Tennessee is in the SEC Tournament Championship Game, dispatching Kentucky in another hard-fought contest between the two programs.

At halftime, the Volunteers were up by double-digits, heading to the break with a 33-22 lead. A big reason for Kentucky’s struggles was a terrible shooting effort, particularly from 3-point range.

In the second half, the Wildcats clawed back but still struggled from deep. A steal made it a 3-point game late with Tennessee holding a 65-62 lead with a minute to go.

Kentucky forced a stop but an offensive rebound and made free-throw by Santiago Vescovi made it 66-62. The Wildcats were unable to make anything else happen with the Volunteers making enough free throws to ice away a 69-62 win in the semifinals.

A key moment came late in the second half when Oscar Tshiebwe was called for his 5th foul. With 3:37 left in the game, Tshiebwe was called for an offensive foul while jockeying for position in the post.

The call was somewhat controversial as the contact did not appear to be egregious on replay. Tshiebwe finished with 13 points and 11 rebounds.

Kennedy Chandler led the way for Tennessee with 19 points. Zakai Zeigler added 11 points off the bench while Jordan James had 10 points.

For Kentucky, Keion Brooks Jr. finished with 19 points and TyTy Washington Jr. added 17 points. Unfortunately, the Wildcats as a team shot 2-for-20 from 3-point range.

With the win, Tennessee advances to Sunday’s SEC Tournament Championship to face Texas A&M. The Aggies advanced with a win over Arkansas Saturday afternoon.

Tip-off time for Sunday’s final is set for 1 pm EST on ESPN.