Tennessee will surely bring a long memory to Rupp Arena to play Kentucky on Tuesday night

There are few things coaches love more than playing down revenge games. Just regular games, they say. No different from the last game, they say. No different from the next game, they say. All games are the same, they say. Until they’re not.

Tuesday night at Rupp Arena will be one of those until-they’re-not games. No. 4 Tennessee (20-4 overall, 7-4 SEC) visits Central Bank Center for a 7 o’clock tipoff that night. That’s the same Tennessee that lost 78-73 to Kentucky in Knoxville just two weeks ago. That’s the same Kentucky that was playing without Lamont Butler and with all of 89 seconds on the court from Andrew Carr that night at Thompson-Boling Arena. No doubt the Vols remember.

Here’s how we know they remember such things: On Jan. 7, Tennessee was embarrassed 73-43 by then-No. 8 Florida in Gainesville. Three weeks later, the Vols turned the tables, suffocating Florida 64-44 in Knoxville.

Might Tuesday bring a similar reversal of outcomes? Or can the host Wildcats (16-7, 5-5) pull off a rare regular-season sweep of their border rival?

How rare? Since Rick Barnes became the Tennessee coach in time for the 2015-16 season, the series is tied at 11-11. Neither club has won more than two games in a row. Tennessee prevailed in both regular-season matchups in 2017-18, then lost to Kentucky in the SEC Tournament. Kentucky did execute the regular-season sweep in 2022-23. Last season, UT beat UK 103-92 in Rupp before John Calipari’s club returned the favor 85-81 in Knoxville.

This season, Tennessee couldn’t buy a basket in that Tuesday, Jan. 25, game against the visiting Cats. The Vols shot 34.7% from the floor. They attempted a jaw-dropping 45 shots from 3-point range. Only 11 found their way through the net.

During Saturday night’s Alabama-Arkansas telecast, ESPN analyst Jimmy Dykes relayed that he talked to Barnes the day after UK-UT. “He said he still couldn’t believe his team took 45 three-pointers,” Dykes said.

The Vols have won three straight games since. The streak began with that dominating performance against Florida, followed by an 85-81 win over visiting Missouri and Saturday’s 70-52 victory at Oklahoma. Tennessee shot 69.2% in the first half in Norman on the way to a 45-25 halftime lead. It set the second half on cruise control.

Meanwhile, Kentucky followed the step forward at Tennessee with a couple of steps back — 89-79 to Calipari and Arkansas in Rupp; 98-84 to Ole Miss in Oxford. Mark Pope’s team snapped the skid Saturday, keeping South Carolina winless in SEC play with an 80-57 victory in Lexington.

Sporting a shoulder brace, UK point guard Lamont Butler returned after a three-game absence. His 23 minutes allowed teammates to return to their more familiar roles. In the end, Pope’s Cats looked more like his old Cats. Not great perhaps, but good enough.

There were three encouraging signs. Aside from an immature gesture that earned himself a technical foul, backup center Brandon Garrison was impressive, scoring 15 points. After an extended bout with back spasms, Andrew Carr looked more like himself with nine points and three rebounds in 14 minutes. And after Koby Brea contributed six assists without a turnover in 30 minutes, Pope went out of his way to compliment the Dayton transfer’s defense.

“He’s had his best two days of practices the last two days on the defensive end,” Pope said. “I thought it carried over.”

Tennessee’s strength is its defense. The Vols top the KenPom adjusted defensive efficiency rankings. They rank first nationally in defending the 3-point shot, 10th nationally in defending the 2-pointer. Tennessee was without starters Zakai Zeigler and Igor Milicic in that 22-point win over Florida, but it still held the Gators to 24.5% shooting from the field and a ridiculously low 44 points. That’s the same Florida that scored 100 points on Kentucky on Jan. 4 and beat No. 1 Auburn 90-81 at Auburn on Saturday.

At the time, Kentucky’s 78 points in that first meeting were the most the Vols had allowed in their 22 games to that point. The guess here is they’ll remember that on Tuesday.

This story was originally published February 9, 2025 at 11:48 AM.

John Clay

Lexington Herald-Leader

859-472-4218

John Clay is a sports columnist for the Lexington Herald-Leader. A native of Central Kentucky, he covered UK football from 1987 until being named sports columnist in 2000. He has covered 20 Final Fours and 42 consecutive Kentucky Derbys. Support my work with a digital subscription