MIKE STRANGE

Mike Strange: 4 observations on Tennessee's win over Kentucky

Mike Strange
USA TODAY NETWORK - Tennessee
Tennessee's Grant Williams shoots over Kentucky’s Edrice Adebayo on Tuesday at Thompson-Boling Arena.

Four observations from Tennessee's 82-80 win over No. 4 Kentucky on Tuesday:

1. It Does Matter: This week an athletic director told me the college basketball regular season doesn't matter any more. You hear it all the time. I get it that basketball is a tournament sport, that what you do in March transcends the four months of the regular season. But it still matters.

If it doesn't matter, explain why a crowd of 14,210 stormed the court in Milwaukee after Marquette upset Villanova. Explain why 13,694 showed up in Morgantown to see West Virginia beat Kansas. Explain why 19,349 came to Thompson-Boling Arena to watch a 10-9 team in a 9 p.m. tipoff on a Tuesday.

Sure, there were a bunch of Big Blue butts in the seats. But there weren't as many as in years past. This was a Tennessee crowd and it was engaged. With about six minutes to play during a Wildcat surge, the "Go Big Blue" chant began. It was quickly drowned out. The Vols and their fans responded. It matters.

2. David Beats Goliath: Tennessee had not beaten a top-5 team in the rankings since an 83-76 win at Pittsburgh on Dec. 11, 2011, going 0-5 in the interim. It doesn't happen often. To count the past 10 wins over top-5 teams, I had to reach all the way back to the 78-77 win over No. 2 Kentucky in 1993. The famous four-point play game. The last time an unranked UT team knocked off a top-5 opponent was 2007, an 86-76 win over No. 5 Florida.

The past 10 wins over top-5 teams: No. 4 Kentucky, 2017;  No. 3 Pittsburgh, 2011; No. 5 Ohio State, 2010; No. 2 Kentucky, 2010; No. 1 Kansas, 2010; No. 1 Memphis, 2008; No. 5 Florida, 2007; No. 2 Florida, 2006; No. 4 Florida, 2003; No. 2 Kentucky, 1993.

3. (Almost) All Freshmen: Freshmen are Kentucky's lifeblood in the John Calipari era. The Wildcats started four against Tennessee. Next year, it will be four different ones, replacing these four that went on to the NBA. Tennessee countered with three freshman starters, Jordan Bone, Grant Williams and Jordan Bowden. Mississippi State started three freshmen against the Vols on Saturday. Auburn, UT's next SEC opponent, is starting four freshmen.

The upshot is it's going to be difficult earning a spot on the SEC All-Freshman team. I submit Tennessee's Williams right here and now.

4. Key Stats: The win over Kentucky was a team collaboration. Kyle Alexander and Kwe Parker made brief cameos, but the other eight players chipped in with significant contributions.

The box score reflected as much. Lamonte Turner, a 6-foot guard, had seven rebounds. Williams, a freshman post, had six assists. Points in the paint could have gone Kentucky's way but the Vols won 42-28.

Finally, bench scoring was a UT landslide, 37-4. Admiral Schofield had 15 points, Turner 10, Lew Evans eight and Shembari Phillips four. Kentucky got one basket and two free throws from senior Derek Willis.