Ad Disclosure
Kentucky rallies, holds off Tennessee to hand Vols first home loss of season
Kentucky overcame a halftime deficit and finally got back in the win column with a gutsy 78-73 victory over Tennessee on Tuesday night, handing the 8th-ranked Volunteers their first home loss of the season.
The 12th-ranked Wildcats (15-5, 4-3 SEC) had lost 2 in a row, falling at home to Alabama before a stunning loss at Vanderbilt on Saturday that ended with Commodores fans storming the court yet again. A 3rd straight loss was in danger of happening for the Wildcats, too, but a 33-30 halftime deficit didn’t faze Kentucky, which ignored the hostile environment in Knoxville and dealt Tennessee (17-4, 4-4) its 2nd straight loss and its 3rd defeat in its past 4 games.
The Volunteers, who not too long ago were No. 1 in the country, have gone 3-4 in their past 7 games as the meat grinder that is this season’s SEC has started to take its toll.
Mark Pope’s team prevailed on Tuesday night thanks to its starters, who all scored in double figures led by Koby Brea’s 18 points. Jaxson Robinson added 17 points and Otega Oweh had 14. Amari Williams was a monster on the boards for the Wildcats with 15 rebounds to go with 10 points.
Kentucky was efficient, too, shooting exactly 50% from the field and from 3-point territory to make up for going just 16 of 24 from the free throw line.
Meanwhile, Tennessee suffered through a bad shooting night. The Volunteers shot just 34.7% from the field and 24.4% from 3-point land.
Kentucky will try to keep the momentum going on Saturday night when Arkansas and former head coach John Calipari invade Lexington. It doesn’t get any easier for Tennessee, which will stay home and face No. 5 Florida on Saturday afternoon.
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.