Instant Reaction: No. 15 Kentucky Rolls Over Tennessee 77-64

Tennessee basketball's struggles throughout conference play reared their ugly heads once again on Saturday.

Hosting the 15th-ranked Kentucky Wildcats at Thompson-Boling Arena, the Vols were looking to extend their win streak over UK to four consecutive games in Knoxville.

Instead, they'll head home with a bitter taste in their mouths once again.

Santiago Vescovi led the way with 18 points, John Fulkerson scored 16 points and grabbed seven rebounds and Jordan Bowden added 16 of his own as Tennessee fell to No. 15 Kentucky 77-64 at home.

Immanuel Quickley led the Wildcats with 18 points on 5-of-9 shooting.

Some quick takeaways from Saturday's loss:

Bowden’s struggles continue to haunt Vols early

Jordan Bowden is in the midst of perhaps the most difficult shooting stretch of his career. Those struggles manifested themselves once again on Saturday.

One of the better shooters in the SEC dating back to his freshman season, Bowden’s confidence appears to have withered away with each miss.

The Knoxville native missed his opening three shots of the game on Saturday, unable to connect on his first shot until the 5:57 mark of the first half. A SEC Sixth Man of the Year candidate a year ago, Bowden is currently shooting a career-low 26 percent from three-point range.

He's also shooting just 37 percent from the field, his lowest since his freshman season in 2016.

Bowden is Tennessee's best player, and he hasn't been playing like it as of late. That must change.

Plavsic appeared overwhelmed and outmatched

It’s been a whirlwind of a season for transfer big man Uros Plavsic, and Saturday’s matchup against the Wildcats was indicative of that.

Plavsic was inserted into the starting lineup, but played just under nine minutes throughout the opening period. He constantly struggled to move his feet with the quickness of Kentucky's Nick Richards and E.J. Montgomery.

Standing at 7-feet and weighing in at 240 pounds, the Serbia native is Tennessee's biggest body and is beyond capable of making an impact down low.

It may have been Kentucky's speed and quickness, but Plavsic has struggled now for the vast majority of his minutes.

Like with Bowden, that must change.

Fulkerson is All-SEC material

John Fulkerson's career at Tennessee started off promising before being plagued by nagging injuries over the course of the last three years. His offensive potential has fully blossomed for the Vols this season, averaging career-highs across the board.

He was back at it again on Saturday, keeping UT alive for much of the it uphill battle against the Wildcats.

The Kingsport, Tennessee native tallied 12 points and four rebounds in the opening period and drew 10 fouls on the opposition, wreaking havoc down low while getting the crowd involved.

Fulkerson's production dipped off in the second half, scoring just four points. Despite that, he was able to contribute at the free-throw line when needed.

A solid outing for Fulkerson, but ultimately it wasn't enough to push UT over the hump.

Vescovi’s shooting brings Vols back, but his defense sinks them in second half

Santiago Vescovi’s turnovers in the first half likely ruffled Rick Barnes’ feathers, but his second-half shooting likely made up for it.

After going 1-of-5 from the floor in the opening 20 minutes, Vescovi’s sequence of consecutive 3-pointers at the 9:16-minute mark gave the Vols new life that they were in desperate need of.

The same couldn’t be said of his defense, however.

Kentucky’s guards constantly used their quickness to terrorize the freshman guard on the perimeter, scooting by him with ease on their way to the basket.

If Tennessee is able to find a way to win games moving forward, it will need a much better defensive effort out of one of its key contributors on offense.

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