I will die Kentucky vols James full commitment mark Pope future…
I will die Kentucky vols James full commitment mark Pope future…
Cold shooting and foul trouble proved to be a lethal combination as Kentucky fell to rival Tennessee 69-62 in the semifinals of the SEC Tournament on Saturday afternoon in Tampa.
With the loss, Kentucky falls to 26-7 and is now off the No. 1 seed line as Coach John Calipari and the Wildcats will have to wait and see where it lands in the upcoming NCAA Tournament.
Tennessee jumped on the Cats early with back-to-back three pointers to take a 10-4 lead as Kentucky struggled offensively, making sloppy turnovers and taking bad shots in the half-court offense as the Vols took an 11 point lead at halftime at 33-22.
A TyTy Washington basket cut the lead to eight with 8:05 remaining in the game as the Wildcats tried to mount a comeback late. But a quick score by Tennessee and a steal and run out dunk pushed the lead back to 55-43. A Sahvir Wheeler bucket would cut the lead to 55-49 but the Vols were too much to handle down the stretch.
Oscar Tshiebwe, Kentucky’s leading scorer, finished with 13 points and 11 rebounds, despite missing much of the first half with two fouls. He eventually fouled out with 3:37 left in the game with Kentucky trailing 58-49.
