Knoxville has long been a place that could get the best of even the most experienced Kentucky Wildcat.

So it came as something of a surprise Saturday that it was a pair of freshmen providing a huge spark for Kentucky in its 77-64 win over Tennessee.

Johnny Juzang scored a career-high 13 points and Keion Brooks Jr. grabbed a career-high nine rebounds to help the Cats hold the Volunteers at bay on a day when several of their teammates were saddled with foul trouble.

"They were huge," Calipari said. "... When someone doesn't play great, someone else has to step up, and they did."

Juzang played a career-high 24 minutes, knocking down all four of his shots from the field, including three 3-pointers. Brooks matched his previous high for minutes with 26 and helped UK hold a 33-29 advantage on the glass. He also chipped in with four points.

Kentucky (18-5, 8-2 SEC) moved into a tie for first place in the league standings thanks to Auburn's overtime win over LSU earlier in the day.

The Cats led for all but 21 seconds at Thompson-Boling Arena, where they had lost in eight of their previous 12 trips and in four straight visits.

Tennessee never allowed UK to pull away but could not come up with enough offense to keep pace. The Cats held the Vols to 35% shooting (19 of 55) from the field.

Meanwhile, Kentucky shot 54% from the field (25 of 46) and knocked down 22 of 25 at the free-throw line. Until running out the clock on their final possession, the Cats had scored on 13 of 14 trips to close out the game.

Sophomore guard Immanuel Quickley led UK with 18 points. Tyrese Maxey and Nick Richards each followed with 15, while Ashton Hagans added 10 to round out five double-figure scorers for the Cats.

Tennessee (13-10, 5-5 SEC) was led by Santiago Vescovi with 18 points, while John Fulkerson and Jordan Bowden each added 16.

*****

In this Cats Illustrated "Rapid Recap" feature, we touch on some quick-hitters from the UK victory…

THE GOOD:

Kentucky fans have learned not to take any win in Knoxville for granted. It's one of the toughest places for the Cats to play on an annual basis, especially since Rick Barnes took over the UT program. Kentucky showed some good mental toughness as the Vols repeatedly chipped away at the lead but could never get closer than four in the second half.

THE BAD:

Once again, Kentucky was unable to extend its leads. The Cats led by 10 or 11 points on a dozen different occasions going into the final segment of the game but could never push it out to 15 or more. It's been a season-long trend for UK.

THE UGLY:

Kentucky's Nate Sestina finished with no points and four personal fouls in just seven minutes of action. It was a step back for him coming off a nice performance Tuesday against Mississippi State.

GAME BALL:

Johnny Juzang, Kentucky -- The freshman wing from Los Angeles came up with his best game in a UK uniform, scoring a career-high 13 points in a career-high 24 minutes of action. He knocked down three 3-pointers and had a big offensive rebound for a putback late in the second half that helped keep the Vols at bay.

BY THE NUMBERS:

1st - Win for Kentucky in Knoxville since 2015.

4 - Consecutive Saturday road games for UK, which emerged 3-1 with wins at Arkansas, Texas Tech, and Tennessee. The lone loss was at Auburn.

14 - Turnovers by the Cats, but only four in the second half.

17-3 - Bench-scoring advantage for UK.

19 - Second-chance points for Tennessee.

:21 - Time with the lead for the Vols.

38-18 - Points in the paint advantage for UK.

156-73 - Kentucky's record in the all-time series against its oldest rival. The mark is only 53-51 in Knoxville.

QUOTABLE:

"This is a hard environment, this is a tough place to play, and Rick's teams aren't going to give you the game. You have to take it." -- UK head coach John Calipari

UP NEXT:

Kentucky returns to action on Tuesday at Vanderbilt in a 7 p.m. ET tipoff on ESPN. The Cats defeated the Commodores 71-62 on Jan. 29 at Rupp Arena. Since that meeting, however, Vandy knocked off SEC leader LSU 99-90 to snap a 26-game losing skid in league play. The Dores (9-13, 1-8 SEC) will play at Mississippi State later tonight.