Kentucky went on the road and again prevented everyone from having to hear that atrocity that is Rocky Top. You're welcome, America.
The game itself was wild enough. After a furious comeback gave the Cats a 3-point lead with two seconds to go, Rick Barnes called a timeout to try to draw up a missed free-throw play that could give them the lead. It almost worked.
Gillespie's missed free throw leads to benches being cleared
As the ball hit the rim and came off, there was a wild scramble that led to a Jaylen Carey offensive rebound. He was stuck under the backboard with no time left and had to go up with it at an awkward angle. He was stuffed, and the buzzer sounded.
Kentucky had won, and maybe Otega Oweh let Nate Ament know about it. It looked like he was saying a little something.
Ament gave Oweh a little shove, nothing major. But then Carey came flying in and gave Oweh a nice two-hand shove that cleared both benches as coaches had to rush in to pull the teams apart. No punches were thrown, so there probably won't be any suspensions, but you get the idea that this may be revisited when the Vols come to Lexington on the 7th of next month.
FIGHT IN KNOXVILLE
— NCAA Buzzer Beaters & Game Winners (@NCAABuzzerBters) January 17, 2026
As the Clock hits zero and a scrum insures. Kentucky narrowly upsets #24 Tennessee 80-78 in a comeback win. Appears to be Jaylen Carey shoving Otega Oweh
pic.twitter.com/bk0J6Xlucp
Safe to say there is no love lost between these two programs, especially after the Vols ended the Cats' season in the Sweet 16 last year. This rivalry doesn't need a whole lot, but it just keeps getting hotter between the two border states. This is what basketball is about.
Now, Kentucky is 12-6 (3-2 SEC), while the No. 24 Vols fall to an identical 12-6, but drop to under .500 in the conference (2-3 SEC). This SEC race is going to be a slugfest, and it looks like the Cats won't be the ones backing down.