LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Kentucky's nightmarish season on the defensive end of the floor reached a new low point on Saturday against rival Tennessee.

In a high-profile matchup of Top 10 teams, the No. 5 Volunteers dismantled the No. 10 Wildcats in a 103-92 victory at Rupp Arena.

Tennessee (16-5, 6-2 SEC) dominated from opening tip to final horn, handing UK its second straight loss on its once-feared homecourt. The Vols shot 49% from the field, knocked down 12 shots from beyond the 3-point arc, and scored 22 second-chance points off 18 offensive rebounds.

Junior guard Zakai Zeigler and senior wing Josiah-Jordan James each scored a career-high 26 points in the victory, combining to knock down seven of 15 shots from the arc.

It barely mattered that Tennessee star Dalton Knecht, a contender for the SEC Player of the Year honor who had scored 30-plus points in four of the last five games, had a rare off-night with a modest 16 points on 5-of-14 shooting.

"What we told our guys is we aren’t going to sit around and watch Dalton do it," said Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes, whose team was held to 59 points just four days ago in a home loss to South Carolina. "We have too many good players. It’s simple, we want you to do what we do.”

"We talked about (Knecht)," Kentucky head coach John Calipari said. "You want to guard him, but you also know the other guys can play. They're dangerous. What those guys have done, they had five guys in double figures. They hadn't had that (in previous games). They had him and the other guy is getting 6-8 points.

"That's what happens in these kind of games."

It also barely mattered that Kentucky freshman guard Rob Dillingham lit up the scoreboard for a career-high 35 points for the Wildcats (15-6, 5-4 SEC). That effort was negated by UK's three big men -- Tre Mitchell, Ugonna Onyenso, and Aaron Bradshaw -- combining for four points in 58 minutes of action.

The Cats also got 21 points from senior guard Antonio Reeves and 16 from freshman guard Reed Sheppard, but could not keep pace with UT's five players in double figures.

Junior forward Jonas Aidoo and senior guard Santiago Vescovi each added 11 points for the Vols.

Kentucky lost for the third time in as many chances while playing without its starting point guard, freshman DJ Wagner, who was sidelined with a high-ankle sprain. The Cats also played without freshman big many Zvonimir Ivisic due to an illness. They have still yet to play a game this season with their full roster available.

"I told them after, (Tennessee) played really well and you fought and had your chances," Calipari said. "Some of the breakdowns we can talk about and get better. But I told them, every goal that we have is still out in front of us. We are fine if we come together and understand."

*****

In this "Rapid Recap" feature, we touch on some quick-hitters from the UK loss...

KEY MOMENT:

Arguably, it was the opening tip on this night. Kentucky simply did not come ready to play despite a raucous homecourt advantage, and Tennessee's older, more physical roster jumped all over the Cats. Kentucky was in a 16-5 hole before anyone knew what had hit them. The Cats battled back within four at the half, but once again, looked unprepared coming out of the locker room for the second half. The Vols essentially put the game away with a 13-2 run.

GAME BALL:

Zakai Zeigler, Tennessee - The Vols' diminutive junior point guard carved up the Cats all night long, scoring 26 points, dishing out 13 assists, and playing the role of defensive menace with his harassing on-ball pressure and three steals.

BY THE NUMBERS:

1st - Time in school history that Kentucky has lost back-to-back home games while scoring 90-plus points in each game.

1st - Time in school history that UK has lost back-to-back home games while ranked in the Top 10.

1st - Time in school history that the Cats have given up 94-plus points in three consecutive games.

20th - Win for Tennessee in its 114 visits to Lexington.

22 - Second-chance points off 18 offensive rebounds for the Volunteers. UT won the battle on the glass 44-38.

39:48 - Time that UT held the lead in the game. UK never led. The game was tied for 12 seconds.

103 - The most points the Volunteers have ever scored in Lexington.

QUOTABLE:

"You got to stay the course. You can't listen to the negative stuff. You can't listen to all of the clutter. We are still a good team, and now we have to get healthy and we have to get back on track. But, there are a lot of people that would like to have my team." -- UK head coach John Calipari

UP NEXT:

Kentucky returns to action on Tuesday night at Vanderbilt in an 8:30 ET tipoff on the SEC Network. The Commodores (6-15, 1-7 SEC) are coming off a 68-61 home victory over Missouri on Saturday.