KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The University of Tennessee men’s basketball team dropped a 78-73 result Tuesday night to No. 12 Kentucky in front of a sold-out, over-capacity crowd of 22,272 at Food City Center.
Eighth-ranked Tennessee (17-4, 4-4 SEC) could not overcome the dazzling 3-point shooting by the Wildcats, dropping to 4-2 in AP top-12 showdowns between the two schools during head coach Rick Barnes‘ tenure. Senior forward Igor Miličić Jr., paced the Volunteers with a game-high 19 points in the setback.
Kentucky (15-5, 4-3 SEC) started 4-of-5 from 3-point range and raced out to a 12-4 lead after just 4:17 of action. Tennessee closed within two, but the Wildcats then buried back-to-back 3-pointers to go back up by eight, 21-13, with 8:07 on the first-half clock.
The lead remained eight with under three minutes to play, but the Volunteers went on an 11-0 run in just 2:22 to go in front, 33-30, and the score held entering the intermission. Tennessee, after a 2-of-15 start from deep, went 3-of-5 in those final three minutes to earn its 16th halftime advantage in 21 outings despite the Wildcats’ 7-of-14 (50.0 percent) first-half clip beyond the arc.
Kentucky took its largest lead, 55-44, with 12:24 to go after making seven consecutive field goals, four of which came from long range to then stretch its 3-point ledger to 11-of-21. The Volunteers soon countered with a 7-1 surge to trim the deficit to five, 58-53, with 9:27 left.
Although thrice pushed its cushion back up to nine, Tennessee would not go away. Fifth-year guard Chaz Lanier drilled a transition 3-pointer with 4:10 to go, the team’s fifth make from the floor in a span of six tries, to cut the margin to three, 71-68.
Kentucky graduate guard Koby Brea hit a pair of free throws 26 seconds later to make it a five-point game. Neither team scored for the next 2:38 when Lanier hit two free throws to make it 73-70 with 1:06 to play. Graduate guard Jaxson Robinson split a pair of free throws four ticks later, but Lanier buried a 3-pointer—that snapped a skid of nine straight misses for the Volunteers, all beyond the arc—to bring Tennessee within one, 74-73, with 31 seconds on the timer.
Junior guard Otega Oweh hit two shots from the line to extend the edge back to three with 25.3 ticks left and then, after a stop for the Wildcats, iced the game with two more with 7.1 to go. The Wildcats did not make a field goal in the final 5:19, but went 7-of-8 at the line to clinch the decision and held Tennessee to 1-of-12 field-goal shooting—all were 3-point attempts—in the last 3:21.
Miličić, who finished with his second-highest point total as a Volunteer and set a season high in made 3-pointers, shot 6-of-10 overall, 4-of-8 beyond the arc and 3-of-4 at the stripe. He added a team-best nine rebounds and four assists.
Lanier scored 15 points and pulled down four rebounds, while senior guard Zakai Zeigler had 13 points and a game-high six assists. Zeigler, who missed the final 2:17 of the first half due to a right knee injury, also became the second player SEC history to record 1,300 points, 600 assists and 200 steals in a career.
Brea paced Kentucky with 18 points, shooting a perfect 5-of-5 from the floor, including 3-of-3 beyond the arc, plus went 5-of-7 at the stripe and dished out three assists. Robinson scored 17 points and posted a 4-of-9 long-range clip.
Oweh registered 14 points and six rebounds, while senior forward Amari Williams totaled 10 points, a game-best 15 rebounds and four a team-high four assists.
Tennessee shot 11-of-45 (24.4 percent) from 3-point range, its second-most attempts ever, yet had one fewer make than Kentucky, which took 21 fewer tries in a 12-of-24 (50.0 percent) performance. The Volunteers and Wildcats both made 25 field goals, but Tennessee shot 34.7 percent (25-of-72) and Kentucky notched a 50.0 percent (25-of-50) ledger.
The Volunteers amassed a 20-8 advantage in second chance points, behind an 18-8 margin on the offensive glass, and a 15-5 tally in points off turnovers. They forced 13 giveaways and committed a season-low five.
Tennessee is back in action at Food City Center for a Saturday matinee against No. 5/6 Florida, with tip-off for the top-10 clash slated for noon, live on ESPN. Listen on 103.1FM WIKQ beginning at 11:30am.
