Tennessee looked for revenge and earned it: "This game was personal."

Tennessee got punked in Lexington, falling to Kentucky in blowout fashion on January 15 — exactly one month to the day from the Wildcats’ trip to Knoxville. It was a matchup in which UK put up 107 total points, the most any team has scored vs. the Volunteers in 15 years.

This time around, though, it was Kentucky on the receiving end of the punking, with the Wildcats falling 76-63 in Knoxville. UT would shoot 44.4 percent from the field and 47.1 percent from three while holding UK to just 34.3 percent shooting overall and 31.3 percent from three. The Volunteers also forced 14 turnovers, had six more assists, nine more points off the bench and seven more blocks.

Leading 32:37 of the game, the Volunteers clobbered the Wildcats on both ends of the floor from start to finish. In a matchup where Tennessee desperately craved revenge, it was most certainly earned.

“This game was personal, honestly,” Tennessee freshman standout Kennedy Chandler said after the win. “We came out in Lexington and we didn’t play our best. I felt like Kentucky thought that’s the team we were. I felt like this second time, we played like the team we are.”

The Volunteers led by as many as 20 points in the second half, with four different Volunteers finishing with at least 14 points. Santiago Vescovi led the way with 18, followed by Chandler with 17 and Zakai Zeigler and John Fulkerson both with 14. Compare that to last time around when four different Wildcats finished in double figures in TyTy Washington (28), Sahvir Wheeler (21), Kellan Grady (16) and Davion Mintz (10).

It was UT who looked the part as an SEC juggernaut, one fighting for a spot near the top of the conference standings, not UK. The Volunteers flipped the script, just as they intended to do.

“We were capable of being a better team than we were when we played up there,” Chandler added. “I feel like they took us for granted. We came out and we didn’t let up. What Coach (Rick) Barnes and I were saying the whole time was, ‘Just don’t let up and keep it going. Never give up’. We just kept pushing. They made their runs, and they didn’t give up. They made their runs, but we had to finish out strong.”

What worked for Tennessee on Tuesday compared to the head-to-head matchup in Lexington back in January? The costly mistakes they made in game one were avoided in game two while defensive intensity also ramped up.

“We knew that you can’t let a team have 32 points off of turnovers,” Barnes said. “We were much better defensively tonight, much more sound throughout possessions. Had some chances (at Kentucky) to have some good possessions, but we broke down at the very end. We did not have a lot of breakdowns tonight. But, overall, I think that everyone that came to the game made a major contribution.”

Everyone, including fans covering every available square inch of Thompson-Boling Arena by the time the 9 p.m. ET opening tip rolled around. It was a hostile environment unlike many in the SEC, an ear-piercing experience from the jump. The ultimate momentum shifter — and keeper.

That’s to be expected, especially in one of college basketball’s “great rivalries,” as Barnes made clear after the win.

“I think our fans were ready from the get-go,” Barnes said. “Before I ever came out tonight, (UT assistant coach) Rod Clark told me, ‘Boy it’s electric out there.’ And you expect it to be, it’s one of the great rivalries in college basketball—you expect it. We expect it when we go up there, I know they expect it coming in here. …

“This building, I’m partial, but I think it’s the best. I mean, everybody talks about the blue bloods, I mean the orange bloods are right there. Our fans, I mean tonight it was special, but there’s a lot of games this year where our fans have just been spectacular. Our players feed off of it, there’s no question about that, absolutely—they love it, they appreciate the support.”

With the victory, Tennessee has now won five straight games and eight of its last nine. It’s a stretch that has carried the Vols into the top ten of the BPI (No. 7), NET (No. 9) and KenPom (No. 10).

The turning point? You guessed it, the team’s blowout loss at Kentucky.

“It was frustrating, they beat us by 30,” freshman forward Jonas Aidoo said. “I’m just like, ‘wow, I know that’s better than we are when we played them then.” This is a statement win. … It feels great, but we’re still not done, still not satisfied. The end goal is SEC championship and national championship.”

“We’re showing everyone who we are, who we truly are,” Chandler added. “We’re showing the type of team we can be. Coming into this game, people knew we lost to Kentucky by 30. Last time we played them, they made a statement. We wanted Kentucky to know we’re not that team. We’re not the same team that came to their place, we’re a different team. We showed who we really are, showed the whole world the type of team we can be.”

Statement made.

What does it mean for Kentucky? For starters, the sky isn’t falling. The Wildcats are still tied for second in the SEC and ranked No. 3 overall in the latest NET, KenPom and BPI rankings. It’s a resume that includes zero bad losses and five Quad 1 victories, with four more such opportunities on the table to close out the regular season.

Kentucky got punked in Knoxville, but it did so playing against a team desperate for revenge in one of the most hostile environments in the SEC, with injuries again making a clear impact. The team with realistic title hopes and expectations remains; one loss isn’t going to make or break the season. It does, however, put pressure on the Wildcats to execute down the stretch in a string of games that includes vs. Alabama, vs. LSU, at Arkansas and at Florida to close out the season. The cushion is no longer there.

Tennessee proved it wasn’t the team we saw in Lexington back on Jan. 15. Now, Kentucky has to again prove it’s not the team we saw Tuesday evening in Knoxville.