#25/RV Vols Drop 74-71 Heartbreaker at Kentucky

Saturday, February 7

Lexington, KY

8:30 PM ET

University of Tennessee

16-7,6-4SEC

Kentucky

17-7,8-3SEC

Tennessee

Kentucky

February 07, 2026 | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)Season Stats SEC Stats VIDEO: Rick Barnes Postgame VIDEO: Nate Ament Postgame VIDEO: Bishop Boswell Postgame Highlights Photo Gallery

LEXINGTON, Ky. – The University of Tennessee men's basketball team held a 14-point second-half lead Saturday night on the road at Rupp Arena, but fell short down the stretch in a 74-71 setback to Kentucky.

Freshman forward Nate Ament paced all scorers for No. 25/RV Tennessee (16-7, 6-4 SEC) with a career-high-tying 29 points, 19 of which came before the intermission, as the team's four-game winning streak came to an end.

Following sluggish starts both ways, the Volunteers went on a 14-4 run over 2:43, connecting on five consecutive field goals, including four from long range. The first 11 points all came from Ament, who opened the surge with a personal 8-0 burst in 79 seconds. That push helped Tennessee claim a 28-18 lead with 7:06 on the first-half timer, at which time it was 6-of-10 from deep while forcing misses on all six Kentucky (17-7, 8-3 SEC) attempts at the other end.

The Wildcats scored the next four points, but the visitors scored eight of the next 10 to go in front by 11, 36-25, with 4:04 to go in the session. Tennessee hit two more 3-pointers during that stretch, making it an 8-of-13 opening that included a fourth consecutive long-range make from Ament to already tie his career high.

Kentucky again scored the next four points, but this time Tennessee—amidst a period of six straight made field goals—countered with a 7-0 run in 63 seconds, with the last five points from Ament. That made it 43-30 with 1:45 left in the session and the lead ultimately reached a game-best 14, 47-33, at halftime.

The Tennessee offense went stagnant early in the second half, missing 10 straight field-goal attempts and not scoring for 5:37. Kentucky turned that into an 8-0 run over 4:52 that helped it trim the deficit all the way to two, 57-55, with 9:32 remaining. The Wildcats went ahead, 61-60, with 6:18 to go, marking their first advantage since it was 8-7.

However, the Volunteers responded with five straight points in 37 seconds, including a three-point play by Ament, to claim a 65-61 edge with 5:23 to go. Kentucky got the margin back down to one, 65-64, just 1:43 later and then Ament hit two free throws with 2:31 left to make it a three-point game again.

The Wildcats scored the next four points and went ahead, 68-67, with 1:27 on the clock. At the other end, Ament snapped a drought of 4:24 without a Tennessee field goal on a go-ahead layup with 59 ticks to play. Kentucky sophomore guard Collin Chandler answered with a 3-pointer to give the home team a 71-69 lead with 33 seconds left. Just 19 ticks after that, following a miss by Tennessee, the Wildcats increased the lead to three by splitting a pair of free throws.

Redshirt sophomore forward J.P. Estrella hit two free throws with 8.1 to go, cutting the deficit to one, but senior guard Denzel Abderdeen knocked down two at the other end just 4.4 ticks later to push the margin back to three.

Senior guard Ja'Kobi Gillespie's ensuing half-court shot rattled in and out, giving Kentucky the comeback win on its home floor.

Ament's co-career-best point total came on a 10-of-17 clip from the field, including a 4-of-6 mark from deep, as he also matched his top count in field-goal and 3-point makes. He added eight rebounds, three assists and one steal to his stellar ledger. The Manassas, Va., native scored the most points by a visiting freshman at Rupp Arena in the last 20 seasons (2006-26), as well as tied for the fifth-most points against the Wildcats by a freshman in any game in that span.

Gillespie finished with 15 points, 14 of which came in the opening half, to go along with a game-leading four assists. Estrella notched 11 points and eight rebounds, while sophomore guard Bishop Boswell had 10 points, eight boards and a game-best three steals.

Freshman forward DeWayne Brown II grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds and tallied a game-best three blocks, the latter mark a career high. His 12 boards tied for the third-most by a Tennessee freshman in SEC play over the last 20 seasons (2006-26).

Senior guard Otega Oweh paced the Wildcats with 21 points on 10-of-17 shooting, while Aberdeen had 16 points and freshman center Malachi Moreno had 10.

The Volunteers led for 34:30 and trailed for only 4:41, but went 6-of-30 from the field in the second half, including missing all six of their 3-point tries. They also had a 19-8 edge on the offensive glass in the contest, but Kentucky finished with a 14-12 edge in second-chance points.

Tennessee returns to the court Wednesday at 9 p.m. ET in Starkville, Miss., where it squares off with Mississippi State, live on ESPN2 from Humphrey Coliseum.

To keep up with the University of Tennessee men's basketball team on social media, follow @Vol_Hoops on Instagram and X/Twitter, as well as /tennesseebasketball on Facebook.

