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Tennessee Basketball: Vols Stun No. 20 Ranked Kentucky Wildcats

By Caleb Calhoun

Feb 2, 2016; Knoxville, TN, USA; Tennessee Volunteers guard Kevin Punter (0) and Tennessee Volunteers guard Robert Hubbs III (3) guard Kentucky Wildcats guard Isaiah Briscoe (13) during the first half at Thompson-Boling Arena. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 2, 2016; Knoxville, TN, USA; Tennessee Volunteers guard Kevin Punter (0) and Tennessee Volunteers guard Robert Hubbs III (3) guard Kentucky Wildcats guard Isaiah Briscoe (13) during the first half at Thompson-Boling Arena. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports /
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Tennessee basketball scored a huge upset win over the No. 20 ranked Kentucky Wildcats Tuesday night. The Volunteers came back from 21 down to win 84-77.

Armani Moore had 18 points and 13 rebounds and Kevin Punter had 27 points as the Tennessee Vols overcame a 34-13 first-half deficit to shock the No. 20 ranked Kentucky Wildcats 84-77 on Tuesday evening.

The win was Rick Barnes’s biggest since he took over the program, surpassing the elating win over South Carolina two Saturdays ago.

That makes for two ranked teams the Vols have beaten as they moved to 11-11 on the year, a record that could be a heck of a lot better had they not blown so many leads.

But this game was the reverse. Nothing is sweeter than shocking John Calipari and Kentucky, and that’s just what Tennessee did.

After being down by 21 points, the Vols finally got a spark from a three-pointer by Detrick Mostella with right at five minutes to go in the first half. Mostella had 13 points off the bench.

Tennessee used that to spur a 23-8 run to close the half down only 42-36. And they took that momentum into the second half, taking their first lead in the game with just over 14 minutes left off of another three-pointer from Mostella.

That gave the Vols a 56-54 lead, and then both teams traded buckets for a bit until a three-pointer by Moore tied it at 63 and a shot by Robert Hubbs III gave them the lead for good at 65-63 with just under 10 minutes left.

Hubbs was relegated to the bench in this game because of his play last week but responded admirably with 8 points. Admiral Schofield helped Moore boost the post game by putting up 11 points and 8 rebounds.

The guard play of Kentucky kept the team in the game with Tyler Ullis and Jamal Murray both reaching the 20-point mark. But Tennessee shockingly won in the post game with Schofield and Moore.

True to the law of averages rule with this team, Tennessee shot 8-of-19 from three, just beyond 41 percent, and they hit 30 of 34 free throws. The free throws and three-pointers were good for 54 of their 84 points.

If they can keep it at that number and draw fouls the way they are supposed to, they can beat anybody. But they also benefitted from a Kentucky team that struggles on the road.

Still, a second win against a Top 25 team is a very good win in Barnes’s first year.

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