Grant Williams: '[Win over Kentucky] got us back to the team that we are' Grant Williams: '[Win over Kentucky] got us back to the team that we are' Tennessee made a statement on Saturday. The Volunteers knocked off the Kentucky Wildcats by a score of 71-52, avenging the loss they suffered a few weeks ago in Lexington. Tennessee improved to 14-2 in the SEC with the win, while Kentucky dropped to 13-3. The Vols helped their chances to earn a 1-seed come Selection Sunday with the victory. The Wildcats struggled mightily offensively. Tennessee's defense deserves a lot of credit; it held Kentucky to 0.79 points per possession, easily its lowest mark of the season. P.J. Washington was the only Wildcat to reach double figures in scoring. FINAL STATS: TENNESSEE TOPS KENTUCKY Jordan Bone was the star of the game for Tennessee, scoring 27 points on 5-of-5 from 3-point range. That's the position that won the Vols the game. Ashton Hagans is known as one of the best defensive point guards in the country, and wreaked havoc in the first matchup. That wasn't the case on Saturday. Bone got to his spots and was on absolute fire from deep. LSU squeaked one out against Alabama earlier in the day, so the Tigers and Vols are tied at 14-2 atop the conference. But, if you'll recall, LSU beat Tennessee last weekend and the two programs only square off once this season. The regular season title is looking like the Tigers' to lose, but Saturday's win could vault the Volunteers back into the 1 seed conversation come Selection Sunday. LSU has Florida and Vanderbilt remaining on its schedule. Tennessee will face Mississippi State and Auburn. Scroll below to catch up on anything you may have missed from the game. Kentucky-Tennessee: Time, TV channel Round Two between the Vols and the Wildcats is set for a 2 p.m. ET tip-off on Saturday, March 2, from Knoxville, Tenn. The game will be shown on CBS with Ian Eagle, Bill Rafferty, Grant Hill and Tracy Wolfson on the call. Kentucky-Tennesse: Preview The outcome of this game will likely have a massive impact on the SEC standings, who wins the league’s regular season title and who’s seeded where in the SEC tournament. Tennessee, Kentucky and LSU are in a three-way tie atop the SEC with 13-2 conference records. The loser gets knocked down a peg with just two more regular season games left, while the winner stays on top. THIS IS MARCH: 5 teams that could be Cinderella's in 2019 Kentucky and Tennessee last met on Feb. 16 and the Wildcats captured an 86-69 win in Lexington. Since then, the Vols have gone 2-1, losing only to LSU, and the Wildcats have won three straight. In that first meeting, the Vols shot just 28 percent from 3-point range and reigning SEC Player of the Year Grant Williams attempted just four shots from the floor. Tennessee is No. 7 in the AP Poll this week, while Kentucky is No. 4. In the NET, Kentucky is fifth while Tennessee is seventh. In KenPom, Kentucky is sixth while Tennessee is eighth, though the Vols are ranked third in adjusted offensive efficiency, per KenPom. WATCH: Rick Barnes recalls every emotion felt during March Madness While Kentucky holds a 52-50 all-time record against Tennessee when playing in Knoxville, the Vols have never lost at home to Wildcats under the tenure of Rick Barnes. A win Saturday would make the Vols 2-2 this season against Top 5 opponents, stretch the Vols’ home win streak to 25 games, and preserve Tennessee’s perfect home record this season. THE BRACKET: Print the official 2019 March Madness bracket Stats Kentucky Tennessee Record (SEC) 24-4 (13-2) 25-3 (13-2) AP ranking No. 4 No. 7 NET ranking No. 5 No. 7 PPG 78.0 83.2 Points allowed 64.9 68.1 FG percentage 48.0 50.5 Def. FG percentage 40.2 39.4 Scoring leader (ppg) PJ Washington (15.0) Grant Williams (19.1) Rebounding leader (rpg) PJ Washington (7.9) Grant Williams (7.6) Assists leader (apg) Ashton Hagans (4.3) Jordan Bone (6.2) Kentucky-Tennessee: Score, live updates, highlights<doc-sep>Tennessee served up a sampling of Kentucky's own medicine Saturday, handing the Wildcats a 71-52 beatdown at Thompson-Boling Arena only two weeks removed from Kentucky smashing the Vols at Rupp Arena. The outcome was never in question Saturday as the No. 7 Volunteers, who led by as many as 14 in the first half, grew their lead to 20 in the second half. Their lead never dipped below single digits over the final 20 minutes, leading