UT Vols basketball stumbles against Kentucky in SEC tournament title game

ST. LOUIS — Tennessee basketball’s greatest issue this season flared up at a horrible time Sunday – and it led to a result that coach Rick Barnes had cautioned could happen.

Tennessee whiffed back-to-back defensive rebounds in a tie game down the stretch of the SEC tournament title game against Kentucky, which grabbed a pair of offensive rebounds and scored four straight second-chance points to crack open the game.

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The Vols fought back within one possession, but it was the two possessions and two missed box-outs that defined the game that Tennessee couldn’t finish and lost 77-72 to the Wildcats in the SEC tournament championship.

“Coach Barnes has been saying rebounding is going to be the reason we lose a big game,” forward Admiral Schofield said. “It ended up being the reason we lost a big game. We hadn’t been winning on the boards in games. We haven’t been doing our job on the boards.

“It was the same old song being sung.”

Schofield led Tennessee (25-8) with 22 points, keying a comeback after a huge early deficit. He had a stellar first half with 17 points and eight rebounds, making multiple big shots when the Vols were reeling.

Tennessee trailed by 17 with 4:31 left in the first half, getting totally run off the court at Scottrade Center with a 5-for-26 start from the field. But Barnes told his players that he believed they would get back in the game despite the lack of early execution.

“I told them I thought we'd win the game when they were up,” Barnes said. “I said, ‘Hey, you guys have too good of habits. You've worked too hard, and I know we're going to fight to get back in it.’ I'm proud of our team for doing that. We got back in, took the lead and just couldn't sustain it."

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Schofield made good on Barnes’ words, taking over the game.

The junior hit a big 3-pointer out of a timeout. Then another as he was fouled, as the normally emotional forward barely reacted. He hit another, this time tossing his hands in the air.

“Coach was in there challenging us to really step up and be men,” Schofield said. “I realized I wasn’t being a good leader. I was being really passive out there. I just wanted to step up and give us some type of energy in some type of way.”

Schofield scored 13 points in the final 3:17 of the first half. He again made a big 3-pointer early in the second half to extend the run to 25-5 and give Tennessee a 41-38 lead.

“We felt like once we came back and cut it to five even at the end of the first half that the game was ours and we were going to come back and win,” guard Lamonte Turner said. “We just didn’t get enough stops at the end.”

The Wildcats responded with a 14-2 run to reclaim a 52-43 lead. Tennessee smacked back with a 14-3 run punctuated by a Jordan Bone 3-pointer to cut the lead to one and a deep Turner 3-pointer for a 57-55 lead with 8:07 remaining.

UT fell behind again before Jordan Bowden put the Vols ahead 62-61 with a curling jumper. But Tennessee missed a box-out after Kevin Knox missed a free throw. UK’s Wenyen Gabriel’s snagged it, and his layup rolled around and through.

“That was a really big play in the game that we gave up,” Barnes said. “Hopefully, our guys will learn this time of the year a free-throw blockout, one or two ill-advised plays offensively can cost you, and it did today.”

A possession later, Sacha Killeya-Jones slammed home a missed 3-pointer to put UK up 66-62 with a pair of second-chance buckets.

“Rebounding can kill you,” Williams said. “This time of the year, it’s all about winning the rebounding battle. You look at those plays, they were energy boosters. … Those things can’t happen.”

Bone made a 3-pointer from the corner, banking it in high off the corner of the glass to cut Kentucky’s lead to 68-67. But that was as close as the Vols would get in the final minutes, as they fell and now turn their sights toward the NCAA tournament.

“Just knowing that this isn’t the end for us is a great feeling,” Turner said. “But it would feel really good to be a champion right now.”

In the face

Schofield left the bench for a stretch in the second half after a diving tussle for a loose ball left him woozy.

He said he ran into “somebody’s butt” as he dived for the ball and his head snapped back. His nose still was hurting after the game, as he had an ice pack on his face.

“I was trying my best to come back, but protocol meant I had to sit out for a while until I came back to myself,” Schofield said. “I didn’t have any energy. It hurt my team in that aspect.”

He went to the bench with 9:26 to play in the second half, then returned with 4:20 after going to the locker room.

“It was tough because I wanted to be out there,” he said. “But health-wise, your body is more important than any sport.”

Up next

Tennessee is headed for the NCAA Tournament and will learn its seeding at 6 p.m. ET.