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.
Walter Cornett, of Glendale, Kentucky, is the owner and operator of Walter's Wildcat World. He founded WildcatWorld.com in 1998 making it one of the oldest Kentucky basketball fan sites in operation today.