The Kentucky Wildcats put five players in double figures to snap a four-game losing streak in Knoxville as the Wildcats rolled to a 77-64 win over Tennessee on Saturday at Thompson-Boling Arena.
Immanuel Quickley led the Wildcats with 18 points, while Tyrese Maxey and Nick Richards finished with 15 points each. Johnny Juzang and Ashton Hagans added 13 and 10 points, respectively.
Juzang, a 6-foot-6 shooting guard, finished in double figures for the first time, going a perfect 3/3 from behind the three-point arc. Keion Brooks also provided a huge spark off the bench with four points and nine rebounds in 26 minutes.
With the win, No. 15th-ranked Kentucky moves into a three-way tie for first place in the SEC as the Wildcats now share an 8-2 league record with LSU and Auburn, who faced each other on Saturday, with the Tigers winning 91-90 in overtime.
Kentucky’s climb to the top of the SEC standings is largely due to clutch free throw shooting as the Cats entered Saturday’s game as the conference leader in team free throw percentage at 78.3%. Against the Vols, UK was 22/25 (88%) and Quickley continued his run as one of the nation’s top performers from the charity stripe with a 6-for-7 performance.
Kentucky, now 18-5, returns to action on Tuesday night at 7:00 pm EST in Nashville against Vanderbilt.
After the game, UK head coach John Calipari and select players discussed the Cats’ first win in Knoxville since 2015. Here is a recap of what they had to say, courtesy of UK Athletics.