I was confident in Kentucky’s chances against Tennessee and they won by 17. A big factor being Tennessee not playing a ranked team since Dec 10th. Since Tennessee’s win over Gonzaga that day, Vols have zero KenPom top-25 wins, Cats now have seven in that same span (including UT). Let’s take a look and analyze Kentucky’s statement win over the #1 team in the country.

PJ Washington has a shot at SEC Player of the Year

Anyone watching the game could see that PJ Washington was the best player on the floor and exposed Grant Williams who was pegged preseason SEC player of the year. In 7 of the last 8 games, Washington has scored 20 or more points and is averaging 21.0 ppg, 8.1 rpg, 1.4 apg, and 1.3 bpg on 55.4% FG and 50% 3P. PJ Washington’s recent performances are proof that he made the best decision to come back for his sophomore year. PJ is playing like one of the best bigs in the country and his performance against #1 Tennessee definitely improved his case for national awards.

This is NOT the Typical Calipari Team

Coming into the season and we knew this was a team that had a chance to be special and they showed that on the biggest stage against the #1 team in the country. Most Cal teams are stereotyped as “young and soft”. However, this team has experienced bigs that were not afraid of Tennessee’s physicality. From the tip, Kentucky was prepared to bully Tennessee and did just that outrebounding Tennessee by 13.

Ashton Hagans Broke Through the Freshman Wall

Calipari has talked about the metaphorical Freshman wall that many freshmen at Kentucky hit during the season. Hagans appeared to hit that wall three games ago as he was averaging 4.7 ppg, 4.7 apg, 1.7 rpg, and 3 TOpg along with 38.5% FG and 20% 3P. Hagans regained his aggressiveness against Tennessee with a 9 pts, 7 ast, 2 reb, 1 TO, and 50% FG performance. For this team to reach its peak performance, Hagans needs to be a leader that can defend the perimeter and is aggressive and efficient on the offensive end, and that’s just what Hagans was last night.

Tyler Herro Showcases He Is More Than a Shooter

Coming into the season we anticipated Tyler Herro to be one of the premier shooters on this years team. While that has been the case (35.5% 3P, 45.5% FG, 91.8% FT) he has shown that he is much more than a shooter. Herro is second on the team in assists and steals with 2.3 apg and 1.0 spg, showing that he is able to distribute the ball and although not amazingly quick, he has the ability to get into passing lanes. As a 6-5 guard he rebounds and gets after it on the boards, averaging 4.0 rpg on the season, Herro finished the game with a quiet double-double with 15 pts and 13 reb.

This Team Still Has Room to Grow

Although more experienced than most Kentucky teams under Calipari, this team is still young with five freshmen (six if you count Baker as a redshirt freshman). Since losing to Duke by 34 points on opening night, Kentucky has clawed their way back into the national championship conversation, and deservingly so. Kentucky is currently ranked 14th in offensive efficiency and 7th in defensive efficiency (only 6 teams ranked in top-20 in each category). Kentucky looked very impressive and received positive contributions from each player. However, Kentucky still showed room for improvement when allowing Tennessee to go on a 13-0 run in 2 1/2 min to cut the lead to 10 as they made plenty of mental mistakes and showed a struggle with the zone. Trust in Cal as he always has his best product on the floor come March!

Team Stats

Box Score

Beating the #1 team in the country by 17 points, it has been a great weekend for the Big Blue Nation. GO C-A-Y-T-S!