Tennessee basketball

Tennessee fell behind by 20 at Kentucky on Saturday, losing to the Wildcats for the second time this season.

Mashack continues to rise for the Vols in the past week. He hit a 3-pointer in the initial 7-0 stretch and got rolling. He turned in more offense against Kentucky and was Tennessee's most steady threat. The Vols got within eight multiple times. If you enjoy Mike’s coverage, [consider a digital subscription ](https://cm.knoxnews.com/specialoffer/?gps-source=CPNEWS&utm)that will allow you access to all of it. Email him at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @ [ByMikeWilson](https://twitter.com/ByMikeWilson). He hit multiple second-half 3-pointers and began breaking down defenders off the dribble, which he hasn't done consistently this season. Kentucky (18-9, 9-5) had a 19-point edge at the free-throw line. Santiago Vescovi carried the offense in the second half with 17 second-half points. The Vols played an atrocious first half and were on their way to another loss to Kentucky. UT had a brutal stretch after Plavsic missed one and it missed three straight putback attempts. 11 Tennessee (20-7, 9-5 SEC) mounted a second-half comeback, but never got closer than eight points.

Statistical leaders and box score from the UK Wildcats' NCAA college basketball game vs. the Tennessee Volunteers on Feb. 18, 2023.

Turnovers: Oscar Tshiebwe, Cason Wallace, 3 Points: Cason Wallace, Oscar Tshiebwe, 16 The unranked Wildcats defeated the 10th-ranked Volunteers 66-54.

Kentucky basketball beat Tennessee, currently ranked No. 10 in the Associated Press poll, for the second time this season with its win at Rupp Arena.

5 Volunteers](https://www.courier-journal.com/story/sports/college/kentucky/2023/01/14/kentucky-vs-tennessee-college-basketball-game-cats-upset-no-5-vols/69774519007/) 63-56 at Thompson-Boling Arena. [John Calipari](https://www.courier-journal.com/story/sports/college/kentucky/2022/06/22/uk-basketball-mitch-barnhart-responds-john-calipari-facility-push/7533496001/) is 17-12 against Tennessee as Kentucky's coach. The win was crucial: [It put UK (17-9, 8-5 SEC) back into the NCAA Tournament in the latest projections.](https://www.courier-journal.com/story/sports/college/kentucky/2023/02/14/bracketology-2023-kentucky-ncaa-tournament-projections-after-losses/69896026007/) The Volunteers come to town fresh off [an upset of top-ranked Alabama](https://www.knoxnews.com/story/sports/college/university-of-tennessee/mens-basketball/2023/02/15/tennessee-basketball-alabama-score-upset-win/69871601007/) Wednesday night in Knoxville, Tennessee. 10 Tennessee](https://utsports.com/sports/mens-basketball/schedule/2022-23) (20-6, 9-4) would further enhance the Wildcats' tournament résumé. These 5 set the standard](https://www.courier-journal.com/story/sports/college/kentucky/2022/11/14/kentucky-basketball-recruiting-best-classes-rankings-john-calipari-dj-wagner/69645281007/) [Who are Kentucky men's basketball's all-time coaching wins leaders?](https://www.courier-journal.com/story/sports/college/kentucky/2022/12/29/kentucky-basketball-who-are-the-wildcats-10-winningest-coaches/69671040007/) [The 2012 University of Kentucky men's championship basketball team](https://www.courier-journal.com/story/sports/college/basketball/2022/12/28/2012-university-kentucky-basketball-uk-2022-ncaa-championship-nba-update/69655171007/) [Reed Sheppard among Kentucky basketball signees named to 2023 McDonald's All-American Game](https://www.courier-journal.com/story/sports/college/kentucky/2023/01/24/mcdonalds-all-american-game-roster-2023-kentucky-basketball-recruiting/69837834007/) [CJ Fredrick](https://www.courier-journal.com/story/sports/college/kentucky/2022/07/15/kentucky-basketball-c-j-fredrick-could-be-caliparis-best-shooter/10027735002/) and [Sahvir Wheeler](https://www.courier-journal.com/story/sports/college/kentucky/2022/07/29/kentucky-basketball-savhir-wheeler-big-year-ahead-chin-coleman-says/10056417002/) the past two games because of injuries. [What to know about the rest of the Kentucky men's basketball team's 2022-23 schedule](https://www.courier-journal.com/story/sports/college/kentucky/2022/06/16/kentucky-basketball-schedule-confirmed-games-2022-23-season/7647045001/) [These players have signed to the Wildcats' 2023 class](https://www.courier-journal.com/story/sports/college/recruiting/2022/06/28/kentucky-basketball-recruiting-2023-class-commitments/7745684001/)

After a very poor first half shooting the ball from both teams, Kentucky leads Tennessee 39 to 19. In the first meeting this season between these two teams, ...

Kentucky made a major leap on the right side of the March Madness bubble Saturday after beating 10th-ranked Tennessee, 66-54, at Rupp Arena — just days ...

Kentucky overcame a sluggish start of its own before hitting 9 of its next 14 shots to push it early lead to 27-12 last in the opening half. [Get the fastest scores, stats, news, LIVE videos, and more. 1 Alabama's its first SEC loss of the season.

Jordan Walker is one of seven Lady Vols basketball seniors this season. Here's what she said her career at Tennessee meant to her.

"You go through a lot and you fall down, but how are you going to get back up?" So I'm just excited to see you know what we'll do for the rest of this season, SEC tournament and further than that." Walker utilized her extra year of eligibility due to the COVID-19 pandemic to play this season. "She didn't do that with magic, she didn't do that with, honestly, a huge personality," Harper said Saturday. The way things aligned for her to join the Lady Vols (19-9, 11-2 SEC) is something that still resonates with Walker, who will participate in senior day with six of her teammates before they play Auburn (14-11, 4-9) on Sunday (noon ET, ESPN2). I'm thankful to God for placing me here and just ordering my steps and making sure that is where I ended up, because it's something I've always dreamed of."