Tennessee topples Kentucky in March Madness after earlier losses

[ad_1]

1 seeds Florida & Duke prep for Elite 8 against Texas Tech & Alabama

Mackenzie Salmon breaks down Elite 8 matchups, as No. 1 Florida will take on No. 3 Texas Tech and No. 1 Duke will verse No. 2 Alabama.

Sports Seriously

Tennessee’s strong defense stifled Kentucky’s offense, preventing the Wildcats from making open shots.Despite losing twice to Kentucky in the regular season, Tennessee dominated the game and maintained a comfortable lead.

Tennessee lost twice to archrival Kentucky this season in men’s basketball. But they could sum up those setbacks with two words Friday night in Indianapolis.

So what?

So what if Kentucky beat the Volunteers at Food City Center and Rupp Arena during the regular season. So what if it beat them in January and February.

Tennessee reduced those regular-season defeats to a footnote in a 30-win season when it advanced to the Elite Eight of the NCAA men’s tournament with a 78-65 victory over the Wildcats at Lucas Oil Stadium.

After making the Elite Eight in consecutive seasons, the Volunteers are just one victory from reaching the Final Four for the first time.

Despite No. 3 seed Kentucky’s illustrious basketball history — which includes eight national championships — or its regular-season wins against Tennessee, this wasn’t an upset. The second-seeded Vols were a 4½-point favorite, and they wasted little time establishing their superiority.

Tennessee tightened up its defense after those regular-season mishaps, dominated the rebounding and left Kentucky playing catchup after taking a 29-17 lead.

The defense of the Volunteers stood out above all else.

Kentucky defeated Tennessee by 16 points combined during the regular season by piercing the elite defense with perimeter shooting. Coach Mark Pope’s team made 12 of 24 3-pointers in each game against a defense renowned for shutting down perimeter shooters.

But the Wildcats came up one great shooting night short when Tennessee played up to its defensive reputation in Game 3. Their offensive struggles…

[ad_2]
Source link : https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaab/sec/2025/03/28/tennessee-kentucky-march-madness-third-time/82715192007/

Author :

Publish date : 2025-03-29 03:29:00

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.