UK gets a Victory in Knoxville

Moss celebrates the win.

The CATS went down to TN with revenge on their minds. The Vols took a win in Rupp last month for the first time in a long time. If that wasn’t motivation enough, the Wildcats are not sitting atop the SEC East and are even in jeopardy of missing out on the Big Dance. This is not a situation that UK is accustomed to in March. So the CATS needed this win to shore up their “resume” and to build up a head of steam going into the SEC and NCAA tournaments.


Morris had a big game against TN.

UK looked good for the first few minutes, but quickly lapsed on defense and let UT build up a 21 – 7 lead. The CATS scored the next 8 (6 from Morris) to close the gap to 6 points. The Vols extend the lead to 11, but the Cats clawed back and cut the lead to 7 at the end of the half with the help of a few three-point shots and some free throw shooting. Score 45 – 38 UT at the half.

SSSS
Rondo had 16 points and 8 rebs. ssssssssssssssss Stockton's steal sealed the game.

The CATS tie the score at 45 with 2 three-pointers and a free throw to begin the 2nd half. Both teams battle back and forth for the remainder of the game. The CATS biggest lead was 6 points in the 2nd half and came with just under 12 minutes to go in the game. Rondo kept the CATS in the game at this point, scoring 10 straight points over 4 minutes of game time. The Vols tied the game at 69 going into the under 8 minute timeout. The CATS never trailed from this point forward, even though the Vols tied it again 73. UK’s final points came with just over 2 minutes to go in the game on a layup by Rondo. The defense held UT to just one made field goal in the final 4 minutes of the ballgame.

UK did not play well through much of the game, but found a way to finish a big game. The Gators are coming to town this weekend and the CATS could certainly use another win going into the SEC tournament. It would also be nice, since I'll be at the game.