Kentucky used a late surge to complete a big comeback and get a massive 80-78 win over No. 24 Tennessee this afternoon in Knoxville.
The Cats (12-6, 3-2 SEC) fell behind by 17 points in the first half, but found a way to fight back and lock up a huge quad 1 win over the Vols.
Denzel Aberdeen led Kentucky with 22 points. The trio of Otega Oweh, Collin Chandler and Jasper Johnson scored 12 points each. Mo Dioubate chipped in 10 points and played a big part in matching Tennessee’s toughness in the paint.
Kentucky finally took the lead with 34.3 seconds to play in the game:
.@OtegaOweh AND-1 FOR THE LEAD
– ESPN pic.twitter.com/FVAFudC61t
— Kentucky Men’s Basketball (@KentuckyMBB) January 17, 2026
Things almost got ugly when the final horn sounded (Tennessee was salty!):
The benches had to be separated after Kentucky came back from 17 points down to defeat No. 24 Tennessee. pic.twitter.com/i5YQnDvWWt
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) January 17, 2026
Kentucky has a few days to recover then Texas comes to Lexington for a big game on Wednesday night.
