In our regular postgame feature, the Cats Illustrated staff offers its first impressions from Kentucky’s 78-65 loss to Tennessee … Each staff member will share his three main takeaways from the game.

JEFF DRUMMOND:

1. I thought rebounding told most of the story tonight. Tennessee crushed UK on the glass from the get-go, grabbing 12 of the game’s first 16 errant shots. They finished with a +10 on the glass and a 19-5 advantage in second-chance points, which was essentially the final margin. I’m not sure how it can happen in this setting, but the Cats just didn’t have an aggressive mindset entering this one. The two starting bigs had five rebounds between them. That can’t happen.

2. Tennessee was obviously highly motivated to avoid a third loss to this Kentucky team. Give Rick Barnes and the Vols credit for harnessing that intensity and executing. It could have gone the other way on them, but they are a tough-minded team.

3. I hope this isn’t the lasting memory that Big Blue Nation has of this team. It was an incredible season for the Cats filled with big wins: Duke, Louisville, Gonzaga, Florida, Tennessee (twice), and many more against the nation’s best conference. This was a great start to the Mark Pope Era, a building block.

JUSTIN ROWLAND:

1. Tennessee came in more ready to play. Anybody who watched the first half could tell you that. You’re not going to beat them in a game of second chance points, but it was so out of balance. Any time there was a loose ball it looked like three Vols were ready to run through a brick wall to get there, while there was too much hesitation from Kentucky. I thought Kentucky lacked an edge and was slower to loose balls as has sometimes been the case.

2. Koby Brea needed to have a big game and he did not. Tennessee did a great job of making life hard for him. He had to work hard to get any good looks. It wasn’t his night, and they didn’t have the margin for error to make up for that. He had to be a lot better than 1/7 from the field, but you have to give Tennessee’s defense a great deal of credit for tonight as well.

3. Overall, a promising first season but a disappointing last performance in terms of the outcome. Kentucky did not play close to its best game tonight but Mark Pope did well to beat the Vols twice given some of the circumstances.

DAVID SISK:

1. Zakai Zeigler said after the game that his team, “played Tennessee basketball tonight.” They certainly did, and they made Kentucky play that way. The Vols were dialed in and bought in. The Cats actually had decent shooting percentages, but is was a slow paced game with long drawn out possessions. Tennessee took six more shots because of seven more offensive rebounds. They also made six more foul shots.

2. Zeigler, Chaz Lanier, and Jordan Gainey combined for 51 points, and that was a big difference from the first two games. They didn’t take over from outside, but they hit some tough back breaking kind of shots with the shot clock running down. Zeigler did a lot of damage repeatedly getting deep into the paint out of the ball screen.

3. It’s not how you want to finish, but Mark Pope did move the program ahead one step this year by getting to the Sweet 16. Injuries and all, the Cats got to the second weekend since 2019. The Kentucky standard is not the Sweet 16, but that is where Pope is trying to get the program back to. Overall, this season was a start.

TRAVIS GRAF:

1. This game was lost in the first half. Kentucky traded baskets in the second half but would’ve had to play a perfect game to come back. They just couldn’t get looks and couldn’t rebound the ball, two things that were complete opposite in the previous matchups.

2. Tennessee came out as the aggressor and punched Kentucky in the mouth. They took it to UK early in the game and set the tone. They were more well-prepared and came out with a better gameplan, then executed better as well.

3. Good first season for Mark Pope overall with some great highs throughout the last few months, but tonight definitely wasn’t the way Kentucky wanted to end the ride. They got out hustled and out muscled from start to finish.