in the Big Dance will be in a football stadium with one-fourth of the venue converted into a basketball court.
The Wildcats (24-11) and Volunteers (29-7) got their first view of the venue and practiced at Lucas Oil Stadium on Thursday ahead of the Midwest Regional semifinals set for Friday night.
Featuring an elevated court and brighter stadium-style lights, Kentucky’s players came away impressed with the venue following their first workout on Thursday morning.
“It’s a pretty good experience,” Kentucky guard Otega Oweh said. “I don’t really think it changes anything. I always say if the ball is round and the rim is a circle, then I think it’s all the same thing. Just excited to get out there and play.”
Kentucky guard Collin Chandler agreed and compared the experience to playing in Rupp Arena and wasn’t
“I think Rupp is similar in that way,” he said. (I think) this is a little bit more exaggerated, but Rupp is different than a lot of gyms, because it’s it’s bigger and the bleachers are a lot farther back as compared to the hoop. I think today was good for us to get the feel, and I think we’re going to be good going into tomorrow.”
Kentucky coach Mark Pope said the venue wasn’t intimidating to his squad.
“A lot of times, in the older stadiums you would walk in it would be really, really light (and) you kind of got caught up in the background,” Pope said. “In our first experience in here this morning, the background kind of fades away so it feels a lot more intimate maybe than it is. I think it’s an incredible venue.
“I think it’s a special place, and we can’t wait to play (here tomorrow night).”
Kentucky swept Tennessee during the regular season and will have to beat the Volunteers for a third time to earn a ticket to the Elite Eight. Things have changed since the Wildcats defeated the Volunteers 75-64 on Feb. 11, and Chandler said the biggest change since then has been Kentucky’s improvement on the defensive end of the floor.
“I think that’s something we’ve continued to lock in on and hone in on — our defensive effort,” he said. “I think we did a good job the last two times we played them, but I think we’re coming different as a whole unit, rather than individual efforts defensively. I think we’re clicking as a team right now.”
With the stakes much higher, guard Koby Brea says preparing for the Volunteers will be similar to the first two encounters between the two Southeastern Conference foes.
“I don’t think we have to do anything different,” he said. “I think we’ve got to do the same thing against every team and to be ourselves. We trust each other on the court. We know what we’re capable of doing. Tennessee is obviously a really good opponent. We’ve gotta give them respect and we’re coming into the game with the same mentality that we came into the first two (games).”
Pope agreed and added the two earlier-season wins provide his team with an emotional edge.
“If we really parse details, there’s certainly, maybe the emotional advantage of winning two that you feel like you know you can,” he said. “There’s the strategic side of coming to know to consider you might have a better idea of if you’re going to make changes, a better idea of how and why.
“I think that’s like the 0.1 percent. I think mostly this is a free-standing game. This is a great Tennessee team. It’s one of the top teams in the country. It’s the best defensive team in the country. They have one of the best offensive teams in the country.”
Tennessee coach Rick Barnes is anticipating a close game.
“I expect them to be at their very best and I think they would expect the same from us,” Barnes said.
Gametracker: Kentucky vs. Tennessee, 7:40 p.m., Friday at Indianapolis. TV/Radio: TBS, UK Radio Network.