FINAL: Kentucky takes down No. 4 Tennessee in regular-season finale, secures SEC Tournament double-bye

Kentucky did everything in its power to gift Tennessee a win in the closing two minutes, but the Wildcats made enough free throws down the stretch to leave Knoxville with a massive victory in the regular-season finale.

On Saturday afternoon in Thompson-Boling Arena, the No. 15 Wildcats (23-8; 13-5 SEC) secured a double-bye in next week’s SEC Tournament by sneaking out an 85-81 win over the No. 4 Volunteers (24-7; 14-4 SEC). Despite 40 points from Tennessee’s Dalton Knecht, Kentucky was able to limit the rest of the Volunteers while Antonio Reeves and Reed Sheppard both finished with 27 points a piece. Justin Edwards also chipped in 16 points and six rebounds for the ‘Cats.

As a team, Kentucky shot 45.8 percent from the floor and went 15-29 from long range. After shooting just two free throws in the first half, UK went 15-16 from the line after halftime. Kentucky turned the ball over 16 times compared to Tennessee’s seven but won the rebounding battle 42-37 and held every Vol not named Knecht to a combined 31.1 percent shooting.

It was a slugfest in Knoxville early on as physicality was the name of the game in the opening minutes. The score was knotted 4-4 at the first media timeout as Kentucky was quickly tagged with three fouls — a common theme through the first few segments. Reeves was the first Wildcat to get rolling, canning a pair of triples sandwiched around a third from Sheppard that gave UK an 18-12 lead midway through the half.

Edwards was the next Kentucky player to find his rhythm. The freshman, who is turning the corner as of late, drilled back-to-back-to-back three-pointers in under a three-minute span, the final one giving UK an 11-point lead, 31-20, with 2:45 left in the half. Unfortunately, the ‘Cats made just one field goal the rest of the way, a layup from Reeves with 16 seconds until the break.

Meanwhile, Knecht was doing everything he could to keep the Volunteers alive, although nothing was coming easy for the All-American candidate. He poured in 19 of Tennessee’s 29 first-half points while getting to the line a handful of times, but the veteran shot just 5-12 from the field.

At the intermission, Kentucky held a 33-29 lead but had already racked up 11 fouls with five different Wildcats receiving two. UT went 9-13 from the free-throw line in the first 20 minutes while UK was 1-2. However, holding Tennessee to just 25 percent shooting overall was the key to the opening half. Neither Ugonna Onyenso nor Adou Thiero had a point at the break, but both blocked two shots each to set the tone defensively, which continued throughout most of the first half.

Tennessee kicked off the second half with a three-pointer to make it a one-point game, but the ‘Cats immediately countered with five straight points. Although Kentucky continued to rack up fouls, their outside shooting pushed the lead back out to double-digits. A Sheppard three was followed by one from Reeves, putting UK in front by a dozen.

The offensive onslaught didn’t slow down from there, either. Reeves was fouled on a three and hit all of the freebies. Sheppard then hit another triple about a minute later before Edwards drilled one more for good measure the next time down. Just like that, Kentucky held a 60-46 advantage as Tennessee was forced into a timeout with 11:53 left in the ball game.

Tennessee wouldn’t go away that easily though. After another flurry of triples from Sheppard and Rob Dillingham, the Vols rattled off a 9-0 run thanks to a trio of makes from deep. It took just 93 seconds for Kentucky’s lead to go from 14 down to five. Knecht was now up to 34 points at this point.

The Volunteers kept hanging around the next few possessions. But Kentucky was able to deliver the biggest blow of the game down the stretch. Back-to-back three-pointers from Sheppard pushed UK’s advantage back out to 11 points. Knecht would hit the 40-point mark the next possession, but Tennessee was still down nine with 2:20 to go.

Sheppard and DJ Wagner both hit a pair of free throws down the stretch, giving Kentucky an 84-73 lead with 55 seconds left. Sheppard didn’t make it easy for UK though. After a three by the Vols, he turned the ball over in the backcourt, which led to a Tennessee and-one. Suddenly, it was just a five-point edge for the ‘Cats with plenty of time on the clock.

The turnovers kept coming too. Another miscue allowed Tennessee to get back to the free-throw line, cutting the lead down to three. One more UK turnover gave the Vols a shot at tying the game, but Josiah Jordan-James missed a clean look with 11 seconds in regulation. Dillingham was then fouled by UT. He missed the first freebie but made the second to put away Tennessee for good.