KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The last time Tennessee men's basketball played Kentucky about a month ago, the Vols got thumped in a 107-79 loss.
It was head-scratching as the Vols defense that looked dominant through the year at that point was exposed in that matchup in Rupp Arena.
Tennessee looked to exact some revenge on Tuesday night when both teams square off inside Thompson-Boling Arena. And boy did they get it.
The sold-out crowd was wild Tuesday night as the 16th-ranked Vols hosted the 4th-ranked Wildcats at Thompson-Boling Arena.
That energy helped the Vols dominate Kentucky throughout the game, leading Tennessee to a victory, 76-63.
Santiago Vescovi led Tennessee in scoring with 18 points. Kennedy Chandler finished with 17 points, while John Fulkerson and Zakai Zeigler scored 14.
The Vols are now 10-3 in SEC play and 14-0 at home.
WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT TENNESSEE
The Vols haven't lost an SEC game since that loss to the Wildcats in January. Tennessee has won seven straight conference games.
The Vols have gone from under .500 in SEC play to a 9-3 record in conference, just one game behind Kentucky.
The Vols offense was good in that last game against Kentucky and overall has seen some good performances as of late. Over the 8 games, the Vols have only struggled on defense against pesky Vanderbilt and Texas. Other than that, the team hasn't shot below 42 percent and has had a couple of games shooting 50 percent or close to that.
According to Tennessee Athletics, since the loss to Texas, Josiah-Jordan James and Zakai Ziegler have combined to account for 49 percent of the team's scoring.
James has started to really pick things up for Tennessee in his last five games, he has scored in double-digits in each, his rebounding numbers are going up and he is shooting better from three-point range.
Tennessee's defense continues to be good. According to KenPom, the Vols rank sixth in the nation in adjusted defensive efficiency.
WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT KENTUCKY
The Wildcats are one of the hottest teams in the country.
In their last 11 games, their only loss has come to No. 2 Auburn on the road 80-71.
They are led by forward Oscar Tshiebwe, who is coming off a monster 27 points and 19 rebounds performance in a win against Florida. He was named SEC Co-Player of the Week for his efforts. He leads the nation in rebounding with 15.3 boards per game and is Kentucky's leading scorer, averaging 16.4 points per game.
The offense is clicking for the Wildcats. Kentucky ranks ninth in the nation and leads the SEC in field-goal percentage at 49.1 percent. They shot 67.9 percent from the field the last time they played Tennessee.
GAME INFO
The game time is at 9 p.m. on Tuesday night. The game will be broadcast on ESPN.