Kentucky secures another big win, knocking off No. 11 Tennessee at home

LEXINGTON, Ky. — Three timelines collided Saturday afternoon at Rupp Arena.

Kentucky’s storied past. Its suspenseful present. And what appears to be a bright future.

The present: UK had its way with No. 11 Tennessee, dominating its border state rival en route to a 66-54 victory. 

The win gave the Wildcats (18-9, 9-5 SEC) a regular-season sweep of the Volunteers — both featuring a Tennessee team ranked among the top 10 in the Associated Press poll at the time of the games. It also was Kentucky’s second Quad 1 win — the contests that are the most crucial factor in determining a team’s NCAA worthiness — in four days, following Wednesday’s 71-68 victory over Mississippi State in Starkville, Mississippi.

Saturday was a performance befitting the Wildcats’ teams from 1996 through 1998, honored during halftime. Those squads advanced to three straight Final Fours, appeared in a trio of national championship games and won titles in the first and last seasons of that illustrious run. Saturday’s convincing victory is also representative of what Kentucky (18-9, 9-5 SEC) hopes is in store next season, when the nation’s top-ranked recruiting class comes to town. One of those signees, Justin Edwards of Philadelphia, was in attendance along with more than 20,000 members of the Wildcat faithful at Rupp Arena.

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During a break in the action in the first half, Edwards walked to midcourt, with the crowd welcoming the future Wildcat with a standing ovation.

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