Kentucky coach John Calipari saw Saturday’s game as a signpost for his team this difficult season.
“Let’s see where we are …,” he said Friday. “Let’s see what we’ve got to do to keep this climb going.”
Kentucky looked much closer to the summit than the base camp in handling Tennessee 70-55 in Knoxville, Tenn.
Not only did UK win its third straight game — its longest winning streak since Jan. 2-9 — the Cats did it in a fashion Calipari enjoys.
Kentucky made only three of its first 22 shots in the second half. Yet UK outscored Tennessee 18-16 in that span.
Defense and tenacity propelled Kentucky to its first victory against a ranked team in six tries. UK improved to 8-13 overall and 7-7 in the Southeastern Conference.
Freshman Keon Johnson and Jaden Springer combined for 50 points when Tennessee won in Rupp Arena two weeks earlier. In the rematch, the two combined for 19 points. They made a combined 6 of 25 shots (1 of 9 from 3-point range).
Isaiah Jackson led UK with 16 points. Davion Mintz made his first five 3-point shots en route to a 15-point game. Keion Brooks added 10 points and 14 rebounds.
That Kentucky won by its second-largest margin in a SEC game continued a Tennessee season that SEC Network analyst Dane Bradshaw had called a Jekyll and Hyde act.
When the Vols won at Missouri by 20 points earlier in the season, Yves Pons said, “We have a chance to be great. … A team that can go to the national championship.”
No. 19 Tennessee hardly looked the part in falling to 15-6 overall and 8-6 in the SEC.
Kentucky shredded arguably the SEC’s best defense in the first half. Led by Mintz’s 5-for-5 3-point shooting, UK made 60.7% of its shots in rolling to a 45-30 halftime lead.
Mintz’s second 3 gave Kentucky the lead for good at 11-10 and started a 15-0 run that expanded the lead to 23-10. His third three-pointer served as a bookend the run.
Tennessee got as close as 30-19.
Then Jackson took a turn as the dominant player on the court. He hit two free throws. On the next possession, he drove by Tennessee “big” John Fulkerson and rose under the rim and dunked on the other side.
That play was part of Jackson’s 13-point first half and expanded UK’s lead to 38-21.
Mintz’s final 3-pointer restored a 17-point lead (43-26).
While Kentucky’s offense flowed (6 of 9 on 3-point shots), Tennessee struggled. The Vols made only 11 of 30 shots. UT’s eight turnovers helped Kentucky enjoy a 14-5 advantage in fast-break points.
The Vols’ Johnson and Springer, who had combined to average 36.8 points in the Vols’ last four games, had seven points in the first half. Springer, UT’s leading scorer (12.4 per game) was scoreless.
As the second half began, Kentucky expanded its lead to 19 points at the free-throw line. UK made its first six free throws in taking a 53-34 lead at the first television timeout.
Kentucky made only three of its first 15 shots in the second half. Yet, UK expanded its lead to 58-38 on a post-up by Olivier Sarr with 12:14 left.
UK’s defense limited Tennessee to 2-for-9 shooting in the first eight minutes of the second half.
