Five things you need to know from No. 12 Kentucky’s gutty 78-73 win at No. 8 Tennessee
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Game day: No. 12 Kentucky 78, No. 8 Tennessee 73
Click below for more of the Herald-Leader and Kentucky.com’s coverage of Tuesday night’s men’s basketball game between Kentucky and Tennessee in Knoxville, Tennessee.
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Five things you need to know from No. 12 Kentucky’s gut-check 78-73 win at No. 8 Tennessee in SEC men’s basketball:
1. Mark Pope, slayer of rivals. There is a school of thought that one of a college head coach’s primary jobs is beating the teams his/her fan base dislike the most.
Suffice to say, new Kentucky head man Mark Pope is off to a boffo start in that regard.
UK’s upset win in Thompson-Boling Arena adds Tennessee to previous Kentucky victories over Duke and Louisville.
That means Pope in his first 20 games has already beaten the three teams UK fans most want to beat.
On this coming Saturday night, the Kentucky head man will have another chance to give his fan base a win it really wants.
2. The Kings of Knoxville. Kentucky fans with enough seasoning to recall the torment that Tennessee inflicted on poor Joe B. Hall in the old Stokely Athletic Center will relish this:
UK has now beaten UT in five of the past six meetings in Knoxville.
It is, to say the least, a far cry from when Joe B. was enduring 12 losses in 13 tries vs. the Rocky Toppers at Stokely.
3. An absolute gut check of a victory. Kentucky played Tuesday night without both of its experienced point guards, Lamont Butler and Kerr Kriisa, due to injuries. Still battling a balky back, power forward Andrew Carr tried to go, but lasted only one minute.
Without three rotation players on the road against, arguably, the nation’s best defensive team, Kentucky relied on plain old-fashioned grit.
Pressed into the starting lineup, Koby Brea gave a master class in offensive efficiency, going 5-for-5 from the field, including three treys, and leading the Wildcats with 18 points.
Forced to play point against the rugged Vols, Jaxson Robinson dropped in 17 points and committed only two turnovers in 34 minutes.
Otega Oweh continued his streak of having scored in double figures in every Kentucky game, going for 14 points that included four straight free throws in the final 25 seconds to seal the win.
On his 23rd birthday, Amari Williams may have played his best game as a Wildcat, finishing with 10 points, 15 rebounds and four assists.
Starting for the second straight game, Ansley Almonor hit four of seven treys en route to 12 points.
Off the bench, freshman forward Trent Noah gave Kentucky five crucial second-half points and frosh guard Collin Chandler gave the Cats 15 minutes of hustling, physical defense.
It was, as the coaches like to say, a total team victory for UK.
4. Wildcats deny Rick Barnes a milestone win. With Kentucky’s victory, Tennessee coach Rick Barnes’ all-time record vs. UK fell to 12-13, 11-11 as Volunteers head man.
With a victory, Barnes would have moved into a fifth-place tie with Dean Smith (13-3) on the list of coaches with the most men’s hoops victories over Kentucky.
The top seven:
▪ Dale Brown 18-33.
▪ Billy Donovan 17-29.
▪ Bobby Knight 15-18.
▪ Roy Skinner 14-18.
▪ Dean Smith 13-3.
▪ Rick Barnes 12-13.
▪ Kevin Stallings 12-23.
5. An omen of what lies ahead? Take this for what it is worth, but no Kentucky team that went on to win the NCAA Tournament championship has lost a game to Tennessee.
If one puts stock in such omens, Tuesday’s outcome at least keeps NCAA title dreams alive for UK in 2024-25 — at least until the Cats go for the sweep of UT when the Volunteers visit Rupp Arena on Feb. 11.
This story was originally published January 28, 2025 at 9:46 PM.
