Willie Cauley-Stein – photo by Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports
Devin Booker had 18 points and seven rebounds as No. 1 Kentucky picked up its defense in the second half and extended the best start in school history Tuesday night with a 66-48 victory over Tennessee.
Kentucky is 26-0 for the first time, though the Wildcats finished the 1953-54 season with a 25-0 mark. It also matches the best start for a team coached by John Calipari, who won his first 26 games at Massachusetts in 1995-96 and was 26-0 at Memphis in 2007-08.
Andrew Harrison scored 14 points and Trey Lyles added 10 for Kentucky (13-0 SEC). Kevin Punter scored 14 and Josh Richardson had 10 for Tennessee (14-11, 6-7).
After shooting 54.2 percent (13 of 24) in the first half, Tennessee shot just 25 percent (8 of 32) in the second. The Volunteers were 2 of 17 from 3-point range.
