Five things you need to know from Kentucky’s 78-65 NCAA Tournament loss to Tennessee.

1. Vols come in with a better plan. While losing two regular season games to Kentucky, Tennessee shot a combined 14 of 63 on 3-point shots.

On Friday night in the far more consequential meeting between the Volunteers and Wildcats, Rick Barnes brought a different approach for the Rocky Toppers. Tennessee drivers consistently beat Kentucky defenders into the paint. When they didn’t score, UT pounded UK on the offensive glass. The Volunteers won the overall rebounding battle 34-24. In offensive rebounds, UT came out ahead 14-7. As a result, the Vols won second-chance points 19-5 over the Cats. Tennessee so dominated the game, it led by double digits for the final 28:54 of elapsed playing time.

Meanwhile, Zakai Zeigler — who drew a good amount of attention this week for, let’s say, some interesting hand signals during last week’s NCAA tourney sub-region at Rupp Arena — abused Kentucky off the dribble in pick-and-roll sets. Zeigler had a double-double, 18 points and 10 assists with only two turnovers. UT still didn’t hit 3-pointers at a high rate — 5 of 19 — but the Volunteers kept UK from going off behind the arc. The Wildcats, who shot 12 of 24 on treys in both regular season wins over Tennessee, were only 6-of-15. For all the criticism Barnes takes for his team’s NCAA tourney performances, Tennessee is now 8-2 over the past three years in the Big Dance and is going to the round of eight for the second straight year.

2. Kentucky coaches in their first NCAA Tournaments. Mark Pope’s good first season as Kentucky head man ended with a flat showing in the Sweet 16. Believe it or not, among the eight men that have coached Kentucky in the NCAA Tournament, a Sweet 16 trip in the first year is the second-worst showing. Below is how Kentucky head men have fared in their first NCAA Tournament as Wildcats coach:

▪ 1942 — Adolph Rupp: Final Four (in an eight-team tournament, that meant Kentucky won one game).

▪ 1973 — Joe B. Hall: Elite Eight.

▪ 1986 — Eddie Sutton: Elite Eight.

▪ 1992 — Rick Pitino: Elite Eight.

▪ 1998 — Tubby Smith: NCAA champion.

▪ 2008 — Billy Gillispie: Round of 64.

▪ 2010 — John Calipari: Elite Eight.

▪ 2025 — Mark Pope: Sweet 16.

3. The “Indianapolis hex” continues to vex Kentucky. With the loss to Tennessee, UK has now lost its last five games in Indianapolis.

That skid began with the 118-84 demolition UK absorbed at the hands of Duke in the 2018-19 Champions Classic. It also included a 65-62 loss to Kansas in the 2020-21 Champions Classic; the stunning 85-79 overtime upset loss to No. 15 seed Saint Peter’s in the 2022 NCAA Tournament; and the 86-79 double-overtime loss to Michigan State in the 2022-23 Champions Classic.

Indianapolis has also been the setting for several other of the most painful defeats in recent Kentucky men’s hoops history. It was the site of Wisconsin’s 71-64 victory in the 2015 NCAA Tournament Final Four that ended Kentucky’s bid for an undefeated national championship and also for Arizona’s 84-79 overtime win over UK in the 1997 NCAA finals. At this point, one can’t blame UK backers if they are overcome with dread anytime they see the Wildcats assigned to Indy for a big game.

4. The Cats’ history in the Sweet 16. The loss to Tennessee means Kentucky still has not won a game in the round of 16 since it beat Houston 62-58 in the 2019 NCAA Tournament. Since the NCAA Tournament expanded to at least 64 teams in 1985, UK is now 17-6 in the Sweet 16.

5. Kentucky gains in all-time wins race with Kansas. With the loss to Tennessee, UK finishes the 2024-25 season with a 24-12 record. That mark means the Wildcats went plus-3 this year in the all-time wins battle with Kansas. Coach Bill Self’s Jayhawks ended this season with a 21-13 record. Kentucky, which began this season with a five-game lead (2,398-2,393) over Kansas in the all-time wins battle, will enter 2025-26 plus-8 in that race. It will be UK 2,422 wins and KU 2,414 victories when next season tips off.