For Kentucky, the game before The Game was a tough one on paper — a Tuesday night road contest against Rick Barnes' Tennessee Vols, who were ranked No. 1 in the country just a few weeks ago and listed as 10.

Tennessee basketball spent five weeks ranked No. 1 before falling in the polls in recent weeks following its first three losses.

SEC play has not been kind to the Tennessee Volunteers. On Tuesday night, the No. 12 Kentucky Wildcats handed the No. 8 Vols their first loss at home this seaso