10 Numbers from Kentucky's upset of No. 5 Tennessee

MrsTylerKSR

Kentucky picked up a signature win when they needed it the most. Today’s 63-56 upset of No. 5 Tennessee in Knoxville marks the Cats’ first true road win of the season and the first Quad 1 victory. Both are huge for the resume. We’ll be breaking the win down all afternoon, starting with the box score.

Some numbers that stand out to me:

— 14: Assists by the Cats. Kentucky shot only 35% (18-51) from the floor but had 14 assists to go along with it. Keep in mind that happened without starting point guard Sahvir Wheeler, who was out with a shoulder injury, and limited minutes from Cason Wallace, who battled foul trouble. The Cats turned the ball over 19 times but were still able to pull off the win over the No. 5 team in the country.

— 43-23: Kentucky’s edge in rebounding. The Cats dominated the glass, with 13 offensive rebounds to Tennessee’s four.

— 12: Second-chance points for Kentucky. Tennessee only had 4.

— 8-0: Tennessee’s run to start the game. Thankfully, it was followed up by…

— 13-2: Kentucky’s ensuing run to take a 13-10 lead at the 11:46 mark, the Cats’ first lead since the win over LSU on Jan. 3.

— 88%: Kentucky’s free-throw percentage. Coming into this game, the Cats were shooting 65.6% from the line. Today, they made 22-25, many of them coming in the final minutes. HUGE.

— 40.4%: Tennessee’s field-goal percentage. The Vols came into the game averaging 44.2% from the floor. Kentucky played its best defense of the season today.

— 24: Bench points for Kentucky. With Sahvir Wheeler and Daimion Collins both out, the bench was huge for the Cats. With Cason Wallace in foul trouble, Adou Thiero logged 13 minutes at point guard.

— 0: Points by Cason Wallace, which makes the fact that the Cats still won even more remarkable.

— 50: Career double-doubles for Oscar Tshiebwe. He had 15 points and 13 rebounds today.