National Basketball Association
Kentucky 63, Tennessee 56
When: 12:00 PM ET, Saturday, January 14, 2023
Where: Thompson-Boling Arena, Knoxville, Tennessee
Officials:
# Terry Oglesby, # Pat Adams, # Chuck Jones
Attendance:
21678
By Field Level Media
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.
--Field Level Media
Top Game Performances
| Kentucky |
|
Tennessee |
|
Antonio Reeves 18 |
Scoring |
Uros Plavsic 19 |
|
Cason Wallace 6 |
Assists |
Zakai Zeigler 7 |
|
Oscar Tshiebwe 13 |
Rebounds |
Josiah-Jordan James 5 |
|
Antonio Reeves 8 |
Free Throws Made |
Santiago Vescovi 4 |
|
Adou Thiero 2 |
Steals |
Santiago Vescovi 4 |
|
Chris Livingston 1 |
Blocks |
Jonas Aidoo 1 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
| Kentucky
|
63 |
35.3 |
5-16 |
22-25 |
14 |
39 |
1 |
6 |
19 |
| Tennessee
|
56 |
40.4 |
3-21 |
7-10 |
17 |
21 |
3 |
7 |
11 |
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