LEXINGTON, Ky. — No. 5 Tennessee defeated No. 10 Kentucky in a thrilling battle, taking home a 103-92 win in Rupp Arena Saturday night.
The Vols said leading up to this game they wanted to get off to a fast start and they did just that. UT got up 16-5 going into the first media timeout as they made it rain from three-point range. Zakai Zeigler made two three-pointers, Santiago Vescovi made one and Josiah-Jordan James added another.
The defense contributed in a major way to the early double-digit lead. The Vols forced three turnovers through the first media timeout.
Kentucky, the third-highest-scoring team in the country, started heating up from the field after falling early. After trailing 21-10, the Wildcats went on a 10-2 run. Rob Dillingham scored eight of those points and UK cut the deficit to 23-20.
UT got back up by 10 points after a layup from Jonas Aidoo, a jump shot from James, and a three-pointer from Dalton Knecht. After a Kentucky basket, UT struck back with a three-pointer from Zeigler and then an and-one conversion from Knecht for a 36-22 lead.
The Wildcats responded with a 12-2 run and just like that found themselves down four points as the Vols led 38-34. James came up with an alley-oop dunk and then a jumper to halt the momentum for Kentucky and put UT back up 42-34.
Tennessee would lead 46-42 at halftime. Zeigler led the way with 13 points, James added nine points and the Vols made seven three-pointers as a team in the first half. Dillingham had 17 points for Kentucky in the first half.
Kentucky struck first in the second half on a made three-pointer from Reed Sheppard to trim the UT lead to one. The Vols answered with a second-chance dunk by Aidoo and then a three-pointer from James to take a 46-41 lead. Following an Antonio Reeves basket for the Wildcats, Vescovi drilled a three-pointer and then later James made a three-pointer followed by a Zeigler layup on the next possession. Tennessee went up 59-47.
With UT up 69-60, they went on a 7-0 run capped off by a Vescovi three-pointer for a 16-point lead for UT. They led 76-60.
Josiah-Jordan James and Zakai Zeigler stepped up big, combining for 52 points. Tennessee shot 48.7 percent from the field, and 50% just in the second half alone.
Tennessee hosts LSU next on Wednesday, Feb. 7 at 7 p.m.
