LEXINGTON, Ky. – This time Tennessee’s upset bid never had a chance.
Instead, Kentucky emphatically exacted its revenge for last month’s basketball loss by handing the Volunteers their most lopsided defeat of the season.
The No. 13 Wildcats buried Tennessee under a barrage of first-half 3-pointers and led by as many as 28 points in an 83-58 Southeastern Conference rout of the abject Vols at Rupp Arena on Tuesday night, three weeks after Tennessee stunned then-N0. 4 Kentucky 82-80 in Knoxville.
“I didn’t see it coming at all, till after the ball was tipped off and we weren’t pushing the ball and we just looked like zombies out there,” Vols forward Admiral Schofield said after scoring a team-high 17 points.
Kentucky’s Malik Monk takes a three point shot under pressure from Tennessee’s Jordan Bowden (23) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game, Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2017, in Lexington, Ky. (AP Photo/James Crisp)“I just know we get another day to recoup, and I know that this team is going to fight back, because this is not a team that stays down, and I’m just looking for that team that’s going to fight back right now.”