KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The University of Tennessee men’s basketball team dropped a 78-73 result Tuesday night to No. 12 Kentucky in front of a sold-out, over-capacity crowd of 22,272 at Food City Center.
Eighth-ranked Tennessee (17-4, 4-4 SEC) could not overcome the dazzling 3-point shooting by the Wildcats, dropping to 4-2 in AP top-12 showdowns between the two schools during head coach Rick Barnes‘ tenure. Senior forward Igor Miličić Jr., paced the Volunteers with a game-high 19 points in the setback.
Kentucky (15-5, 4-3 SEC) started 4-of-5 from 3-point range and raced out to a 12-4 lead after just 4:17 of action. Tennessee closed within two, but the Wildcats then buried back-to-back 3-pointers to go back up by eight, 21-13, with 8:07 on the first-half clock.
The lead remained eight with under three minutes to play, but the Volunteers went on an 11-0 run in just 2:22 to go in front, 33-30, and the score held entering the intermission. Tennessee, after a 2-of-15 start from deep, went 3-of-5 in those final three minutes to earn its 16th halftime advantage in 21 outings despite the Wildcats’ 7-of-14 (50.0 percent) first-half clip beyond the arc.
Kentucky took its largest lead, 55-44, with 12:24 to go after making seven consecutive field goals, four of which came from long range to then stretch its 3-point ledger to 11-of-21. The Volunteers soon countered with a 7-1 surge to trim the deficit to five, 58-53, with 9:27 left.
Although thrice pushed its cushion back up to nine, Tennessee would not go away. Fifth-year guard Chaz Lanier drilled a transition 3-pointer with 4:10 to go, the team’s fifth make from the floor in a span of six tries, to cut the margin to three, 71-68.
Kentucky graduate guard Koby Brea hit a pair of free throws 26 seconds later to make it a five-point game. Neither team scored for the next 2:38 when Lanier hit two free throws to make it 73-70 with 1:06 to play. Graduate guard Jaxson Robinson split a pair of free throws four ticks later, but Lanier buried a 3-pointer—that snapped a skid of nine straight misses for the Volunteers, all beyond the arc—to bring Tennessee within one, 74-73, with 31 seconds on the timer.
Junior guard Otega Oweh hit two shots from the line to extend the edge back to three with 25.3 ticks left and then, after a stop for the Wildcats, iced the game with two more with 7.1 to go. The Wildcats did not make a field goal in the final 5:19, but went 7-of-8 at the line to clinch the decision and held Tennessee to 1-of-12 field-goal shooting—all were 3-point attempts—in the last 3:21.
Miličić, who finished with his second-highest point total as a Volunteer and set a season high in made 3-pointers, shot 6-of-10 overall, 4-of-8 beyond the arc and 3-of-4 at the stripe. He added a team-best nine rebounds and four assists.
Lanier scored 15 points and pulled down four rebounds, while senior guard Zakai Zeigler had 13 points and a game-high six assists. Zeigler, who missed the final 2:17 of the first half due to a right knee injury, also became the second player SEC history to record 1,300 points, 600 assists and 200 steals in a career.
Brea paced Kentucky with 18 points, shooting a perfect 5-of-5 from the floor, including 3-of-3 beyond the arc, plus went 5-of-7 at the stripe and dished out three assists. Robinson scored 17 points and posted a 4-of-9 long-range clip.
Oweh registered 14 points and six rebounds, while senior forward Amari Williams totaled 10 points, a game-best 15 rebounds and four a team-high four assists.
Tennessee shot 11-of-45 (24.4 percent) from 3-point range, its second-most attempts ever, yet had one fewer make than Kentucky, which took 21 fewer tries in a 12-of-24 (50.0 percent) performance. The Volunteers and Wildcats both made 25 field goals, but Tennessee shot 34.7 percent (25-of-72) and Kentucky notched a 50.0 percent (25-of-50) ledger.
The Volunteers amassed a 20-8 advantage in second chance points, behind an 18-8 margin on the offensive glass, and a 15-5 tally in points off turnovers. They forced 13 giveaways and committed a season-low five.
Tennessee is back in action at Food City Center for a Saturday matinee against No. 5/6 Florida, with tip-off for the top-10 clash slated for noon, live on ESPN.
To keep up with the University of Tennessee men’s basketball team on social media, follow @Vol_Hoops on Instagram and X/Twitter, as well as /tennesseebasketball on Facebook.
TENNESSEE VOLUNTEERS POSTGAME NOTES
• Tuesday’s announced attendance of 22,272—nearly 600 over capacity—marked the seventh-largest sellout crowd in arena history, including the fourth-largest since the 2007-08 capacity reduction.
