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Tennessee basketball: Five best things about Vols’ dominant win vs. Kentucky

By Caleb Calhoun

Tennessee guard Josiah-Jordan James (30) with a dunk during the NCAA college basketball game between the Kentucky Wildcats and Tennessee Volunteers in Knoxville, Tenn. on Tuesday, February 15, 2022.Px Uthoops Kentucky
Tennessee guard Josiah-Jordan James (30) with a dunk during the NCAA college basketball game between the Kentucky Wildcats and Tennessee Volunteers in Knoxville, Tenn. on Tuesday, February 15, 2022.Px Uthoops Kentucky /
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Feb 15, 2022; Knoxville, Tennessee, USA; Tennessee Volunteers guard Kennedy Chandler (1) goes to the basket against the Kentucky Wildcats during the first half at Thompson-Boling Arena. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 15, 2022; Knoxville, Tennessee, USA; Tennessee Volunteers guard Kennedy Chandler (1) goes to the basket against the Kentucky Wildcats during the first half at Thompson-Boling Arena. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports /

3. Impressiveness of the victory

Hey, looking good matters. In this case, Tennessee basketball looked great. The Vols were on a mission to prove they are one of the best teams in the nation, and beating Kentucky the way they beat them did more than prove it. They were impressive the whole way.

The Vols shot 8-of-17 from three. Four players scored double figures. They only committed eight turnovers. Kennedy Chandler looked like the five-star he is with 17 points. Santiago Vescovi dominated with 18 points. John Fulkerson was the veteran with 14 points. Zakai Zeigler was the scrappy guard with 14 points.

In the process, UT won its first game against a top five opponent since the 2018-2019 season.  After that 17-1 run early in the first half, they never trailed. They won the game by 13 and led by as many as 20 in the second half. For a program that got blown out by this same team back in January, this is a dramatic turnaround.

Up to this point, Kentucky’s worst loss was by eight points, on the road against the Auburn Tigers. Now it’s to UT. You can bring up Tyty Washington Jr.’s injury. The counter to that is the fact that Tennessee basketball was without starter Olivier Nkamhoua and will be for the rest of the year. There’s no way to hide how impressive this win was.

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