LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) – Something is amiss at Kentucky. Yes, DJ Wagner is missing, out with an ankle injury. But Kentucky is still loaded with NBA talent and had a stoked crowd at Rupp Arena Saturday night. But something is missing. Defense. Rebounding. Toughness. Take your pick.
No. 5-ranked Tennessee put a C spot on the No. 10 Wildcats in Rupp, driving for layups, getting every 50-50 ball, it seemed, and in general outworking Kentucky for a 103-92 victory. It was the first SEC opponent to score more than 100 against Kentucky since 1993. Kentucky never led.
And all of a sudden, Kentucky has lost 3 of its past 4 games, and has given up an average of 92 points in those losses. The Wildcats fell to 5-4 in the SEC, and 15-6 overall. They now have lost back-to-back games in Rupp Arena for the third time in four seasons.
And Tennessee did it without a great night from its leading scorer, Dalton Knecht, who had averaged better than 30 points in his past five games but had just 16 against Kentucky.
Tennessee did not play it close to the vest. It ran with Kentucky from the start, and had plenty of success. The Vols made 12 three-pointers and had 16 dunks or layups. They outrebounded Kentucky 44-38 and outscored the Wildcats in the paint 42-30.
Point guard Zakai Zeigler led Tennessee with 26 points and 13 assists. Josiah Jordan-James added 26 points. Kentucky got 35 points off the bench from Rob Dillingham, 21 from Antonio Reeves and 16 from Reed Sheppard.
But Kentucky’s starting frontcourt of Tre Mitchell, Ugonno Onyenso and Justin Edwards combined for just nine points.
Tennessee carved Kentucky up on underneath out-of-bounds plays, scoring five times on them, twice on easy dunks by Knecht.
Kentucky kept coming back. The Vols four times built leads of at least 12 points, and all four times Kentucky answered to pull within two scores. But it could never finish the comeback. Tennessee always stabilized and pulled back away.
The Wildcats will have to regroup before visiting Vanderbilt – which got its first SEC win of the season – next Tuesday.
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