Tennessee is heading back to the Elite Eight as defense clamps down in 78-65 win over Kentucky

Those two regular-season losses to Kentucky don’t mean anything to Tennessee now.

The Volunteers avenged them in convincing fashion on the big stage of the NCAA Tournament on Friday night, posting a no-doubt 78-65 victory that sent them to a second consecutive Elite Eight.

Zakai Zeigler had 18 points and 10 assists, and Tennessee outhustled and outplayed Kentucky on both ends of the court. The second-seeded Vols (30-7) beat their border rival in the first all-Southeastern Conference Sweet 16 matchup since 1986 and will play No. 1 seed Houston (33-4) on Sunday in the Midwest Region final.

“We really wanted to set the tone and show them who we were,” Zeigler said. “The first two times we played them at their place and our place. We knew regardless of what happened, we were going to go out and play Tennessee basketball on the offensive and defensive end, and I feel like we did that great tonight.”

No one enjoyed the show at Lucas Oil Stadium more than Peyton Manning, who was back in the town where he spent 13 years and won a Super Bowl with the Indianapolis Colts. The Vols’ most famous sports alum was in a bright orange ballcap seated behind the bench as Tennessee ran off with the win in the “House Peyton Built.”

Lamont Butler scored 18 points to lead first-year coach Mark Pope’s third-seeded Wildcats (24-12), who were held 20 points under their season scoring average. Their 65 points matched their fewest in a game this season.

“It’s hard to talk about basketball right now,” Pope said. “Congratulations to Tennessee. They played really hard and really well. I have a ton of respect for coach (Rick) Barnes. Mostly, we’re just sad that this is over.”

The Vols did what they failed to do in their first two meetings with Kentucky, when they lost 78-73 at home and 75-64 in Lexington. They’ve been one of the best in the nation at defending the 3-pointer, yet the Wildcats shot 12 of 24 on 3s in each of those games.

It was apparent early the Vols weren’t going to let the Wildcats put up 3s at will again. Kentucky finished 6 of 15 from distance.

The Vols were in full control by the middle of the first half, using relentless defense and attacking the glass to generate offense and build a 19-point lead.

They scored 13 second-chance points off nine offensive rebounds on their way to a 43-28 lead at the half, only the second time Kentucky has been held under 30 points in a first half this season. Barnes is now 15-0 in the NCAA Tournament when up by 10 or more at halftime.

The Vols picked up where they left off at the start the second half, forcing a shot-clock violation and an airball 3 by Koby Brea on Kentucky’s first two possessions. Their effort on the boards continued, too. They finished with 19 points on 14 offensive rebounds.

The Vols all but finished off the victory with under nine minutes to play after Butler cut the lead to 12. Felix Okpara chased down his missed shot and dunked it, and Lanier made a steal and passed to Ziegler. The 5-foot-9 Zeigler hit a 3 from the wing and then looked up and held a stare at the 6-10 Brandon Garrison, who was the nearest defender.

“It felt like we were playing Tennessee basketball, playing aggressive, playing smart all-around,” Okpara said.

Takeaways

Kentucky: The Wildcats maxed out — some would say overachieved — in Pope’s first season. They returned no production from a year ago. Pope brought in nine transfers and they led Kentucky to the second weekend of the tournament for the first time since 2019.

Tennessee: The Vols are one win away from reaching the Final Four for the first time. While they’ve built a reputation as one of the nation’s top defensive teams, their offense can’t be overlooked. They shot 51% from the field against Kentucky and are getting big contributions from sixth man Gainey.

Kentucky’s Indy woes continue

This was the fourth time in 11 years the Wildcats took a big loss in Indianapolis.

In 2015, they took a 38-0 record into their Final Four matchup at Lucas Oil Stadium and lost 71-64 to Wisconsin. They began the 2018-19 season with a 118-84 loss to Duke in a top-five matchup at nearby Gainbridge Fieldhouse, and three years later they lost their NCAA Tournament opener to No. 15 seed Saint Peter’s 85-79 in overtime at Gainbridge.

Good vibes for Vols

The Vols are having lots of fun in Indianapolis, on and off the court. Los Angeles Lakers rookie Dalton Knecht, who played at Tennessee, got the team into a Gainbridge Fieldhouse suite to watch Wednesday’s game against the Indiana Pacers. And then they had Manning — there’s a statue of him outside Lucas Oil Stadium — cheering them on.

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