In our regular postgame feature, the Cats Illustrated staff offers its first impressions from No. 12 Kentucky's 78-73 win over No. 8 Tennessee on Tuesday night in Knoxville. Each staff member will share his three main takeaways from the game.

JUSTIN ROWLAND:

1. Kentucky had no ball-handling in the game. We did see a Calipari team go on the road with Toppin & Co. to win a road game with a noticeable lack of ball handling, but you knew it wasn't going to be easy. Because of that, you knew Kentucky was going to have to shoot the ball very well. To win a game like that you know they had to stick doggedly to the game plan and really focus on protecting the ball. They did that well in the second half.

2. It started to get away from the Cats late in the first half. Those early three-pointers helped UK build a little bit of a cushion which carried them for most of the first half but this team has had some issues with taking a punch as they draw close to intermission. We saw Vanderbilt go on a big run at the end of the first half to take command and Tennessee flipped the script just before half as well. This will be something to watch moving forward, but Kentucky did come out of the locker room to start the second half with some good play.

3. Amari Williams had a great game. Some guys were going to have to step up. Williams didn't score a ton but he was very active on the boards, moved the ball well, and impacted the game in a lot of little ways. Kentucky had a nice advantage in +/- when Williams was on the court.

JEFF DRUMMOND:

1. This was just what the doctor ordered for a Kentucky team that was once again having its toughness questioned coming off back-to-back losses to Alabama and Vanderbilt. For the Cats to go into Knoxville -- one of the toughest places to win in the SEC -- and pull out a victory with three of its top players sidelined by injuries suggests that there's a lot more fortitude than a lot of observers believe. That was just a gutsy win. Amari Williams was most symbolic of that with 10 points, 15 rebounds, and four assists en route to a +20 in the plus/minus column.

2. I went into this game thinking UK needed 15-plus made 3s to win it. They only got to 12, but those were super-efficient on 24 attempts. Ansley Almonor is giving them another really reliable weapon with four treys in back-to-back games. It's encouraging to know they can win a game like this without going completely nuclear from the arc.

3. The absence of Lamont Butler, Andrew Carr (for all but 2 minutes), and Kerr Kriisa forced guys like Trent Noah and Collin Chandler to really grow up tonight. They both made some really positive contributions, Noah with a couple of big buckets and Chandler with some nice active hands and defense.

DAVID SISK:

1. Kentucky 78 Tennessee 73. Against all odds, the Cats went to Knoxville without Lamont Butler and Andrew Carr who only played two minutes and pulled the upset. They have been good at that this year though. Gonzaga after Clemson, Mississippi State after Georgia, and now Tennessee after Vanderbilt. Interestingly enough, the Zags and UT wins came without Butler, and Jaxson Robinson at the point. That put a bigger team on the perimeter which gave the diminutive Zakai Ziegler problems.

2. The big difference was Kentucky shooting 50% from three while Tennessee only made 24% on 45 tries (that is not a misprint). Mark Pope’s strategy to pack in the help was spot on. He dared the Vols to make the long ball, and they proved over and over that they were not up to the challenge.

3. Kentucky was efficient. They shot 50% from both two and three but didn’t overdo either one. After starting out on fire from deep, the Vols started pressuring. Kentucky did a good job of countering with back door cuts, slips, guard penetration on switches, and getting the ball inside. It was a well-coached game.

TRAVIS GRAF:

1. Another top-15 win for Kentucky, giving them six on the year at the end of January. They went on the road and stole a game that I didn’t think they matched up well in on paper. I had this one chocked up as a loss all season.

2. I thought Kentucky came out and had a great defensive game plan. They didn’t let Lanier or Zeigler beat them and let the other guys in the rotation get shots. Kentucky gave up some open looks, but part of those were by design.

3. Great contributions from Trent Noah and Collin Chandler. Both did things to help Kentucky while other guys were getting a much-needed breather. Those minutes will be crucial come March.