Josiah-Jordan James and Zakai Zeigler picked an important time to turn in career-best performances.
James scored 26 points and Zeigler compiled 26 points and 13 assists Saturday night as No. 5 Tennessee posted an impressive 103-92 victory over No. 10 Kentucky inside Rupp Arena. It was a wire-to-wire triumph for the Volunteers, who also got 16 points from Dalton Knecht and 11 apiece from Jonas Aidoo and Santiago Vescovi.
Knecht had averaged nearly 32 points in Tennessee’s previous six games, but the Vols displayed way more balance in matching their season high with 12 made 3-pointers.
“We told our guys that we’re not going to stand around and watch Dalton do it,” Tennessee coach Rick Barnes said in a news conference. “We’ve got too many good players. I told them that when they were open to just do what they do. It was a great performance from our guys tonight.
“Our experience was really important.”
Saturday marked the final trip to Lexington for James, a fifth-year senior who has spent all five seasons with the Vols.
“This means the world,” James said. “I know what this rivalry means to this program and to the University of Tennessee. There is so much rich history between us, and the 26 wouldn’t have mattered if we don’t come out with this win.
“It was a full team effort, but it was great to go out that way.”
James and Vescovi finished with 3-2 records against the Wildcats inside Rupp Arena.
Barnes won for the fourth time there and improved to 11-9 against the Wildcats as Tennessee’s coach. His four victories in Rupp match what the Vols accomplished there from 1976, the year the venue opened, to 2015, the year before his arrival.
The Vols improved to 16-5 overall and to 6-2 in Southeastern Conference play, while the Wildcats could now be hard-pressed to stay in the league chase with a 15-6 record that includes a 5-4 mark in conference contests. Alabama leads the league at the midway point with an 8-1 SEC record, with Auburn and South Carolina each 7-2.
Rob Dillingham led Kentucky with 35 points, going 14-of-20 from the floor, including 6-of-8 from long range.
“He was phenomenal,” Barnes said.
Tennessee’s first two trips down the court resulted in 3-pointers by Zeigler and James, and a 3 by Vescovi less than four minutes into the game staked the Vols to a stunning 13-3 lead. When Zeigler made his third 3 of the half at the 8:49 mark t0 provide Tennessee a 33-22 advantage, it also gave the Vols an early 7-of-12 clip from long range.
A driving layup and free throw by Knecht with 8:26 before halftime put Tennessee even further ahead at 36-22.
“We play fast, too, and we told them that this is going to be a totally different game than we’ve had in our last two games,” Barnes said. “We’ve been in low-possession games, and we wanted to get down the court and shoot it. We made some early, and it was just a mindset with our guys.”
Kentucky responded with a 12-2 run spearheaded by 3-pointers from Justin Edwards and Dillingham to get within 38-34, and that was the halftime margin as Tennessee took a 46-42 lead into the break.
“I was amazed at halftime that we had a chance,” Kentucky coach John Calipari said. “The kids fought, and I haven’t lost any faith. Teams are playing good against us, and all our goals are still there.
“I have a good team. We’re just young, and we still make some errors.”
Reed Sheppard’s 3 a minute into the second half got Kentucky within 46-45, but a James 3 and a Zeigler layup capped a 13-2 surge to put the Vols back up 59-47. A Vescovi 3 with 9:22 remaining gave Tennessee its largest lead of the night at 76-60.
The Vols are home for their next game, facing LSU (12-9, 4-4) at 7 p.m. Wednesday in a matchup that will be televised by the SEC Network.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com.