Kentucky Stuns No. 5 Tennessee in Knoxville for Season-Saving 63-56 Victory

The Wildcats — against all odds — march into Knoxville and stun the No. 5 Volunteers.

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — All signs pointed towards another disappointing chapter in Kentucky basketball's horror-filled 2022-23 season, as No. 5 Tennessee raced out to an 8-0 lead in front of a rollicking crowd inside Thompson-Boling Arena. 

After getting punched in the mouth first yet again, the Wildcats finally decided to do something about it. John Calipari's group answered with a one-two combo in the form of a 13-2 run, setting a much different tone than normal — one that featured grit and energy, propelling the once-dusted Cats to a mind-boggling 63-56 win. 

Tennessee (14-3, 4-1 SEC) would get called for 24 fouls on Saturday afternoon, resulting in 25 Kentucky (11-6, 2-3) free throws. Despite entering the game shooting 65.6 percent from the stripe — the 312th-best mark in the nation — the Wildcats finally knocked down their freebies at a high clip, connecting on 22, much to the delight of Calipari

"Free throws, you know, has been our Achilles heel, but this was a great road win," he said in his opening statement, which featured a new and non-water soaked shirt and pullover. "From the beginning of the game, both coaches made it a slugfest. 'Let's go, you gonna back down?' Neither team backed down." 

Kentucky's opening run was spearheaded by eight points from CJ Fredrick, as the redshirt senior connected on a pair of 3-pointers in the early goings. From then on, the game would feature fouls, free throws and plenty of flair from Calipari on the sideline. 

Fredrick would then lace a 3-pointer to give Kentucky a 51-48 lead with 5:37 left to play in the second half. Tennessee answered, but so would UK, this time via an Antonio Reeves bucket. Reeves scored a team-high 18 points on Saturday, going a perfect 8-8 from the free-throw line. 

"Antonio was the most impactful player," Calipari said. "He did great." 

"We've been struggling as a team, every game," Reeves said postgame. "There's not a game that goes by where somebody doesn't miss a free throw. To go 8-8 is so refreshing. I'm able to shoot free throws, I know I can in my heart, you feel like it's contagious sometimes when one of the guys misses free throws...it's a good thing, for sure."

Every time the Volunteers took a stab at grabbing the game by the horns, the newly-pesky Wildcats secured a foul, earned a tough bucket or held sturdy on the defensive end. an Oscar Tshiebwe layup, followed by two Reeves free throws squeezed out a 7-0 run to put UK up 58-50 with less than three minutes to play. 

Volunteers center Uros Plavsic connected on his eight make of the game to bring UT within four points with less than two minutes to play. Reeves then traveled on the next possession, leading to another Plavsic bucket, giving the big man 19 points and shrinking the UK lead down to 58-56. Calipari knew he would have to let the big man do business down low in order to keep the Vols stymied elsewhere:

"We had to make a choice. Do we let (Plavsic) go and score baskets? Or do we try to trap and give up? We made a choice. At one point I almost went back, and the staff went crazy," he said.

Tshiebwe would go one-for-two from the free-throw line, putting UK up by three. Santiago Vescovi was unable to land a jumper, giving the Cats more chances to ice the game at the charity stripe. Reeves would go 2-2 before another brick from Tennessee spelled the end, somehow pushing the Wildcats across the finish line in front. 

"We needed that as a team," Reeves said. "It's what we've been working for, man. Just trying to get that dub and get all of the other stuff out of our system, because it's been rough for us."

The Wildcats were without starting point guard Sahvir Wheeler and backup forward Daimion Collins, both of whom were ruled out with less than an hour to go until tipoff. The absence of Wheeler put extra pressure on an already-hurting Cason Wallace, who played just eight minutes in UK's embarrassing 71-68 loss to South Carolina on Tuesday night in Lexington. 

Wallace went scoreless, but would be aided of course by Tshiebwe — who grabbed another double-double, scoring 15 and hauling in 13 rebounds — as well as a slew of supporting cast members, as Calipari hurled a plethora of five-man lineups at the court, seeing what sticks. With no Wheeler, everyone from Fredrick, to Reeves, to even freshman Adou Thiero saw some run with the ball in their hands on Saturday.

The results panned out in the first 20 minutes, as the Volunteers failed to find momentum, while UK scratched and clawed its way to a 33-26 lead at the break, highlighted by a 10-0 run, keeping the Rocky Top faithful at ease...for the time being. 

During halftime, Volunteer legend Chris Lofton — a Kentucky native — had his name and number raised to the rafters, sparking the energy that eluded Tennessee for the first period on Saturday. 

Thanks in-part to a UK scoring drought that lasted over four minutes of game time, the Vols did some clawing of their own to eventually grab a 43-41 lead after a Zakai Zeigler layup. It was another opportunity for UK to lay down and allow another win slip away, but there would be no wilting from the new-life Cats. 

The Tennessee faithful remained rowdy, yearning for the Volunteers to finally land a knockout blow of some sort. Plavsic and Co. would land their fair share of punches, but were never able to land that knockout blow needed to sour the Cats' season-turning performance. 

"The game is mostly mental, it's about having individual confidence," forward Jacob Toppin said. "Obviously, the coaching staff has confidence in us, but if you don't have confidence in yourself, then it's very hard to play at a high level. if your mind is clear, then your game is clear."

All of a sudden, the disdain that ensued following the South Carolina loss has faded into oblivion. 

"it's no easy road," Calipari said. "I told you I haven't lost any faith in these guys. I've done this a long time. All you that are shooting arrows and bullets. I got bazooka holes in my body. They go right through. They don't even hit skin. So it is what it is. You could be mad, happy, sad. I've got a good team.

Kentucky's win serves as a reset, giving new life to a season that was considered long-gone. The Wildcats will now return home to what will be a revived Rupp Arena on Tuesday, hosting the Georgia Bulldogs. Tip is set for 9 p.m. EST and will air on ESPN.

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