Tennessee’s 15th consecutive win inside Thompson-Boling Arena was its sweetest one yet.
Santiago Vescovi scored 18 points and Kennedy Chandler added 17 Tuesday night as the No. 16 Volunteers thumped No. 4 Kentucky 76-63 before a sold-out crowd and an ESPN national audience. Tuesday’s outcome was a stunning 41-point reversal from Kentucky’s 107-79 bludgeoning of Tennessee at Rupp Arena on Jan. 15.
“This game was personal, honestly,” Chandler said afterward in a news conference. “We knew we were capable of being a better team after we played there, and we came out tonight and never let up. They made their runs and didn’t give up, but we kept pushing and pushing and had to finish out strong.”
By achieving a series split, Tennessee improved to 19-6 overall and 10-3 in Southeastern Conference play, pulling into a second-place tie with the Wildcats (21-5, 10-3) behind league-leading Auburn (23-2, 11-1). The Vols also improved to 14-0 at home this season and to 9-7 against Kentucky in the Rick Barnes era.
“We were much better defensively tonight and much more sound throughout the possession,” Barnes said. “We didn’t have a lot of breakdowns tonight, and everyone who came into the game made a major contribution.”
Chandler made consecutive 3-pointers and Josiah-Jordan James connected from long range as well to key a 17-1 surge in the first half that turned a 17-15 Kentucky lead into a 32-18 Tennessee advantage. A Vescovi 3-pointer at the 5:34 mark gave the Vols their largest first-half lead at 37-22.
Tennessee took a 46-32 lead into intermission on 17-of-31 shooting (54.8%) from the floor, including 6-of-11 from 3-point range (54.5%), and a 6-of-6 showing from the free-throw line. Chandler scored 15 first-half points, while Vescovi added 14.
A John Fulkerson jumper over Oscar Tshiebwe with 16:33 to play gave Tennessee a 51-34 lead, but the Wildcats would answer with an 8-0 run. The Vols quickly went back up by double digits and grabbed a 20-point lead at 68-48 on a Zakai Zeigler 3-pointer with 5:41 left.
Fulkerson and Zeigler also reached double digits for the Vols, scoring 14 apiece.
Kentucky’s TyTy Washington and Jacob Toppin were questionable for Tuesday’s game but wound up playing and playing early, when the Wildcats raced out to an 8-2 lead. The Vols regrouped to take an 11-10 advantage, benefiting from a technical foul on Kentucky coach John Calipari.
The two teams had to be separated at the 13:45 mark of the first half, when Fulkerson fell in front of Kentucky’s bench. When Tennessee players raced over to help lift him up, Wildcats strength coach Robert Harris stood in the way and was pushed by Zeigler.
Both Harris and Zeigler were assessed technicals.
“They called a technical on Zakai, and they said he got into it with a trainer,” Barnes said. “I said that our player got a technical, but what do you do for a trainer? They said it was something the rules committee needs to talk about. I said if that’s the way it’s going to be, I’m going to get my trainer involved in every game to try and get technical fouls on the other team.”
When Chandler was asked about the odd encounter, he said, “Zakai said their strength and conditioning coach shoved him, and I was like, ‘Why is he shoving you when you’re trying to help Fulky?’ It pumped us up and gave us great energy.”
Washington, who scored 28 points last month to lead Kentucky’s 28-point decimation, played in the early stages of the second half before coming out for the remainder of the game. Tshiebwe collected 13 points and 15 rebounds to lead the Wildcats, but Tennessee freshman Jonas Aidoo held his own inside with five points, seven rebounds and three blocks.
“He’s a really good player,” Aidoo said. “I just stood my ground and did what the coaches told me to do.”
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.