KNOXVILLE - As Kentucky's fourth-ranked Wildcats ran onto the Thompson-Boling Arena court for their final warm-up before Tuesday night's game against Tennessee, a chorus of boos blanketed the visitors as had not been heard inside the Boling Alley all season.
"I always feel a little extra excitement when Kentucky comes in here," Bob Kesling, the radio voice of the Volunteers, said an hour from tipoff. "I think everybody does."
Tennessee guard Robert Hubbs III (3) shoots over Kentucky guard De'Aaron Fox (0) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2017, in Knoxville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Wade Payne) A year ago that excitement and Big Orange passion had sparked the Vols to rally from a 21-point first-half hole to claim victory over Big Blue.
On Tuesday the Vols were at it again, whipping Kentucky 82-80 as the Cats once more struggled to guard Rick's Runts.
"They did a great job of driving the ball," said UK coach John Calipari. "And they made some tough, tough baskets. We weren't one of those (great) teams tonight, and a lot of the credit for that goes to Tennessee."
Though Robert Hubbs III led the UT scoring with 25 points and Admiral Schofield ably backed him with 15 points and seven rebounds, this was a win for the brilliance of Barnes.
Spreading the floor, he exposed UK's weakness in open-floor defense off the dribble. His bench outscored UK's bench by a stunning 37-4. The Vols won fastbreak points 10-9. And against the long, strong Cats, UT lost the boards by only 40-39.
"We were good tonight," Barnes said. "This was by far the best we've played all year. We went inside tonight. Our guards did what we wanted them to do instead of jacking up shots from inside."
It's always been this way between these two, especially in Knoxville. Former UK coach Joe B. Hall won onlly once inside the since-demolished Stokely Athletic Center, and that was in 1978 against interim coach Cliff Wettig, who was subbing for Ray Mears.
Don DeVoe routinely owned Kentucky in both Stokely and the Boling Alley. Even Wade Houston upset UK's 1993 Final Four team a couple of weeks before the Wildcats crushed UT 101-40 in that year's SEC tournament in Rupp Arena.
"I was in school here when both Adolph Rupp and Joe B. Hall were coaching UK and Coach Mears was here," Kesling said. "My girlfriend - now my wife - was a student at UK, and when the games were up there I had friends who would sneak me in on a fake ticket. It's always been an incredible rivalry."
Indeed, Kesling not only saw UT legend Bernard King lose his first game against Kentucky in Lexington in January of 1975, he saw King win the next five after claiming a Wildcats fan threw a lit cigarette at him that night.
Kesling was also in UK's Memorial Coliseum when the other half of the Ernie-Bernie Show, muscular forward Ernie Grunfeld, "shot two free throws for Irv Chatman" in an overtime game in which the Vols prevailed.
There was no such possible chicanery this time around. But there were plenty of reasons for the UT student body to chant "Overrated!" regarding Kentucky, which looked like anything but a Final Four contender against Tennessee.
Much as the Vols carved up Mississippi State on Saturday, their quickness, strength, athleticism and offensive skills once more proved too much for Big Blue, much as they had a year ago. Only this time there was never a 21-point UK lead to overcome. Instead, UT pretty much controlled the pace throughout, often beating the Cats at their own fast-paced game.
This is the Vols' somewhat secret weapon. As Mississippi State coach Ben Howland noted after a drubbing by Tennessee: "They're very tough physically. Just look at their bodies. They're wide; they're physical; they're athletic."
And when the Cats couldn't take advantage of their edge and length, UT made sure to take advantage of its physicality. It eventually so shook up UK that normally unflappable guard Isaiah Briscoe blew a wide-open layup eight minutes into the final half.
What the national media, including ESPN, will make of these developments in Big Orange Country is uncertain. With No. 1 Villanova and No. 2 Kansas also faltering at Marquette and West Virginia, respectively, this may unfairly be deemed one of those fluky nights. It wasn't. This was only the second time all season that Kentucky had trailed by double figures in a game, the other being a home loss to UCLA on the first Saturday of December.
Yes, they pulled within two twice late, but they never tied or led in the final half, which led to the feverish playing of "Rocky Top" inside the final minute and meant that Barnes became the first UT coach since DeVoe to win his first two home games against Kentucky.
"Tennessee was better than us tonight," Calipari said. "They deserved to win the game."
Said Barnes: "This is something we can continue to build on."
Not to mention continuing to rebuild a rivalry that has often been the SEC's best.
Contact Mark Wiedmer at mwiedmer@timesfreepress.com.