Kentucky stops the bleeding, but Tennessee is in control at halftime

Not much could have gone worse for Kentucky, Tennessee in total control for essentially the entire half before taking a mini 8-4 run into the break — down just 15 rather than the 19 the Volunteers led by with 3:04 to go. Take the little wins where you can get them, right?

The Wildcats were totally out of sorts the majority of the way, though, shooting just 38.5 percent from the field compared to 50.0 percent for the Vols with the latter taking six more attempts while also winning the rebounding battle 22-13. Maybe the biggest difference? 13 second-chance points on nine offensive rebounds for UT with 14 bench points compared to just three for UK.

Amari Williams has been Kentucky’s only consistent offense, scoring nine points on 4-5 shooting, followed by Otega Oweh with seven, Lamont Butler with five, Koby Brea and Collin Chandler with three apiece and Andrew Carr with one. For Tennessee, it’s the Zakai Zeigler show, leading the way with 13 points and four assists, followed by Jordan Gainey with seven, Chaz Lanier and Felix Okpara with six apiece and Darlinstone Dubar with five.

The Cats are going to have to get some shots to fall and will have to start pulling down some boards or they will be going home in 20 minutes of game time.

As things stand now, it looks like a five-game losing streak in Indianapolis is very much on the table for this program. That doesn’t feel very good — especially against this team.

There are two halves for a reason, though. Can they pull off an all-time comeback?