Kentucky’s thrilling road win over Tennessee didn’t just deliver late-game heroics — it also sparked a tense postgame moment that had fans talking. As the final buzzer sounded, Vols forward Jaylen Carey shoved Wildcats forward Otega Oweh, forcing Kentucky coach Mark Pope to sprint in and separate the players.
The altercation stemmed from Tennessee’s Ja’Kobi Gillespie intentionally missing a free throw with 2.6 seconds left, hoping to give his team a chance to tie the game. A scramble for the rebound followed, but Carey’s layup missed as time expired, securing Kentucky’s victory. Carey, frustrated by comments exchanged in the heat of the moment, shoved Oweh, igniting a brief clash between the teams. Pope quickly intervened, and order was restored as both sides headed to the locker rooms.
Another angle showed Oweh swatting away Nate Ament’s hand while Carey walked past, then Carey stepping in to defend his freshman teammate as tensions flared. Unsurprisingly, there was no postgame handshake between the Wildcats and Volunteers.
Saturday’s win marked Kentucky’s second consecutive road comeback. The Wildcats trailed 41-24 with just over three minutes left in the first half but rallied to trail 42-31 at halftime after a 7-1 run.
Kentucky carried that momentum into the second half, outscoring Tennessee 49-36 over the final 20 minutes. The Wildcats shot 18-of-36 from the field, including 6-of-10 from three-point range.
Kentucky took the lead for the first time with 1:46 remaining on a jumper from Mouhamed Dioubate. The back-and-forth continued until Denzel Aberdeen’s layup with 16 seconds left put UK ahead 80-77. Gillespie added one free throw before his intentional miss, but that was all Tennessee could muster as Kentucky held on for an 80-78 win.
Aberdeen led all scorers with 22 points, while Otega Oweh, Collin Chandler, and Jasper Johnson each added 12. Kentucky also capitalized on 12 Tennessee turnovers, turning them into 15 points.
With the win, Kentucky improved to 12-6 overall and 3-2 in SEC play, just half a game behind the five teams tied at 3-1 in the conference. Tennessee falls to 12-6 overall and 2-3 in league action.
