Kentucky vs Tennessee......A Preview

Lwcat
WT Administrator

Kentucky vs Tennessee 1/14/12 Saturday-12pm-EST/11am-CST (ESPN)
Kentucky leads the series 146-66.

Tennessee Vols

Location: Knoxville, Tenn
Enrollment: 27,523
Arena: 21,678

Head Coach: Cuonzo Martin
Career Record: 61-41 (59.8%) 3 seasons
At Tennessee-First season

2010-11 Record: 19-15
2010-11 SEC Record: 8-8
Postseason: 0-1 NCAA

2011-12 Record: 8-8
2011-12 SEC Record: 1-1

Tennessee 92 UNC Greensboro 63
Tennessee 85 Louisiana Monroe 62
Duke 77 Tennessee 67
Memphis 99 Tennessee 97
Tennessee 86 Chaminade 60
Oakland 89 Tennessee 81
Pittsburgh 61 Tennessee 56
Austin Peay 74 Tennessee 70
College of Charleston 71 Tennessee 65
Tennessee 72 UNC Ashville 68
Tennessee 66 ESTU 63
Tennessee 86 Citadel 55
Tennessee 76 Chattanooga 63
Memphis 69 Tennessee 51
Tennessee 67 Florida 56
Mississippi St. 62 Tennessee 58

Tennessee Stats

PPG-73.4
FG%-46.2%
3 PT%-38.0% (8.1PG)
FT%-69.8%
RPG-36.2 (+3.2)
APG-14.3
TO’s-13.1
SPG-5.9
BPG-4.9

Probable Starting Lineup

Trae Golden-G 6’1” Soph………………………….14.9 PPG
Jeronne Maymon-F 6’7” Jr……………………..….11.3 PPG
Jordan McRae-F 6’5” Soph…………………….….10.4 PPG
Cameron Tatum-GG 6’7” Sr…………………….….8.9 PPG
Kenny Hall-F 6’9” Jr…………………………….....….7.3 PPG

Other Key Players

Sylar McBee-G 6’3” Jr……………………………….....6.3 PPG
Renaldo Woodridge-F 6’9” Sr…………………..….6.1 PPG
Josh Richardson-G 6’6” Fr…………………………...3.0 PPG

Tennessee now has a new coach in Cuonzo Martin after Bruce Pearl was fired. Martin played at Purdue from 91-95 under Gene Keady….Martin was then an assistant under both Keady and Matt Painter from 2000-2008 so he garnered great experience from two very good coaches. For the past 3 years, Martin has been a successful coach at Missouri St where he greatly improved their program.

Coach Martin inherited a Tennessee team that lost 4 solid starters in Scotty Hopson, Tobias Harris, Melvin Goins and John Fields plus 4 other players including Brian Williams. Despite those losses, Martin has the Vols playing much better than anyone expected. While Pearl’s Vols were more upbeat offensively, Martin has focused on playing tough hardnose defense….which was evident in the Vols recent win over Florida.
Frankly, despite losing much of their scoring, this year’s Vols team is playing pretty solid offensively and shooting very well from the perimeter hitting 37.5% and averaging 8 perimeter shots PG.

Cameron Tatum leads the team from the perimeter hitting 41%. Trae Golden runs the point and leads in assists with 81…… Jeronne Maymon leads the team in rebounds while Kenny Hall leads in blocks.

The Vols just had a tough loss at Mississippi St. 62-58. UT had an opportunity to tie or win in the final seconds, but turned the ball over. This Tennessee team will be a very competitive team in the SEC this season.

Kentucky arrives in Knoxville off a hard fought game against Auburn on the road. The Cats found out that coach Cal was right on target when he warned them that opposing SEC teams will fill their arenas and often play their very best against UK….Auburn did just that. Auburn utilized an effective zone defense which many UK opponents will also likely use this SEC season. The Cats pulled away toward the end of the game, but missed shots and poor rebounding kept the Tigers in the game.

Last season, UK lost 6 road SEC games and this season could be as bad if the young Cats don’t come to play for 40 minutes on the road. UK will find a tough Tennessee opponent Saturday in Knoxville and they must play tough defense, rebound better, and make shots.

It’s not rocket science, but winning on the road demands that the Cats bring a high level of energy and match the passion of their opponents. I see a tough game in Knoxville with UK pulling out a 7 point win. GO CATS!