LDN - Sports

Hobbs helps Tennessee stun No. 4 Kentucky

[January 25, 2017] KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Super Tuesday turned into Black Tuesday in college basketball as Tennessee stunned No. 4 Kentucky 82-80 on a night when the Nos. 1, 2 and 4 teams all lost.

"Tennessee deserved to win the game," Kentucky coach John Calipari said. "It would have been a shame if we had made a 3 at the end to win the game."

Tennessee coach Rick Barnes wasn't going to argue.

"I do think our guys deserved to win the game tonight," Barnes said. "There were some other games I thought we should have won, but if you don't win the games, you really don't deserve it. But this is by far the best we've played this year. No question about it."

Senior guard Robert Hobbs scored 25 points to lead four players in double figures as Tennessee (11-9, 4-4 SEC) built a first-half lead and never trailed.

"He's really a steady player for them," Calipari said. "He knows where he can score baskets and he gets himself in those areas to make baskets. So he's not trying to do stuff he can't do. He had 15 at halftime and ended up with 25."

Sophomore forward Admiral Schofield scored 15 points, freshman forward Grant Williams added 13 and freshman guard Lamonte Turner had 10.

It was Turner who scored with 14 seconds left to give the Volunteers an 80-75 lead and seal the victory.

"We've played 20 games against one of the toughest schedules in the country," Barnes said. "So hopefully, the guys are growing up and learning what it takes to win games. I know they love this feeling because this is where we want to grow this program."

Freshman Malik Monk topped Kentucky (17-3, 7-1) with 25 points. Freshman forward Bam Adebayo added 21, freshman De'Aaron Fox had 17 and sophomore Isaiah Briscoe had 11 to go with 14 rebounds.

But Calipari said all those individual points mean nothing if they don't benefit the team.

"Tom Brady made a statement that these guys aren't listening to," Calipari said. "Doing what's right for the team sometimes may not be right for you, but that's how you win. That's not getting through to some guys and I told them after, 'You'll continue to lose.' "I've done this 30 years. You cannot do this stuff that they're doing and win basketball games. You cannot do it. I don't want to call guys out, but I could go right down the line: 'Here's what I'm asking you to do and you refuse to do it."

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Tennessee Volunteer fans celebrate after defeating the Kentucky Wildcats 82-80 at Thompson-Boling Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bryan Lynn-USA TODAY Sports

Calipari suggests the Tennessee loss may not be the last. Kentucky hosts Kansas on Saturday, Georgia on Tuesday and travels to Florida on Saturday.

"Everybody that's watched this team, you know what we usually look like?" Calipari asked. "Pass, pass, pass, pass, in, out, drive, kick, go. You know what everybody's doing right now? Whoever has it holds it as long as they can, until they make a pass, and the pass they want to make is the hero scoring pass.

"We're just not playing how we were two weeks ago. Maybe we got arrogant. It comes back to what I'm accepting as a coach, and obviously I'm accepting this kind of play from young kids. I've got to do a better job, and I will."

Tuesday's loss was the first time in SEC play that Kentucky was held below 50 percent shooting, going 25 for 60.

Tennessee held a 39-34 halftime advantage. The Wildcats shot 34.4 percent in the first half, including 2 for 13 from 3-point range. The Wildcats also had six turnovers.

The Volunteers didn't fare much better, hitting 41.2 percent, but got the lead on the strength of Hobbs, who scored 15 points. Monk topped Kentucky with 14 points.

NOTES: The Wildcats' 92.9 points per game entering Tuesday were the third-most in the country. ... Kentucky leads the series 152-69, including 52-49 in Knoxville. ... The Nos. 1, 2, and 4 teams in the Top 25 all lost on the same day for the first time since 1979 as No. 1 Villanova and No. 2 Kansas also went down Tuesday.

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