Tennessee basketball: Ranking Vols 10 homes wins vs. top 5 Kentucky teams
3. Jan. 5, 1980
Tennessee basketball entered this game with the Kentucky Wildcats in Don DeVoe’s second year led by Reggie Johnson. Dale Ellis was coming into his own as a freshman. Just like they would be two years later, the Vols were 8-3 and coming off a road win over the Ole Miss Rebels.
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Kentucky, meanwhile, was 12-1. They lost their opener in overtime to the Duke Blue Devils but since then had beaten the No. 3 ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish and top-ranked Indiana Hoosiers. So they looked elite.
The Vols, however, were not phased. In a defensive struggle, they went up 27-21 at halftime. Kentucky fought back in the second half, and in a back and forth game, the two were tied at 47-all with two seconds to go.
Howard Wood, who led the team in scoring on the day with 14 points, got his final bucket by hitting a baseline jumper. He had 8 rebounds too. The Vols then defended one last Kentucky prayer to score the upset. Such a quality win was huge to get this team into the NCAA Tournament with a 17-10 finish, and they even won a game there to finish 18-11.
Kevin Nash helped Wood dominate down low. He scored 12 points, and together the two played great interior defense. That was a big reason they won, making this the prettiest ugly win in the history of the series.