to an emphatic win that serves as revenge for their 17-point loss to the Wildcats on Feb. 16 -- when they were ranked No. 1. In the first matchup between the two SEC-contending squads, UK proved the more physical team throughout. Round 2 was quite the opposite. The Vols forced 17 turnovers and baited No. 4 UK into shooting 31.8 percent from the field and 26.3 percent from 3-point range. The absence of UK big man Reid Travis was notable in this one, but it may not have made a difference. Tennessee's perimeter players -- Jordan Bone and forward Grant Williams -- were dominant, scoring 27 and 24 points, respectively. With the win, Tennessee (26-3, 14-2 SEC) takes a one-game lead on UK (24-5, 13-3) in the SEC standings and remains tied with LSU after the Tigers beat Alabama earlier in the day. The Vols close their season with tilts against Mississippi State and then a road tilt against Auburn, but with the toughest challenge in the rearview, figure to be the potential favorite to win the league for a second consecutive season. If you have trouble viewing the updates, please click here.<doc-sep>By Steve Megargee Associated Press Knoxville, Tenn. — Tennessee didn’t like the way it got pushed around at Kentucky two weeks ago. The Volunteers pushed back in the rematch and delivered a knockout blow. Jordan Bone scored a career-high 27 points and No. 7 Tennessee beat No. 4 Kentucky 71-52 on Saturday to maintain its home-court dominance. The decisive win came two weeks after the Vols fell 86-69 at Kentucky, a loss that snapped a school-record 19-game winning streak and dropped Tennessee out of the No. 1 ranking. “The last game, they just manhandled us and they were the more physical team,” Bone said. “You could just tell the way the game went, they just wanted it more. “We don’t ever want to go into a game or leave a game saying that about another team, they wanted it more than us. That’s something we challenged ourselves with.” Tennessee (26-3, 14-2 SEC) earned its 25th straight home victory to remain tied for first place in the Southeastern Conference with No. 13 LSU – the Tigers beat Alabama 74-69 earlier in the day. The Vols haven’t lost a home game since falling 94-84 to Auburn on Jan. 2, 2018. The Vols also beat Kentucky (24-5, 13-3) at home for a fourth straight year to delight a sellout crowd in the first regular season matchup of top-10 teams at Thompson-Boling Arena since the facility’s 1987 opening. Tennessee is 4-0 at home against Kentucky under coach Rick Barnes. “For us, it’s always been about protecting our home court,” said Tennessee’s Grant Williams, who scored 24 points. “It’s something that we take pride in.” Tennessee capitalized on the absence of Kentucky forward Reid Travis, who missed a third straight game with a sprained right knee. “For us to win without Reid, we were going to have to play one of the best games in the last 10 years,” Kentucky coach John Calipari said. That didn’t come close to happening. Kentucky had its lowest point total since a 64-48 loss to Vanderbilt in the 2013 SEC Tournament. The Vols held Kentucky without a basket for a 9 ½-minute stretch in the first half and stayed in control the rest of the way. PJ Washington scored 13 points but was the lone Kentucky player in double figures as the Wildcats lost for just the second time in 16 games. “We got beat every which way but loose,” said Calipari, who received a technical foul late in the first half. “Our young kids played like freshmen, played like deer in headlights.” The game went back and forth for the first 10 minutes, and a basket by Kentucky’s Keldon Johnson cut Tennessee’s lead to 17-16 with 10:23 left in the first half. But the Wildcats didn’t get another basket until Jemarl Baker sank a 3-pointer with 51 seconds remaining in the half. Kentucky missed 12 straight field-goal attempts as Tennessee went on a 17-4 run that was capped by an alley-oop from Williams to Jordan Bowden. Tennessee built a 37-24 halftime lead and remained in front by at least 13 throughout the second half. More Top 25 No. 1 Gonzaga 69, (at) St. Mary's 55: Josh Perkins scored 19 points and Brandon Clarke sparked a big second-half run with strong play on both ends of the court to help Gonzaga wrap up a perfect conference regular season. Clarke had six points during the game-changing 17-0 spurt in the second half that sent the Bulldogs (29-2, 16-0 West Coast