Antonio Reeves scored a team-high 18 points off the bench and Oscar Tshiebwe recorded his 50th career double-double as visiting Kentucky stunned No. 5 Tennessee 63–56 Saturday afternoon in Knoxville, Tenn.
Tshiebwe scored 15 points and grabbed 13 rebounds for the unranked Wildcats (11–6, 2–4 Southeastern Conference), who came into the game as significant underdogs after losing their previous two games.
Reeves’ free throws with 12.9 seconds left gave the Wildcats a 61–56 cushion, and Jacob Toppin, who was a game-time decision after a shoulder injury, added two more free throws for the final points. CJ Fredrick also finished in double figures for the Wildcats with 13 points.
The loss ended a 25-game home winning streak for the Vols (14–3, 4–1 SEC), who got a huge game out of Uros Plavsic (career-high 19 points).
Tennessee was only 7 of 10 from the free-throw line to Kentucky’s 22 of 25. The Wildcats also enjoyed a 43–23 rebounding advantage.
Down nine points just two minutes into the second half, the Vols caught the Wildcats at 41–41 on Tyreke Key’s 3-pointer and took a brief 43–41 lead on Zakai Ziegler’s driving layup.
It didn’t last long as Reeves scored five quick points to put the Wildcats up 46–43. They led 53–50 at the under 4-minute media timeout on another Reeves’ jumper.
Kentucky boosted that to 58–50 with 3:26 remaining, but a 6–0 Tennessee run—including two baskets by Plavsic—made it a 2-point game in the final minute before the Vols missed their last four shots.
Tennessee jumped out to an 8–0 lead in less than three minutes, but Kentucky responded with a 10–0 spurt as the Vols’ scoring drought lasted for more than five minutes. Plavic’s basket ignited a 5-for-5 shooting streak for the Vols, but that was immediately followed by a 1-for-8 stretch.
The Wildcats closed out the half by outscoring the Vols 12–3 over the final 4:15 for a 33–26 cushion. They enjoyed a 22–10 rebounding advantage for the half, though the Wildcats had only a 7–2 advantage in second-chance points.