• The Volunteers, who registered their 17th sellout in the last three seasons (2022-25) and fourth this year, fell to 34-15 all-time in Food City Center sellouts, including 33-13 since the capacity reduction and 23-7 in Barnes’ 10-year tenure.
• Tennessee is now 91-34 all-time when playing in front of 20,000-plus fans at Food City Center, including 32-10 under Barnes, with 27 of the latter 42 over the past four years (2021-25).
• The Volunteers dropped to 18-8 all-time in over-capacity crowds at Food City Center, including 17-6 at the current listed capacity.
• Tuesday marked the seventh time in 2024-25, all in Tennessee’s the last eight outings, over 19,000 fans have been in attendance at Food City Center.
• Tuesday marked the third straight AP top-15 showdown between the Volunteers and Wildcats, a second in series history, alongside the three meetings between the two schools in 2018-19.
• Tennessee is now 11-11 versus Kentucky in Barnes’ tenure, still good for five more wins than any other school in that time period (2015-25), as Auburn and Kansas each have six.
• Barnes has led the Volunteers to a 10-7 record against AP top-25 Kentucky teams in his tenure, still good for four more victories than any other program during his tenure (2015-25), as Kansas have five such wins.
• When facing Kentucky teams ranked in the top 12 of the AP Poll, Tennessee is now 7-2 under Barnes’ leadership, with Saturday snapping a six-game winning streak in such contests.
• In Barnes’ tenure, Tennessee is now 7-4 in AP top-25 matchups against Kentucky, including 4-3 with both in the top 15 and 4-2 with each in the top 12.
• Barnes, who has two more wins over the Wildcats than any other active head coach (10 by Bruce Pearl), fell to 12-13 all-time against Kentucky in his career as a head coach, tied with Kevin Stallings for the seventh-most wins all-time by any coach.
• Tennessee fell to 32-25 (.561) in AP top-25 showdowns in Barnes’ tenure, including 17-5 (.773) at home and 4-3 (.571) in 2024-25.
• The above mark in AP top-25 clashes under Barnes features a 20-12 (.625) record since Feb. 26, 2022, and a 11-5 (.688) ledger since Dec. 9, 2023.
• Tennessee teams under Barnes’ direction are now 15-12 (.556) in AP top-15 showdowns, including 6-2 (.750) at Food City Center.
• The Volunteers fell to 20-8 (.714) at home against AP top-25 teams in the Barnes era, including 15-2 (.882) since Jan. 30, 2021.
• Tennessee is now 12-5 (.706) when hosting AP top-15 squads in Barnes’ tenure, including 10-2 (.833) since Jan. 30, 2021.
• The Volunteers now possess a 38-40 (.487) record against AP top-25 foes under Barnes, including a 22-13 (.629) tally since Jan. 22, 2022.
• Tennessee dropped to 24-25 (.490) when facing AP top-15 teams in the Barnes era, including 17-8 (.680) since Dec. 22, 2021.
• Zeigler exited the game, before would-be free throws, with 2:17 left in the first half due to a right knee injury, but he returned for the start of the second stanza.
• Tennessee has conceded 35 or fewer first-half points in 19 of its 21 contests thus far, including 29 or fewer on 12 occasions and 22 or fewer six times.
• The Volunteers have held a halftime advantage in 16 of their 21 outings this season, including a margin of seven-plus points 12 times, double digits 10 times, 12-plus eight times, 14-plus seven times and 23-plus thrice.
• The only time Tennessee has attempted greater than 45 3-pointers in a game was Nov. 27, 2007, when it went 14-of-50 against North Carolina A&T.
• The Volunteers’ 33-game winning streak when leading at halftime came to an end in Tuesday’s setback.
• Prior committing just five Tuesday, Tennessee’s low mark in turnovers this season was six on Dec. 14, 2024, at Illinois.
• Williams’ 15 rebounds matched the highest total by a Tennessee foe this year, equaling the tally set Jan. 7 by Florida’s Rueben Chinyelu.
• The 13 defensive boards for Williams far eclipsed the 10 by Chinyelu for the top ledger by a Tennessee opponent in 2024-25.
• With his layup at the 16:11 mark of the second half, Zeigler eclipsed 1,300 points as a collegian, making him the second player ever to record 1,300 points, 600 assists and 200 steals at an SEC school, alongside Arkansas’ Kareem Reid (1995-99).
• The 19 points by Miličić trailed only his 23 in a Nov. 17, 2024, contest against Austin Peay in the scoring column in his lone season as a Volunteer.
• Miličić has now recorded at least 19 points, nine rebounds and four assists in a game twice this season—he also had that line in the same outing versus the Governors—after no Tennessee player did so even once since Feb. 2, 2019, when Grant Williams posted it at Texas A&M.
