Are you kidding me?
Kentucky stuns Tennessee, who was ranked number 5 in the country. It was the first time in history that an unranked Kentucky team went on the road and beat a top-5 SEC team. It was the first time that an unranked UK team had beaten a team ranked number-5 since March 28, 2014, when the Cats beat Louisville 74-69 in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament.
I didn't watch the game, so I have no idea what happened. It is simply the latest strange entry in one of the strangest rivalries in college basketball. John Wall in 2010, Malik Monk in 2017, Tyler Herro in 2019, and Oscar Tshiebwe last year -- all those guys lost in Knoxville. Jodie Meeks in 2009 (Billy G's last team), Team COVID in 2021 (which finished 9-16), and Oscar Tshiebwe this year -- all those guys won in Knoxville.
Last year, Tennessee did a lot to throw UK's season off the rails. On February 15, the Cats were ranked number 4 in the country, went to Knoxville, and got pounded: 76-63, and it wasn't that close. Then UK had a chance for revenge in the SEC Semi-Finals, and they were dominated: 69-62, and it wasn't that close. The Cats never recovered from that loss -- their next game was the loss to St. Peter's, and it's pretty much been downhill ever since. Until today.
UK's offense still wasn't very good -- the Cats were 13-35 from 2-point range and 5-16 from 3-point range. They also had 19 turnovers. But they did go 22-25 from the line, and they outrebounded UT 43-23. Meanwhile, the Vols had a nightmare game at the other end: 20-36 from 2-point range, but only 3-21 from 3-point range and only 7-10 from the line.
I'm sure that the UT fans will complain about the officiating -- 24 fouls on UT, 18 on UK, Tshiebwe got to play 39 minutes, while UT's Plavsic fouled out in 25 minutes. But to me, that just means that for once, the officials called it straight in Knoxville. I've long suspected that in the SEC, the whistle tends to favor the underdog. If we got that benefit today, I can only say that it's about time.
This is also the point where I remind you that no Kentucky team has ever won the National Championship without winning in Knoxville. (In 1978, UK had to win there twice -- once against Tennessee, and once against Florida State). So this year's team has that going for them -- which is nice.
