With the undefeated No. 1 Kentucky Wildcats en route to Knoxville, Donnie Tyndall made no effort to downplay the upcoming test Tennessee will be faced with Tuesday.
“They are the best team in America,” the first-year head coach said. “This team here is right up there with being the most talented team ever assembled. I really believe that. They are really, really well coached. Coach Calipari makes sure the right guys take the right shots, and they defend you, so we have a challenge there.”
Coming off a 73-55 loss to LSU that featured a first half that saw the Volunteers enter halftime with a 27-point deficit, a team that Tyndall compared to the great UNLV team of the early 90s does not seem to bode well for UT.
But Tyndall expects a much different Vols team than the one that delivered what he called “the worst half of basketball” that he had ever seen in his 10-year head coaching career.
“Most of the teams I’ve had, bouncing back with a strong showing off a bad game has been the case,” Tyndall said. “That has been the M.O. of our team all year — to never give up and to scrap and claw when things have not gone our way. I won’t expect anything but 100 percent effort with a great energy level tomorrow.”
While Kentucky possesses a roster that features “nine, maybe 10 guys with a legitimate shot at playing in the NBA,” the Vols our focused on limiting the outputs of the four Wildcats that are listed at 6-foot-10 or taller — three of which have started games for UK.
Karl-Anthony Towns, Trey Lyles and Willie Cauley-Stein — the three starting big men — combine to average 25.8 points and 17.9 rebounds per game, while adding 4.2 blocks per game on the defensive end. Dakari Johnson, a 7-foot sophomore, also totals 7.6 points and 5.6 rebounds per game off the bench.
And though the Vols have done a decent job of thwarting mismatches inside, their undersized roster was exposed against LSU, with sophomore forward Jordan Mickey scoring 20 points on 8-of-13 shooing, corralling 11 rebounds and blocking seven shots in Saturday’s contest.
“As long as they play hard for the most part, I am comfortable we will win enough of those battles against Kentucky,” Tyndall said. “It really is a whole different ball game with five guys that are 6-10, 6-11. They aren’t just big stiffs. They are all really, really athletic guys.”
Tipoff between the Vols and Wildcats is scheduled for 7:01 p.m. EST and can be seen on ESPN.
Robert Hubbs update: Early in Saturday’s contest against LSU, sophomore guard Robert Hubbs suffered a dislocated thumb that forced him to miss approximately six minutes of action.
Originally thought to be a broken thumb, Hubbs returned to the court and played through the injury, and expects to do the same against Kentucky.
“He is fine,” Tyndall said. “It is a little bit tender, but he is fine. He practiced (Sunday). He will practice today and obviously play in the game.”
