JUSTIN ROWLAND:

Today we finally saw something resembling the kind of team we expected at the start of the season. Granted, Terrence Clarke is out and BJ Boston was not a leading star. But in terms of a complete, balanced performance that was as well as the 'Cats have played not only this season, but I'd argue through last season as well. They came in on a mission and did everything well. Normally Tennessee teams have proven a little tougher than Calipari's often-young Wildcat squads, but UK was ready for a street fight today. Lockdown defense and some actual offensive execution, at least in the first half. Kentucky still has to win the SEC Tournament, but I absolutely believe that's in the realm of possibility at this point. Don't know that I'll predict it, but they're figuring it out.

JEFF DRUMMOND:

In what has been a bizarre 2020-21 season, perhaps we should have seen this one coming. But I don't think even the most optimistic UK fan would have envisioned a scenario in which the Cats held a 21-point lead over the Vols today in Knoxville. This was Kentucky's best showing of the season, even though the offense dried up in the second half. The defense was stellar from opening tip to final horn, holding a potent UT squad that has been scoring a lot of points lately to 32% shooting from the field. Kentucky coach John Calipari has been harping about 50/50 balls all season, and the Cats seemed to grab every one of them today. When the opponent shoots as poorly as UT did today, the glass is always important. UK dominated the rebound column 43-31 with Keion Brooks Jr. coming up with a career-high 14 boards. Great defense. Dominant rebounding. Low turnovers. Seven-of-14 from the 3-point arc. Strong free-throw shooting once again. This win checked almost all the boxes.

DAVID SISK:

Raise your hand if you saw a 15-point Kentucky victory in Knoxville. It simply all came together today. They’ve had impressive margins over Florida and LSU, but this one was different. It all came together. They were tremendous defensively in the first half, and stingy defensively throughout. We’ve seen the improvements, but today we got a gauge of how much. Isaiah Jackson showed why he is an NBA lottery pick today. Olivier Sarr was strong on both ends. Keion Brooks has a double-double and 14 rebounds. Davion Mintz was a 3-point sniper. Devin Askew was efficient offensively and defended. The team was better with Jacob Toppin on the floor. B.J. Boston may have been the only player who didn’t play toward his ceiling. This team is finding its identity. They had 45 points at the half, and they are much better when they push the ball and play freely. Defensively, the emergence of Toppin & Jackson could make this a very good defensive unit like we though they could be early on. But it would be unfair not to compliment the entire team on that end. They held Tennessee to 32% shooting and 55 points. Now it is not unfathomable to think that Kentucky could win out in their final three games.