WATCH: Eli and Maggie on Facebook as they recap UK's big win against TN
When No. 5 Tennessee made the trip to Lexington Tuesday night, the Volunteers had redemption on their mind. But when the ball was tipped inside Rupp Arena, it was the home team that played with something to prove, as No. 15 Kentucky earned the victory, 75-64.
With the win, Kentucky moves to 17-7 on the year, 6-5 in the Southeastern Conference, 7-1 against teams ranked in the AP top-15, and 2-0 against this year's Tennessee Volunteers.
Otega Oweh and Ansley Almonor finished as Kentucky's leading scorers, with 13 points apiece in the win. Koby Brea and and Trent Noah also hit double-figures, scoring 11 points each.
Jaxson Robinson did not play, after being ruled out Monday night. He was at the game in street clothes and was on the bench with a small wrist brace on his right wrist, which is his shooting hand. Point guard Lamont Butler was back for the second-straight game after missing the previous three with a shoulder injury, but he left the game with 8:40 to play after coming down hard on that same shoulder while attempting to secure a loose ball.
It was, in fact, Butler who scored the first points of the night. The senior swiped his first of three steals just nine seconds into the game, and he took it coast-to-coast for a layup to get the scoring started.
Back and forth they went, trading baskets for the better part of the first half.
Then, Tennessee went cold. The Vols did not score for the final five minutes of the first half, and they missed their final six field-goal attempts before the break. Kentucky went to the locker room with the lead, 35-26, with Trent Noah as the game's leading scorer. The freshman forward had nine first-half points, off 3-4 shooting from behind-the-arc.
As a team, the Cats were off to a hot start from deep (7-14), while the Vols hadn't yet connected on a deep-ball attempt (0-5).
.@KentuckyMBB allowed 26 points or less in the 1st half of consecutive SEC games for the first time since January 22nd and 29th, 2019
— Corey Price (@coreyp08) February 12, 2025
The Vols quickly changed that in the second half. Igor Milicic hit his team's first three-pointer of the night less than a minute after play resumed, but Kentucky's Almonor quickly responded with not one, but two triples of his own early in the second half.
Still, the Vols weren't going away any time soon. They'd just retaken the lead, 54-52, when Butler left the game for good. With 8:40 still to play, Tennessee seemed to have all the momentum.
Not for long. A few gritty baskets and free throws put the Cats back within striking distance, 58-all.
A three-pointer by Brea, only his second one of the night, returned the lead to the home team, 61-60 with 4:15 to play. He'd drain his third one a few minutes later to balloon the lead to six points, 68-62, as part of Kentucky's 12-2 run that secured the win.
HUGE 3 BY FUEGOOO TO RETAKE THE LEAD 🔥🔥🔥
— Kentucky Men’s Basketball (@KentuckyMBB) February 12, 2025
📺 - ESPN pic.twitter.com/9lMopK4tfC
Kentucky closed it out shooting 50 percent from the field, 50 percent from deep (12-24) and 79 percent (11-14) from the free throw line. The Cats hit their final five field goals of the night to leave with the 11-point win. The Volunteers went 43 percent from the field, 17 percent from the three-point line (3-18) and 79 percent from the charity stripe.
The Wildcats will hit the road this weekend for their first-ever conference game against Texas. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. ET.
For more on Tuesday's game and the rest of the season, join us on weeknights at 7:30 p.m. on BBN Tonight on the official station for UK Athletics, LEX 18.
