No. 4 Kentucky Upset by No. 16 Tennessee Behind Santiago Vescovi's 18 Points

The No. 4 Kentucky men's basketball team suffered a 76-63 upset loss to No. 16 Tennessee on Tuesday. The Wildcats fell to 21-5 and 10-3 in the SEC after their six-game win streak came to an end.

The Volunteers earned their fifth straight victory to improve to 19-6 and 10-3 against conference opponents. They haven't lost to Kentucky twice in the same season since 2012.

Tennessee was led by junior guard Santiago Vescovi's 18 points. Kennedy Chandler added 17 points and six assists, while John Fulkerson and Zakai Zeigler scored 14 points apiece off the bench.

It was a combination of strong defense and efficient shooting that did the job for the Volunteers. Tennessee jumped out to a 46-32 lead at halftime and never looked back. When the Wildcats cut the lead to eight in the second half, Tennessee went on a 15-3 run to push its advantage to 20 and put the game away.

The Volunteers shot 47.1 percent from beyond the arc and played a clean game with just eight turnovers, a sharp improvement from their first meeting earlier this season. Meanwhile, Kentucky was held to 34.3 percent from the field and 31.3 percent from three-point range. The Wildcats also had a hard time taking care of the ball, posting 14 turnovers against 11 assists.

Oscar Tshiebwe led Kentucky with 13 points and 15 rebounds but shot 5-of-15 from the field. Jacob Toppin and Davion Mintz were the only other players on the team to score in double figures at 11 points apiece.

The Volunteers will go for another win against a ranked opponent when they travel to take on No. 23 Arkansas in a road matchup Saturday. The Wildcats will look to bounce back that same day at home against No. 25 Alabama.