Conference) to another lopsided win, extending the nation’s longest winning streak to 20 games. Clarke also had three blocks during that stretch and influenced several others as Gonzaga proved to be far too tough for its fiercest conference rival and sealed its fifth perfect conference record in the regular season. Jordan Ford scored 19 points to lead the Gaels (20-11, 11-5). They went nearly eight minutes without scoring in the second half. (At) No. 2 Virginia 73, Pittsburgh 49: Kyle Guy scored 17 points and No. 2 Virginia beat Pittsburgh 73-49 on Saturday, handing the Panthers their 12th straight loss. Ty Jerome added 13 points and De’Andre Hunter had 12 for the Cavaliers (26-2, 14-2 Atlantic Coast Conference), who maintained at least a share of the lead in the ACC pending North Carolina’s game at Clemson later Saturday. Jered Wilson-Frame scored 15 points and Au’diese Toney had 12 for Pittsburgh (12-17, 2-14). The loss was the 23rd in a row on the road for the Panthers, and their 20th consecutive in ACC road games. (At) No. 3 Duke 87, Miami 57: RJ Barrett had 19 points and 10 rebounds, fellow freshman Cameron Reddish added 19 points and Duke routed Miami. With national player of the year candidate Zion Williamson sidelined for a third straight game with a mild right knee sprain, the Blue Devils (25-4, 13-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) never trailed and shot 57 percent from the field. They bounced back from a five-point loss at No. 20 Virginia Tech – their second loss in three games. Duke pushed its lead into the 20s to stay by outscoring Miami 36-11 over the final 12-plus minutes of the first half. Anthony Lawrence and Ebuka Izundu scored 15 points each for the Hurricanes (12-16, 4-12). No. 5 North Carolina 81, (at) Clemson 79: No. 5 North Carolina survived a wild finish after coach Roy Williams fell and was helped off the court shortly before halftime, beating Clemson 81-79 on Saturday. Coby White had 28 points behind six 3-pointers, and the Tar Heels (24-5) maintained a share of first place in the Atlantic Coast Conference, tied with No. 2 Virginia at 14-2 with a week left in the regular season. They also survived a tight ending where the Tigers (17-12, 7-9) cut a seven-point lead to two. But Shelton Mitchell lost the ball driving into two North Carolina defenders in the final seconds. Williams wasn't there to see it. He sustained an episode of vertigo with a minute left before halftime, falling in front of his team's bench and getting led into the locker room. He did not return for the final 20 minutes. The Tar Heels rallied in a roller-coaster second half — they led by nine, fell behind 54-48 before finally taking control — for their fifth straight win and 12th in their past 13 games. Cameron Johnson had 19 points with six 3s of his own, and Luke Maye had 13 points and 10 rebounds. Central Florida 69, (at) No. 8 Houston 64: Collin Smith scored 21 points, leading Central Florida to the win at Houston. The Knights (22-6, 12-4 American Athletic) outscored the Cougars 41-31 in the second half to snap a seven-game losing streak against ranked opponents. They also stopped Houston's 33-game home winning streak, which was the longest in the nation. The Cougars (27-2, 14-2) lost for the first time since Jan. 9 at Temple. It was their first home loss since March 15, 2017. Corey Davis Jr. led Houston with 19 points, and reserve DeJon Jarreau finished with 15. No. 11 Texas Tech 81, (at) TCU 66: Jarrett Culver and Davide Moretti each had 15 points, and Texas Tech won its seventh game in row. Tariq Owens had 12 points and 13 rebounds for the Red Raiders (24-5, 12-4 Big 12), who took control with a 24-5 run in the first half and withstood TCU (18-11, 6-10) scoring the first 10 points after halftime. JD Miller had 18 points to lead TCU, while Alex Robinson had 17 and Kouat Noi 15. (At) Utah State 81, No. 12 Nevada 76: Sam Merrill scored 29 points and Utah State beat Nevada to take over the Mountain West Conference lead. Diogo Brito added 15 points and eight rebounds, and Neemias Queta had 13 points and 11 rebounds for the Aggies (24-6, 14-3). They won their sixth straight game and snapped a five-game losing streak in the series. Caleb Martin had 23 points and nine rebounds for the Wolf Pack (26-3, 13-3) in their second loss in four games. Tre'Shawn Thurman added 21 points and 10 rebounds before fouling out with 2:47 left, and Cody Martin had 16 points and seven rebounds. No.<doc-sep>
