It was a frigid, cold night at Kroger Field when Mark Stoops looked to take his first victory against the Vols as UK head coach. Despite Kentucky holding a 5-2 record, UK needed to win this game to keep the fans’ attention with basketball season lurking around the corner. It wasn’t fair, but it was true.
For the Vols, it felt like this would be Butch Jones’ swan song if he couldn’t beat Kentucky. After all, it had only happened once in 32-years prior to this game.
Tennesee was rolling into Lexington with a record of 3-4.