Kentucky basketball picked up a big home win after completing a comeback against No. 25 Tennessee. The Wildcats have not only swept the Vols in the regular season, but they have also turned things completely around in the SEC. Kentucky started 0-2 in the conference, with a bleak outlook ahead, but now, they are 8-3.

The Wildcats now have wins over the likes of No. 15 Arkansas, a ranked Tennessee team twice and comeback wins over Mississippi State and LSU. Kentucky has completely flipped the switch in the SEC, now 8-3 in the conference after starting 0-2. The Wildcats are currently in their toughest stretch of the season and aside from the 25-point loss to Vandy, have done very well so far.

Where does Kentucky stand in the conference rankings with seven games remaining in the regular season? The Wildcats are 8-3, good for second-place in the SEC, only behind No. 17 Florida. Here is the top-five of the conference rankings through 11 games:

1. Florida 8-2 (17-6)

2. Kentucky 8-3 (17-7)

3. Arkansas 7-3 (17-6)

4. Texas A&M 7-3 (17-6)

5. Vandy 6-4 (19-4)

Kentucky is now getting some separation from the rest of the SEC, only one game behind Florida, no longer in a three-way tie for second like they were last week. Up next, Kentucky will take on No. 17 Florida. coincidentally, next Saturday on the road in what will be a very pivotal game if they want to jump atop the SEC standings as we head into the final stretch of the regular season.

Even before Saturday’s win over Tennessee, Mark Pope talked about his team’s ability to continue showing resiliency when they find themselves down in a hole in games.

“There’s something powerful about when you just get bludgeoned and bludgeoned and bludgeoned and bludgeoned and you still get up, you still wake up the next day and you come out to the court, because, in its own unique way, you’re not scared of it anymore. You’re just like, all the things have been tough, they’ve been hard and we’re still standing, we’re still fighting.”

That mindset really is becoming a part of this Kentucky team’s identity and they continue to show it with the way they have won many of there games in SEC play. Now, they’re in a spot where they really can steal a regular season conference title. Next Saturday against Florida will be telling.

The Kentucky Wildcats continued boosting their resume with a thrilling 74-71 victory over #25 Tennessee on Saturday. Now, the Wildcats sit at 17-7 on the season and 8-3 in the SEC, including winning eight of their last nine games in the conference.

This big win featured some big moments, but it all came down to reliency. Kentucky found themselves down by 14 points at halftime, but they rallied back, thanks to multiple runs. Collin Chandler’s clutch three with 32 seconds left put the Wildcats up by one, but it was exactly what they needed to help them get the job done, as it was sealed by two free throws from Denzel Aberdeen in the final seconds.

Some very interesting notes have came about from Kentucky’s win over Tennessee. Let’s take a look at those, courtesy of statistician Corey Price.

Kentucky’s comebacks are starting to make history

Believe it or not, but Kentucky’s win over Tennessee made history with the way it played out. This win ended up being the largest halftime deficit in a win in program history for any Kentucky team in Rupp Arena. This win also marks the first time in the history of Kentucky basketball that a team has achieved three wins against an opponent when they trail by 11 or more points at halftime. Mark Pope is also the first Kentucky head coach to have 4 career wins after trailing an opponent by at least 11 points at halftime.

The other two wins? LSU and Tennessee, where the Wildcats first played the Vols in Knoxville and stormed back from down 17 points.

Kentucky made series history vs. Tennessee

The Kentucky vs. Tennessee series has a lot of history, but on Saturday, the Wildcats added to that as an unranked foe. This most-recent win is the fourth time an unranked Kentucky team has defeated a top-25 Tennessee squad in Rupp Arena. The Wildcats also now have five-consecutive wins over Tennessee, the longest such streak against the Vols since 2011-13. Saturday was also the fewest points. This is also the second time an unranked Kentucky team has defeated a ranked Tennessee team twice in a single season. The Wildcats allowed their fewest points in the second half to a Tennessee team in Rupp Arena (24) since Jan. 12, 1999, where that team allowed 22 points.

Kentucky is now 12-5 as an unranked team all-time against Tennessee and that good fortune continued on Saturday night in yet another big comeback win against them.