Here is the statistical comparison between Kentucky and Tennessee.
You may have believed that Tennessee is statistically a much better team than Kentucky. You would be wrong. The fact is, thanks to the Cats' excellent play in conference, when you look at these statistics you will not cringe in horror. Kentucky is a much better defensive team than UT, and UT is not that much better offensively than Kentucky. But many of these statistics are somewhat distorted due to the pace that Tennessee plays at, which is the fastest in the entire SEC.
You may not have noticed in all the hoopla surrounding Patterson's injury, but as the week has progressed, Kentucky has steadily risen in the RPI and now stands at #57. Win or lose at Tennessee, UK's SOS and RPI will increase even further. The problem is that Patterson is responsible for a lot of our improved play, and to imagine that UK will be able to come in, plug in one or two other players and replace him is likely to be fantasy. But that is a story more for the Adversary Analysis than this statistical look.
There are two clear advantages that Tennessee has over the Cats, statistics-wise. One is their passing -- they are among the most unselfish teams in the conference. Second is their defensive 3-point percentage, which is tops in the conference and sixth in the entire land. They are great at defending the three, so we can hardly expect our two senior guards to shoot Kentucky into the game from the outside.
I'll have a more in-depth look at the game in my adversary analysis. For more on the Tennessee Volulnteers, you can take a visit to our SBNation brothers at Rocky Top Talk.
Thanks again to Statsheet.com and Basketball State for the statistical data.
Statistic |
UK |
UT |
Comments |
Overall |
16-10 |
25-3 |
|
Conference |
10-3 |
11-2 |
|
Home |
13-4 |
14-0 |
Tough team to beat at home. |
Away |
3-5 |
9-2 |
UK isn't the greatest road team. |
Top 25 |
2-3 |
3-2 |
Surprisingly close |
RPI Top 50 |
5-4 |
8-2 |
Not close |
Ranking |
NR |
1 |
Not even close |
RPI |
57 |
1 |
What a jump by UK! |
SOS |
14 |
2 |
Pretty close |
|
|
Overall |
Conf. Only |
|
National rankings |
UK |
UT |
UK |
UT |
Comments |
FG% |
55 |
116 |
3 |
4 |
Cats shoot it better overall |
2 pt FG% |
63 |
87 |
8 |
9 |
Advantage UK |
3 pt FG% |
136 |
146 |
2 |
1 |
Slight advantage UT |
Possessions |
216 |
24 |
12 |
1 |
Fastest team in the conference. |
Offensive Pts/Possession |
143 |
17 |
7 |
1 |
Advantage UK |
Defensive Pts/Possession |
67 |
58 |
4 |
2 |
Closer than you might think. |
TO/gm |
272 |
57 |
11 |
7 |
UT is better |
APG |
189 |
4 |
9 |
3 |
UT is much, much better |
A/TO |
264 |
5 |
10 |
3 |
Ditto |
Defensive FG% |
14 |
135 |
3 |
5 |
Advantage UK |
Defensive 2-pt FG% |
14 |
253 |
2 |
8 |
Advantage UK |
Defensive 3-pt FG% |
53 |
6 |
6 |
1 |
Advantage UT |
Rebounds |
141 |
15 |
7 |
1 |
Advantage UT |
Location based rank* |
71 |
20 |
N/A |
N/a |
Closer than you might think. |
*Factors in how well the team plays away from home |
|
Statistic |
All Games |
Conference Games |
|
|
UK |
UT |
UK |
UT |
Delta (adjusted for all games played) |
Comments |
Total Games |
26 |
28 |
13 |
13 |
-2 |
|
Wins |
16 |
25 |
10 |
11 |
-9 |
|
Losses |
10 |
3 |
3 |
2 |
7 |
|
Pct |
0.62 |
0.89 |
0.77 |
0.85 |
-0.28 |
|
Field Goals Made |
623 |
814 |
291 |
366 |
-132.86 |
|
Field Goals Attempted |
1334 |
1799 |
645 |
827 |
-336.5 |
|
Field Goal Percentage |
0.47 |
0.45 |
0.45 |
0.44 |
0.02 |
Call it even in conf |
Free Throws Made |
403 |
434 |
208 |
194 |
0 |
|
Free Throws Attempted |
535 |
671 |
278 |
301 |
-88.07 |
|
Free Throw Percentage |
0.75 |
0.65 |
0.75 |
0.65 |
0.11 |
Big advantage UK |
3pt Field Goals Made |
147 |
255 |
65 |
115 |
-89.79 |
|
3pt Field Goals Attempted |
408 |
714 |
182 |
310 |
-255 |
|
3pt Field Goal Percentage |
0.36 |
0.36 |
0.36 |
0.37 |
0 |
Call it even |
Points |
1796 |
2317 |
855 |
1041 |
-355.5 |
|
Points Per Game |
69.1 |
82.8 |
65.8 |
80.1 |
-13.7 |
Tennessee scores many more points per game than UK. |
Rebounds |
947 |
1153 |
475 |
568 |
-123.64 |
|
Rebounds Per Game |
36.4 |
41.2 |
36.5 |
43.7 |
-4.8 |
This stat is deceptive due to huge pace differential |
Offensive Rebounds |
255 |
421 |
126 |
205 |
-135.93 |
|
Offensive Rebounds Per Game |
9.8 |
15 |
9.7 |
15.8 |
-5.2 |
Ditto |
Defensive Rebounds |
634 |
668 |
316 |
324 |
13.71 |
|
Defensive Rebounds Per Game |
24.4 |
23.9 |
24.3 |
24.9 |
0.5 |
Ditto |
Assists |
337 |
517 |
155 |
214 |
-180 |
|
Assists Per Game |
13 |
18.5 |
11.9 |
16.5 |
-5.5 |
Tennessee is much better |
Steals |
180 |
275 |
81 |
102 |
-95 |
|
Steals Per Game |
6.9 |
9.8 |
6.2 |
7.8 |
-2.9 |
Steals are vital to Tennessee's success |
Turnovers |
419 |
361 |
193 |
174 |
58 |
|
Turnovers Per Game |
16.1 |
12.9 |
14.8 |
13.4 |
3.2 |
UK is improving, but still behind UT. |
Blocks |
123 |
95 |
63 |
49 |
28 |
|
Blocks Per Game |
4.7 |
3.4 |
4.8 |
3.8 |
1.3 |
Cats are better |
Fouls |
492 |
569 |
223 |
277 |
-77 |
|
Fouls Per Game |
18.9 |
20.3 |
17.2 |
21.3 |
-1.4 |
This is different. |
Disqualifications |
15 |
3 |
6 |
3 |
12 |
What can you say? |
Game day is tomorrow. Go Cats!