Unranked Kentucky removes No

KNOXVILLE, Tenn.– Negativeness has dogged the Kentucky basketball program because its frustrating loss to South Carolina on Tuesday.Heading into Saturday

‘s 63-56 win over No. 5 Tennessee, Wildcats coach John Calipari did his best to insulate his players while taking in as many bullets as possible himself.”I have not despaired in

any of these guys,”he stated. “I’ve got an excellent team. [Friday night], I collected all the [players’] phones and iPads and everything else.”

Antonio Reeves scored 18 points and Oscar Tshiebwe had 15 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Wildcats (11-6, 2-3 SEC) over the Volunteers. The triumph ended a 25-game home win streak for Tennessee (14-3, 4-1) that dated to the end of the 2020-21 season.Editor’s Picks

Kentucky led 58-50 with 3:28 left in the game. Two complimentary tosses by Santiago Vescovi and two buckets by Uros Plavsic closed the gap to two with less than a minute to play.A Wildcats turnover gave Tennessee a shot to connect or take the lead, however Zakai Zeigler and Plavsic missed out on down low.

“Both coaches made it a slugfest,” Calipari said. “Nobody pulled back.”

The Wildcats showed a physical presence and controlled the Volunteers on the boards 43-23. Tennessee entered into the game leading the SEC in rebounding margin (+9.94 ).

“Our frontline’s got to do a better job rebounding,” Tennessee coach Rick Barnes stated. “On the defensive end, we need to get everybody included.”

The Tennessee big man Plavsic, who scored 19 points, was the only Vol to match Kentucky’s physicality.Calipari said the technique was to concentrate on the Vols’perimeter play, while letting Plavsic have his way. “They can beat us with threes,”Calipari stated.”They won’t beat us with twos.” CJ Fredrick scored 8 in a row and had 10 of

his 13 points in the very first half as Kentucky led at the break 33-26. Vescovi, who fine-tuned his shooting(left)shoulder in a crash early, had 7 in the first half for Tennessee. He ended up with 13 points. “We had some uncontested take a look at the

rim,”Barnes stated.”Point-blank layups– you’ve got to make them.”POLL IMPLICATIONS Throughout his 36 seasons as a head coach in college basketball,

Rick Barnes has actually led his teams into the AP Top 25 an overall of 299 weeks. That includes 131 weeks in the Top 10. BIG PICTURE Kentucky: Besides the disappointment that includes six

losses this early

in the season, the Wildcats have actually needed to deal with injury problems. G Cason Wallace (back)and F Jacob Toppin (shoulder )have actually been sidelined. Both begun against the Vols. … Tshiebwe leads the SEC with 10 double-doubles. … Sahvir Wheeler leads the SEC with 6.3 helps a game. This is his 3rd straight year on top. … Calipari coached his 36th game against Tennessee. No other coach has actually led his team against the Vols in as lots of games.Tennessee: Vescovi has actually been hot. He entered the Kentucky game balancing 16.5 points over his past 5 games while shooting 60%from the field

and 57%from 3. … Ziegler, who has actually gotten utilized to his function as a point player coming off the bench, had 27 helps in his past three games heading into Saturday. … Chris Lofton (2004-08), the SEC’s all-time leader in 3-point baskets made (431 ), had his No. 5 raised into the rafters of Thompson-Boling Arena.UP NEXT Kentucky: Hosts Georgia on Tuesday.Tennessee: Sees Mississippi State on Tuesday.