KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The Kentucky Wildcats shrugged off the negativity and silenced those doubters as they defeated the 5th-ranked Tennessee Volunteers 63-56 on Saturday.
John Calapari and the Wildcats have been the subject of a lot of scrutiny this week since their disappointing loss to South Carolina on Tuesday.
But it seems some of those questions were answered as the final horn sounded on Saturday.
Antonio Reeves tallied 18 points and Oscar Tshiebwe scored 15 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Wildcats over the Volunteers.
The win snapped a 25-game home win streak for Tennessee (14-3, 4-1), dating back to the end of the 2020-21 season.
CJ Fredrick, who finished the game with 13 points, scored eight in a row during the first half to help give Kentucky a 33-26 lead at the break.
Trailing 58-50 with 3:28 remaining in the game, the Volunteers would mount a comeback as Santiago Vescovi swished two foul shots and Uros Plavsic added two buckets to close the gap to just two points with less than a minute to play.
A Wildcat turnover gave Tennessee a chance to tie or take the lead, but Zakai Zeigler and Plavsic couldn't convert their shot attempts down low.
The Wildcats (11-6, 2-3 Southeastern Conference) showed off their physicality by dominating the Volunteers on the boards, 43-23. Coming into the contest, Tennessee lead the SEC in rebounding margin.
Plavsic scored 19 points and Vescovi finished with 13 points to lead the Volunteers in scoring.
Kentucky will be back in action on Tuesday hosting the Georgia Bulldogs.
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