Five things you need to know from Kentucky’s 74-71 win vs. Tennessee
Five things you need to know from Kentucky’s 74-71 win over No. 25 Tennessee:
1. Cats’ rally past Vols again. When Kentucky beat Tennessee 80-78 in Knoxville on Jan. 17, it came from 11 down, 42-31, at halftime.
On Saturday night, the halftime deficit for UK was 14, 47-33.
This time, UK rallied behind a determined defensive effort that held UT to 6-of-30 shooting in the second half.
Even with all the Tennessee offensive futility, the Wildcats still trailed 69-68 after UT’s Nate Ament scored on a driving layup with 59 seconds left.
However, just like in Knoxville, the last-minute magic belonged to the blue and white.
2. Collin Chandler again to the rescue. Kentucky took the lead for good when Chandler, UK’s “Captain Clutch” got a pass from Otega Oweh and drained a 3-point jumper off the right wing with 33 seconds left.
The Cats were not yet out of the woods.
Ament missed a turnaround jumper, and Malachi Moreno got the rebound.
Fouled, the UK freshman center hit the front end of the bonus, but missed the second.
Holding a 72-69 lead, Kentucky fouled Tennessee center JP Estrella, who calmly drilled two free throws with 8.1 seconds left.
Tennessee fouled Chandler, who missed the front end of the bonus with 7.1 seconds left.
However, Kentucky’s Mouhamed Dioubate got the rebound and passed to Denzel Aberdeen, who was fouled.
Aberdeen sank two free throws with 3.7 seconds left, and Tennessee’s Ja’Kobi Gillespie missed a half-court shot just ahead of the buzzer.
Chandler threw the three-quarters-court pass that led to Malachi Moreno’s game-winning jumper at LSU.
His steal in the final minute set up the Otega Oweh layup that put UK ahead to stay in the win at Tennessee.
The Farmington, Utah, product also hit late baskets that helped UK seal wins over Mississippi, Arkansas, Texas and now Tennessee.
3. UK vs. the AP Top 25. After starting the season 0-4 in games vs. ranked opponents, the Wildcats’ victory over No. 25 Tennessee means Kentucky has now won four of its past six such contests.
Under Mark Pope, Kentucky is now 12-12 overall against Top 25-rated opponents.
4. Otega Oweh in the UK record book. The Kentucky senior guard entered Saturday’s game with 974 career points at UK (he has 1,472 overall).
Oweh scored 21, and needs five more to become the 63rd 1,000-point scorer in Kentucky men’s basketball history.
A transfer from Oklahoma, Oweh had 12 points by halftime Saturday night, allowing him to pass Aaron Harrison (979 points) for ninth on the list of all-time UK scorers who only played two seasons for the Wildcats. Next on that list in eighth is Ron Mercer with 1,013 career points.
Among players who transferred to UK, Oweh has scored the fifth-most points. Bob Burrow, with 1,023, is fourth on that list.
Owen has scored in double figures in all 24 Kentucky games this season and in 57 of 60 UK contests over his Wildcats’ career.
5. Cats have stalled Rick Barnes’ rise. The Kentucky victory dropped the Tennessee head man to 13-16 all-time vs. the Wildcats, 12-14 as Volunteers coach.
Barnes remains in sixth-place all-time in coaching victories vs. Kentucky:
• Dale Brown 18
• Billy Donovan 17
• Bobby Knight 15
• Ray Mears 15
• Roy Skinner 14
• Rick Barnes 13
This story was originally published February 7, 2026 at 11:16 PM.
