KNOXVILLE - No program in college basketball has more wins against Kentucky than Tennessee, and in 18 of those 68 victories against their border rivals the Volunteers were not ranked when the Wildcats were.
Tennessee can grab No. 19 tonight if it reprises what happened in Knoxville last season.
After Kentucky jumped out to a 34-13 lead in the first half, the Vols remarkably rallied behind Kevin Punter's 27 points, Armani Moore's double-double and key plays down the stretch for an 84-77 upset victory.
"I think about Kevin Punter and Armani Moore more than anybody, because those two guys a year ago, regardless of where we were at the time with our team and our program, those guys competed," Tennessee coach Rick Barnes recalled Monday. "I think back to that game: We got behind, but we just stayed with it. Games can turn quickly.
"We know that, but when I think of that game, I think about those two guys particularly, because what they have is what we're still searching for this team to have, just a tremendous will to compete every possession."
Kentucky was ranked 20th at that time, but the Wildcats moved up a spot to fourth in the new Associated Press poll after taking down South Carolina by 16 on Saturday in a matchup of Southeastern Conference leaders.
The Wildcats again have a team loaded with former five-star recruits who now are one-and-done college freshmen projected as high NBA draft picks in a few months, with guards De'Aaron Fox and Malik Monk and forward Bam Adebayo all top-16 picks in DraftExpress.com's latest mock draft.
Fox and Monk are potential top-10 picks. The former leads the SEC in assists and the latter tops the conference in scoring. Monk has scored at least 20 points in 11 of 19 games this season and poured in 47 when Kentucky beat North Carolina in Las Vegas in December.
"He's the kind of player you can guard really, really well and he can still make shots," Barnes said. "The key with that is you can't let it affect you mentally, because he's a good enough player that he can make tough shots. Obviously being the leading scorer in the league tells you that he can go get a bunch of them, which he's already done.
"He's proven that in a lot of games this year. But it's not just him. We're obviously going to do our process of our scouting and try to do everything we can to make it tough, but they're such a good team where if you start focusing on one guy, they can hurt you in a lot of other areas.
"They're a smart team. You watch their sets and what they do, you guard it and they're going to have a counter for it. They are where they are because they're an outstanding team. They're not a one- or a two-man team."
Barnes will coach the 972nd college game of his career tonight, and though it'll be only his sixth against Kentucky, he's familiar with the Wildcats from two unique perspectives.
While at Texas, Barnes coached five one-and-done players who left the Longhorns after their freshman seasons: Myles Turner (2015), Tristan Thompson and Cory Joseph (2011), Avery Bradley (2010) and Kevin Durant (2007).
He sees the parallels between coaching Durant what Calipari does annually with NBA-bound freshmen.
"(Durant) put both feet firmly in," Barnes recalled. "He did not have one foot in and one foot out. I think that's what John's been able to do, for the most part, with his group of guys year in and year out. He gets them to buy in and put both feet in and makes them understand it's special to be able to play for a national championship and win it."
Barnes also knows what it's like to coach against a basketball outlier in a football-driven power conference from his run-ins with Kansas while in the Big 12.
"Everybody talks about a football school or a basketball school," he said, "and I've always said you are what you're good at. Kansas's football stadium is bigger than their basketball arena. So is Kentucky, but they've both been so good in basketball for so long."
It's why any win against Kentucky is special for Tennessee, whether it's an upset akin to last season's or not.
"Emotion can win for you sometimes," Barnes said. "There's no question about it, and I think that probably helped us last year as much as anything. Emotion can win for you, but it can't win for you all the time."
Contact Patrick Brown at pbrown@timesfreepress.com.