Kentucky Crushes Tennessee Behind 2nd Half Onslaught

The Kentucky Wildcats advanced to the SEC Tournament championship game after an impressive 74-45 victory over 13th ranked Tennessee, avenging a February loss to the Vols in Knoxville.

UK was led by a huge DeMarcus Cousins performance of 19 points and 15 boards, while John Wall controlled the tempo from start to finish and created offense seemingly any time the Cats needed it.

The Big Picture
With every passing day in March, the picture comes more into focus for this Kentucky Wildcats team. The picture we speak of is the Cats’ postseason destiny.

What will be their ultimate fate?

We know, of course, that this team has the talent to win it all. But the margin for error is thinner than many in the Big Blue Nation would like to believe.

As we see them, here are the knowns and unknowns that should dictate the future of this Wildcats squad.

Known Commodities
Kentucky right now is the most talented team in college basketball. It is difficult to argue to the contrary. They possess great depth and very little dropoff in overall athleticism when going to the bench.

The Cats consistently get great performances from an array of supporting cast members, and on any given night, there is more than one Kentucky player who can hurt you.

Wall’s spectacular guard play and Cousins’ domination of the interior are the highlights. Spot shooting from Darnell Dodson, Eric Bledsoe and Darius Miller are also wild cards that can kill a team when they least expect it.

But this team is much more than that. They can dominate the glass, play suffocating halfcourt defense, and show the ability to go on huge spurts, as evidenced Saturday in their decisive 14-0 second half run to bury Tennesee.

Known Unknowns
The unknowns about this team are many.

Can Kentucky hit enough perimeter shots to keep defenses honest? Will the effort and mental focus of such a young group be able to hold out for a deep tourney run? Is Calipari a good enough Xs and Os coach to get this team through the tense moments of a white knuckler in the Big Dance? And will this team ever solve a zone?

We don’t know the answers. To be perfectly frank, we doubt the Cats will have the right answers to all these questions. This team makes a lot of serious fundamental mistakes. And free throw shooting continues to be abysmal for stretches.

But the bottom line is that Kentucky just beat a top 15 team (and a near certain 3 or 4 seed in the NCAA tournament) by 29 points on a neutral floor.

Even when the pieces are not all in place, there is enough there to overcome UK’s considerable deficits.

BBL’s Take
Sunday Kentucky will meet the winner of Vanderbilt and Mississippi State for the right to a 26th SEC tourney title. Win that game and this UK steam roller will head to the tournament with a number one seed and a favorable draw.

We still see an early exit as a definite possibility, depending on the opponent. But things could just as easily go the other way.

The Wildcats’ plot continues to thicken.