TENNESSEE VOLUNTEERS POSTGAME NOTES
• Saturday marked the ninth series meeting in a row with Tennessee ranked in front of Kentucky, greater than doubling the Volunteers' prior longest stretch, which was four from Feb. 1, 2000, to Feb. 14, 2001.
• In head coach Rick Barnes' 11-year tenure, Tennessee is now 12-14 versus the Wildcats, after posting a 9-35 record in the 22 seasons (1993-2025) before his arrival.
• The Volunteers' 12 wins against Kentucky in the Barnes era remain four more than any other team has in that span (2015-26), as Alabama ranks second with eight.
• Barnes, who has four more victories against the Wildcats than any other active coach, dropped to 13-16 all-time against Kentucky, remaining tied with Dean Smith for the sixth-most wins all-time over the Wildcats.
• Over its two games versus Kentucky this year, Tennessee led for 73:13 of action and trailed for only 5:12, plus led by 14-plus in both contests.
• The Volunteers dropped to 28-10 (.737) in the second leg of regular season home-and-home series over the last nine seasons (2017-26).
• Across Barnes' 11-year tenure, the Volunteers now own a 116-5 (.959) record when leading by double digits at halftime.
• Tennessee has logged double-digit offensive rebounds in 22 of 23 games this year, with 15-plus in 15 outings, 17-plus nine times and 20-plus on five occasions, with a high of 26.
• The Volunteers have grabbed at least 35 total boards in 20 of 23 contests, with 40-plus in 14, 42-plus in 13, 46-plus in 11 and 50-plus in six, with a top tally of 60.
• Through 23 contests thus far, Tennessee has amassed 13-plus assists on 20 occasions, with 17-plus in 14 games, 20-plus in six and 23-plus in four.
• Across its 23 games this season, Tennessee has played just two that did not feature a double-digit lead for either side, including only six that did not include a 14-point margin one way and 10 that did not have a 23-point lead at any time.
• The Volunteers posted a 7-of-12 ledger from long range before Kentucky, on its seventh try of the night, made its first 3-pointer with 5:14 to go in the opening half.
• In the opening 20 minutes as a whole, Tennessee shot 8-of-15 from deep—that included misses on its final two attempts—and allowed just a 2-of-9 mark at the other end.
• The two sides combined to shoot 8-of-17 at the stripe in the first half, with Tennessee posting a 5-of-8 (62.5 mark) and Kentucky, which went 0-of-5 through 16-plus minutes, going 3-of-9 (33.3 percent).
• Ament (19) and Gillespie (14) combined for as many points (33) in the first half as Kentucky's entire team.
• After scoring 26 second-half points Tuesday against Ole Miss and 19 first-half points Saturday versus Kentucky, Ament totaled 45 points in a 40-minute span, shooting 15-of-21 from the floor in that time.
• Ament's 19 first-half points all came in the final 10 minutes of the frame, as he connected on seven straight field goals (four from long range) after missing each of his initial four tries (two from long range).
• Ament now possesses 14 performances of 17-plus points in this season, including eight in a row, with eight 20-point games, including five in the last seven contests and three in a row.
• In addition, Ament reached 25-plus points for the third time this season, all within the last five games, and hit that mark for the second outing in a row.
• Ament became the 14th SEC freshman in the last 20 seasons (2006-26) with three 28-point games in a single season, including the first Volunteer, as well as just the ninth with three in league play.
• The only other SEC freshmen with three-plus 28-point games in SEC play in a single campaign over the last two decades are Texas' Tre Johnson (four in 2024-25), Mississippi State's Josh Hubbard (2023-24), Alabama's Brandon Miller (2022-23), Arkansas' Moses Moody (2020-21), LSU's Cameron Thomas (four in 2020-21), Anthony Edwards (2019-20), Kentucky's Malik Monk (2016-17) and Kentucky's Jamal Murray (2015-16).
• Ament became the sixth freshman with 29-plus points against Kentucky in the last 20 seasons (2006-26), joining Louisville's Mikel Brown Jr. (29 on Nov. 11, 2025), Texas' Tre Johnson (32 on Feb. 15, 2025), Mississippi State's Josh Hubbard (34 on Feb. 27, 2024), Duke's R.J. Barrett (33 on Nov. 6, 2018, in Indianapolis) and Indiana's Maurice Creek (31 on Dec. 12, 2009).
• The 29 points by Ament marked the most by a freshman on the road against Kentucky in the last 20 seasons (2006-26), surpassing the mark by a fellow Volunteer, Keon Johnson, who had 27 on Feb. 6, 2021, while the only other 25-point showing by such a player in that span was by Ole Miss' Chris Warren on Feb. 27, 2008.
• Ament and the aforementioned R.J. Barrett are the only freshmen to score over 27 points versus Kentucky in a non-home game over the last 20 seasons.
• Ament's four 3-pointers matched his career high, previously logged in a Nov. 24 matchup with Rutgers in Las Vegas.
• The 10 made field goals for Ament equaled the career best he recorded in a Jan. 24 contest at Alabama.
• Brown, who entered the game with seven blocks all season and just one multiple-block performance, logged a career-high three on the night, all of which came in the opening 18 minutes.
• Brown's 12 rebounds marked the second-most of his career, trailing only the 14 he pulled down Dec. 21 against Gardner-Webb.
• Brown is one of just five Tennessee freshmen in the last 20 years (2006-26) to grab 12-plus rebounds in an SEC contest, joining Grant Williams (March 1, 2017, at LSU), Jarnell Stokes (March 3, 2012, against Vanderbilt), Tobias Harris (Jan. 29, 2011, at Ole Miss) and Wayne Chism (Feb. 10, 2007, against Vanderbilt).
• The 12 rebounds for Brown tied the third-most by a Tennessee freshmen in league play over that two-decade span, matching Harris and Chism, while trailing Williams (14) and Stokes (14).
• Brown is one of two SEC freshmen with 12-plus rebounds in a conference affair this season, alongside Alabama's Amari Allen, who achieved the feat Jan. 13 at Mississippi State.
• Boswell scored in double figures for the fifth time in his career, including logging his fourth such performance in the last seven games.
• Boswell's three steals tied his career high, which he has recorded four prior times this season, including in Tennessee's last outing, Tuesday against Ole Miss.
• After missing the last two games with a left calf injury, senior forward Felix Okpara returned to action with 4:04 left in the first half, but played just 11:25, his second-lowest total in two years as a Volunteer.