Tennessee basketball hammers Kentucky, moves on to Elite Eight in NCAA Tournament

INDIANAPOLIS — Zakai Zeigler stretched every inch of his 5-foot-9 frame vertically.

The Tennessee basketball guard pressed his chest into Kentucky's 6-10 forward Brandon Garrison. He didn't say a word. He didn't have to.

Zeigler jumped an inbound pass deflected by Chaz Lanier and stepped right into a 3-pointer. He turned to Garrison and had his moment, which trickled into glee and a little gloating with Tennessee leading by 17 in a masterful Sweet 16 showing.

The No. 2 seed Vols are going to the Elite Eight in consecutive seasons for the first time in program history after hammering No. 3 seed Kentucky 78-65 at Lucas Oil Stadium. The Vols will play the winner of No. 1 Houston (32-4) and No. 4 Purdue (24-11) on Sunday (2:20 p.m. ET, CBS) for a spot in the Final Four.

Zeigler was brilliant for Tennessee (30-7) with 18 points and 10 assists as the Vols got revenge on Kentucky (24-12) after a pair of regular-season losses. Jordan Gainey and Chaz Lanier had 16 and 18 points, respectively, as Tennessee won 30 games in a season for the third time in program history.

Tennessee is going to the Elite Eight with its defense

Kentucky hit 12 3-pointers and shot 50% from three in each of the first two games against Tennessee this season.

Friday was a different deal entirely thanks to Tennessee's defense. The Vols shut down Kentucky's high-powered offense, giving no open looks like it did in the first two meetings. UK made six 3-pointers, but only attempted 15 as Tennessee made a major effort to take away perimeter scoring.

The Wildcats averaged 76.5 points in the two regular-season games.

Tennessee's forwards dominated Kentucky's bigs

Tennessee forwards crushed Kentucky's in the first half, setting up the Vols for success early when shots weren't falling.

Felix Okpara had an exceptional game with eight points and 11 rebounds. Cade Phillips performed with his usual toughness and hustle.

The Vols had a 22-13 first-half rebounding edge and finished with a 34-24 advantage. They scored 19 second-chance points on 14 offensive rebounds. UK had five second-chance points.

Darlinstone Dubar gave Tennessee his best in March Madness

Darlinstone Dubar barreled down the court as Lamont Butler fired a pass ahead to Andrew Carr. Dubar skied for a trailing block, smacking Carr's shot against the backboard.

The senior gave Tennessee major minutes off the bench. He hit a 3-pointer early, throwing a big fist pump toward the UT bench. He tipped in a shot later in the half then blocked Carr.

Dubar checked out and got a fist bump from coach RIck Barnes.

Mike Wilson covers University of Tennessee athletics. Email him at michael.wilson@knoxnews.com and follow him on X @ByMikeWilson or Bluesky @bymikewilson.bsky.social. If you enjoy Mike’s coverage, consider a digital subscription that will allow you access to all of it.