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Tennessee didn't like the way it got pushed around at Kentucky two weeks ago. The Volunteers pushed back in the rematch and delivered a knockout blow. Jordan Bone scored a career-high 27 points and No. 7 Tennessee beat No. 4 Kentucky 71-52 on Saturday to maintain its home-court dominance. The decisive win came two weeks after the Vols fell 86-69 at Kentucky, a loss that snapped a school-record 19-game winning streak and dropped Tennessee out of the No. 1 ranking. ''The last game, they just manhandled us and they were the more physical team,'' Bone said. ''You could just tell the way the game went, they just wanted it more. ''We don't ever want to go into a game or leave a game saying that about another team, they wanted it more than us. That's something we challenged ourselves with.'' Tennessee (26-3, 14-2 SEC) earned its 25th straight home victory to remain tied for first place in the Southeastern Conference with No. 13 LSU - the Tigers beat Alabama 74-69 earlier in the day. The Vols haven't lost a home game since falling 94-84 to Auburn on Jan. 2, 2018. The Vols also beat Kentucky (24-5, 13-3) at home for a fourth straight year to delight a sellout crowd in the first regular season matchup of top-10 teams at Thompson-Boling Arena since the facility's 1987 opening. Tennessee is 4-0 at home against Kentucky under coach Rick Barnes. ''For us, it's always been about protecting our home court,'' said Tennessee's Grant Williams, who scored 24 points. ''It's something that we take pride in.'' Tennessee capitalized on the absence of Kentucky forward Reid Travis, who missed a third straight game with a sprained right knee. ''For us to win without Reid, we were going to have to play one of the best games in the last 10 years,'' Kentucky coach John Calipari said. That didn't come close to happening. Story continues Kentucky had its lowest point total since a 64-48 loss to Vanderbilt in the 2013 SEC Tournament. The Vols held Kentucky without a basket for a 9 1/2-minute stretch in the first half and stayed in control the rest of the way. PJ Washington scored 13 points but was the lone Kentucky player in double figures as the Wildcats lost for just the second time in 16 games. ''We got beat every which way but loose,'' said Calipari, who received a technical foul late in the first half. ''Our young kids played like freshmen, played like deer in headlights.'' The game went back and forth for the first 10 minutes, and a basket by Kentucky's Keldon Johnson cut Tennessee's lead to 17-16 with 10:23 left in the first half. But the Wildcats didn't get another basket until Jemarl Baker sank a 3-pointer with 51 seconds remaining in the half. Kentucky missed 12 straight field-goal attempts as Tennessee went on a 17-4 run that was capped by an alley-oop from Williams to Jordan Bowden. Tennessee built a 37-24 halftime lead and remained in front by at least 13 throughout the second half. BIG PICTURE Kentucky: Without Travis, Kentucky's frontcourt players struggled to stay out of foul trouble and couldn't contain Williams. Travis sprained his right knee in a victory over Missouri on Feb. 19. EJ Montgomery had filled Travis' spot in the starting lineup for wins over Auburn and Arkansas. Nick Richards got that assignment Saturday and made his first start since Nov. 23. Richards ended up with eight points and seven rebounds, while Montgomery had two points and five boards. Tennessee: Barnes said this week Kentucky was tougher than Tennessee in the first matchup between these teams. That wasn't the case Saturday. Tennessee outscored Kentucky 28-10 in the paint and blocked five shots after having just one in the loss at Rupp Arena. One concern is the ongoing foul trouble of Kyle Alexander, who went scoreless and played just 12 minutes before picking up his fifth foul. HOUSTON HOMECOMING Former Tennessee coach Wade Houston and his son, former Tennessee and NBA star Allan Houston, received standing ovations as they were introduced during a timeout. UP NEXT Kentucky is at Mississippi on Tuesday. Tennessee hosts Mississippi State on Tuesday. --- Follow Steve Megargee at https://twitter.com/stevemegargee --- More AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/Collegebasketball and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25