National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Kentucky 63, Tennessee 56
When: 12:00 PM ET, Saturday, January 14, 2023
Where: Thompson-Boling Arena, Knoxville, Tennessee
Officials: # Terry Oglesby, # Pat Adams, # Chuck Jones
Attendance: 21678

Antonio Reeves scored a team-high 18 points off the bench and Oscar Tshiebwe recorded his 50th career double-double as visiting Kentucky stunned No. 5 Tennessee 63-56 Saturday afternoon in Knoxville, Tenn.

Tshiebwe scored 15 points and grabbed 13 rebounds for the unranked Wildcats (11-6, 2-4 Southeastern Conference), who came into the game as significant underdogs after losing their previous two games.

Reeves' free throws with 12.9 seconds left gave the Wildcats a 61-56 cushion, and Jacob Toppin, who was a game-time decision after a shoulder injury, added two more free throws for the final points. CJ Fredrick also finished in double figures for the Wildcats with 13 points.

The loss ended a 25-game home winning streak for the Vols (14-3, 4-1 SEC), who got a huge game out of Uros Plavsic (career-high 19 points).

Tennessee was only 7 of 10 from the free-throw line to Kentucky's 22 of 25. The Wildcats also enjoyed a 43-23 rebounding advantage.

Down nine points just two minutes into the second half, the Vols caught the Wildcats at 41-41 on Tyreke Key's 3-pointer and took a brief 43-41 lead on Zakai Ziegler's driving layup.

It didn't last long as Reeves scored five quick points to put the Wildcats up 46-43. They led 53-50 at the under 4-minute media timeout on another Reeves' jumper.

Kentucky boosted that to 58-50 with 3:26 remaining, but a 6-0 Tennessee run -- including two baskets by Plavsic -- made it a 2-point game in the final minute before the Vols missed their last four shots.

Tennessee jumped out to an 8-0 lead in less than three minutes, but Kentucky responded with a 10-0 spurt as the Vols' scoring drought lasted for more than five minutes. Plavic's basket ignited a 5-for-5 shooting streak for the Vols, but that was immediately followed by a 1-for-8 stretch.

The Wildcats closed out the half by outscoring the Vols 12-3 over the final 4:15 for a 33-26 cushion. They enjoyed a 22-10 rebounding advantage for the half, though the Wildcats had only a 7-2 advantage in second-chance points.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Kentucky   Tennessee
Antonio Reeves 18 Scoring Uros Plavsic 19
Cason Wallace 6 Assists Zakai Zeigler 7
Oscar Tshiebwe 13 Rebounds Josiah-Jordan James 5
Antonio Reeves 8 Free Throws Made Santiago Vescovi 4
Adou Thiero 2 Steals Santiago Vescovi 4
Chris Livingston 1 Blocks Jonas Aidoo 1
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Kentucky 63 35.3 5-16 22-25 14 39 1 6 19
Tennessee 56 40.4 3-21 7-10 17 21 3 7 11