Welp, that didn’t go the way anyone expected.

In their first matchup, Kentucky handed Tennessee handed a 17-point whoopin’. On Saturday night, Tennessee was able to avenge that loss with a 71-52 win over a Reid Travisless Kentucky team in Knoxville.

Starting the game, Kentucky went up 6-0 as the Vols couldn’t have started any worse and was a competitive game up until the 8:23 mark in the first half (when PJ went out with his 2nd foul). However, that quickly changed as a 20-18 lead ballooned to a 37-24 lead going into halftime and Kentucky was never able to cut the lead back to single digits.

Let’s take a look at what all went wrong.

THE Worst Offensive Game of the Season

This is no exaggeration as the Cats recorded a season-low in field goals made (14), field goal percentage (31.8%, 14-44 FG), and points (52). All of these marks are significantly lower than Kentucky’s next worst marks of the season and includes Kentucky’s lowest scoring mark since the 2013 NIT team.

Tennessee forced Kentucky out of their comfort zone as the Cats had more turnovers (17) than field goals (14). The Cats were also only able to get 10 points in the paint, a much lesser mark than the 36 points in the paint that Kentucky was able to score at Rupp.

Tennessee played great defense, but Kentucky also had a combination of poor shot selection and open shots just not falling. As versatile as this team is on offense, I don’t see this poor of a performance being replicated again.

The Atrocious Trio

Ashton Hagans, Tyler Herro, and Keldon Johnson may have each played their worst individual game of the season on Saturday.

Ashton Hagans: 5 points (2-6 FG), 2 TO

Tyler Herro: 6 points (2-11 FG), 5 TO

Keldon Johnson: 7 points (2-9 FG), 3 TO

When three of your starters combine for more turnovers (10) than field goals (6), odds are the game didn’t go that great and that was definitely the case on Saturday.

The defensive end wasn’t great for these three either. The Tennessee guards were able to get wide open looks and drive to the rim with ease. These three have had trouble at times this season with staying between their man and the basket and denying straight line drives.

Hagans and Herro have provided great offensive performances in recent games, whereas Keldon Johnson has been in a four-game slump averaging 8.3 points on 29.7% FG and 10% 3P. It’s clear that Keldon needs to turn it on, find his flow, and get his confidence back before the NCAA tournament.

This game couldn’t have gone worse on either end and I don’t see all three playing this poorly in the same game again.

Where Has Ashton Hagans’ Defense Gone?

From late December to late January Ashton Hagans was raved about Nationally with his perimeter defense and disruptive hands. While his offensive production has improved, his defense has regressed. After getting 3 or more steals eight times in a nine-game stretch that included games against North Carolina, Louisville, Auburn, and Kansas, Hagans has only recorded 3 steals once since.

In the matchup at Rupp, and despite a 17-point Kentucky win, Jordan Bone took it to Hagans with 19 points (8-13 FG) and 6 assists. On Saturday that didn’t change much as Bone finished 27 points (11-15 FG) and 3 assists.

Bone is an elite college level point guard, but if the Cats want to go deep in the tournament Hagans will have to play guards just as talented and will have to show he can consistently hold his own defensively.

We Need Reid Travis

This game should be designated as the Reid Travis Appreciation Game. Without Reid Travis, Kentucky did not have a lot of interior defense due to foul trouble. On the offensive side, Nick Richards and EJ Montgomery weren’t able to provide anything allowing the Vols to double and pressure PJ.

What’s been missing most is his leadership and intangibles. Travis has shown the ability to match anyone’s physicality in the post this season and is the only player on the UK roster that could say that. This team has really missed Travis’ ability to draw attention away from PJ and his ability to open up driving lanes using his body.

This Kentucky team needs everything that Reid Travis brings to the table from his steady offense to his grit and toughness. This team needs Travis to go deep in March.

Saturday’s loss in Knoxville pretty much eliminates any chance for an SEC regular season title. The Cats fall to 13-3 in the conference with two games remaining (Ole Miss and Florida), leaving LSU and Tennessee atop the SEC standings with 14-2 records.

As bad as Kentucky played, this team will be fine. Kentucky had no Reid Travis, plagued with early foul trouble, and their worst offensive game of the season. The Cats will look to bounce back on the road against a good Ole Miss team in need of a win.