KNOXVILLE — Tennessee showed Kentucky just how difficult life could become for the 25th-ranked Wildcats without Nerlens Noel.
Trae Golden scored 24 points and had eight assists without a turnover Saturday as Tennessee rolled to an 88-58 victory over Kentucky, giving the Volunteers their most lopsided victory in the 216-game history of this series.
“They deserved to beat us by 50 today,” Kentucky Coach John Calipari said. “They played harder. They played rougher. They executed better. They were stronger with the ball. We just had passive guys who did not want to make plays.”
Kentucky (17-8, 8-4 SEC) was playing its first game without Noel, who tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee Tuesday during a 69-52 loss to No. 7 Florida.The 6-10 freshman was leading the nation in blocks (4.4 per game), was tied for the SEC lead in rebounds (9.5) and ranked fourth in the SEC in steals (2.1).
The Wildcats weren’t the same without him.
A Tennessee offense that has struggled for much of the season often scored at will against a Kentucky team that entered the day ranked second in the SEC in field-goal percentage defense (.382). Tennessee shot 58 percent from the field and out rebounded Kentucky 39-21.
Tennessee (14-10, 6-6) entered the day ranked 13th out of 14 SEC teams in three-point percentage (.286), but the Vols made all five of their threepoint attempts Saturday.
“The way we played today, I don’t think there’s too many teams we would have lost to,” said Tennessee guard Jordan McRae, who scored 15 points. “I think If they had still had [Noel], we would have won.You can’t prove that, so it is what it is.”
Tennessee won its third consecutive game overall and ended a six-game losing streak in this rivalry. The Wildcats still lead the all-time series 149-67, though no program in the nation has more victories over Kentucky than Tennessee. Before Saturday, Tennessee’s most one-sided victory over Kentucky was an 87-59 triumph Jan. 22, 1968.
The Vols also have won the past five times they have hosted a defending national champion, including a 60-57 victory over Connecticut last season.
Kyle Wiltjer scored 18 points, Julius Mays had 12 points and Jarrod Polson had a career-high 11 for Kentucky. Wiltjer and Polson replaced Alex Poythress and Ryan Harrow in Kentucky’s starting lineup Saturday, while 7-foot freshman Willie Cauley-Stein took Noel’s place. Cauley-Stein, Poythress and Harrow all fouled out.
Kentucky’s biggest problem Saturday without Noelwas expected to be trying to slow down Tennessee forward Jarnell Stokes. Stokes battled foul trouble for much of the day and ended up with nine points and nine rebounds.
Instead, Stokes’ teammates did most of the damage in front of a sellout crowd of 21,678.
“We’ve gotten better with our offense, the flow and the movement,” Tennessee Coach Cuonzo Martin said. “I think that all starts with Trae Golden. When he’s playing the way we expect him to play, everything falls in line and it just becomes a fun game to play.”
In other SEC games, Mike Rosario scored a season-high 22 points, Kenny Boynton had 16 and No. 7 Florida (21-3, 11-1) routed host Auburn (9-16, 3-9), winning 83-52. ... Trevor Lacey scored 17 points, and Rodney Cooper and Nick Jacobs had 10 each to lead host Alabama (17-8, 9-3) to an easy 68-58 victory over South Carolina (12-13, 2-10). ... Charles Carmouche hit five the-pointers on his wayto a season-high 21 points, and host LSU (15-8, 6-6) won for the fifth time in six games while handing Mississippi State (7-17, 2-10) its 10th consecutive loss, 80-68. ... Rod Odom scored 19 points and Dai-Jon Parker added a career-high 17 points to lead host Vanderbilt (10-14, 4-8) to a 63-56 victory over Texas A&M (15-10, 5-7). ... Marshall Henderson scored 25 points, Murphy Holloway added 14 and host Mississippi (19-6, 8-4) rallied for an 84-74 overtime victory over Georgia (12-13, 6-6).
SATURDAY’S GAMES Arkansas 73, Missouri 71 Tennessee 88, Kentucky 58 Florida 83, Auburn 52 Alabama 68, South Carolina 58 LSU 80, Mississippi State 68 Vanderbilt 63, Texas A&M 56 Mississippi 84, Georgia 74, OT
Sports, Pages 35 on 02/17/2013