Facing its archrival in the Sweet 16, the second-seeded University of Tennessee men's basketball team controlled play from start to finish Friday night in a convincing 78-65 victory over third-seeded Kentucky.
Taking on a conference foe in the NCAA Tournament for the first time ever, sixth-ranked Tennessee (30-7, 12-6 SEC) trailed for just 32 seconds and led by as many as 19 points in front of 28,968 fans at Lucas Oil Stadium. Senior guard Zakai Zeigler led all players in points (18) and assists (10), to send the program to the Elite Eight for the third time ever and second in a row.
The Volunteers, behind seven early points from Zeigler, took a 17-7 lead after just 7:48 of action. They went on a 13-3 run over 4:37, aided by holding Kentucky (24-12, 10-8 SEC) without a point for 3:30. The Wildcats soon cut the margin to six, put Tennessee answered with a 6-0 burst in just 55 seconds—it included an assist by Zeigler to break the SEC single-season record—to go up by a dozen, 27-15, with 8:26 on the first-half timer.
Tennessee, buoyed by an 8-0 run in 2:31, extended its margin all the way to a game-best 19, 39-20, with 3:04 remaining in the session. The Volunteers, who had an 8-of-11 field-goal shooting stretch, went 5:09 without allowing a made field goal, including 4:13 during which they did not concede a point.
Kentucky closed the half with an 8-4 burst in the final 2:12, including a 7-2 count in the last 1:17 capped with a buzzer-beating 3-pointer, to make it a 15-point margin, 43-28, at the intermission. Zeigler scored 13 first-half points for Tennessee, which went 50.0 percent (16-of-32) from the field and 72.7 percent (8-of-11) at the line in the opening 20 minutes and had a 13-4 edge in second-chance points. The Wildcats had respective 38.5 percent (10-of-26) and 62.5 percent (5-of-8) shooting tallies at the other end.
Tennessee's advantage sat between 13 and 15 for all but 17 seconds—it was 17 during that time—of the first eight-and-half minutes of the second half. Kentucky got the cushion down to 12, 55-43, on a three-point play with 11:17 to go, but fifth-year guard Chaz Lanier drilled a 3-pointer just 39 seconds later to make it 15 again.
The Wildcats soon closed within 12 again, but Tennessee answered with five points—a putback dunk by junior forward Felix Okpara and a 3-pointer by Zeigler after a steal in the backcourt—in just six seconds to go ahead by 17, 65-48, with 8:37 left. A free throw on the next possession made it 66-48 just 48 ticks later.
Kentucky, behind a 7-of-8 field-goal stretch and a span of 3:37 during which the Volunteers did not make a field goal, trimmed its deficit to 13, 68-55, with 5:33 to go. Senior guard Jordan Gainey threw down a dunk 32 seconds later, Zeigler followed 40 seconds after that with a pair of free throws and Tennessee regained a 17-point advantage with just 4:21 on the clock.
The Volunteers stretched their lead to 18, 74-56, just 48 ticks after that. Kentucky notched nine of the final 13 points to make it a 13-point final margin, as Tennessee avenged its two regular season setbacks against the Wildcats. The victors led by double digits for the final 28:54, including by 12-plus for the last 25:34.
Zeigler posted his third-career NCAA Tournament double-double with points and assists, something no other Volunteer has done even once. It marked his second such outing in the last three games. The Long Island, N.Y., native shot 6-of-7 from the line and 2-of-6 on 3-pointers, adding one steal.
Fifth-year guard Chaz Lanier finished with 17 points, registering 11 in the second half. Gainey amassed 16 points, shooting 6-of-12 from the field and 3-of-4 at the line. Okpara had eight points on 4-of-5 shooting to go along with a game-high 11 rebounds, while senior guard Jahmai Mashack set a program NCAA Tournament record with a career-high-tying five steals.
Graduate guard Lamont Butler scored 18 points for Kentucky, matching Zeigler for the game lead. He paced the Wildcats with six rebounds, co-led the team with three assists and shot 4-of-5 beyond the arc, while the rest of the team was just 2-of-10.
Graduate center Amari Williams had 14 points and tied Butler with three assists. Junior guard Otega Oweh totaled 13 points in the setback.
The victory pushed Tennessee's win total to 30, the third time it has ever hit that mark and the second in the last seven years under head coach Rick Barnes, who also became Division I's active wins leader with the triumph.
Tennessee compiled a 14-7 edge on the offensive glass that led to a 19-5 margin in second-chance points. It also had a 23-6 ledger bench points and shot 50.9 percent (29-of-57) from the floor.
The Volunteers will take the Lucas Oil Stadium court Sunday at 2:20 p.m., live on CBS, for an Elite Eight matchup with top-seeded Houston.
