Kentucky's magic act

Omaha basketball is already quite a show. But their promotion for Saturday’s game — bring a 5-gallon trash bag, fill it with popcorn for just $5 — is brilliant.

Almost as brilliant as some of the basketball from Tuesday night. Let’s get to it.

1. Kentucky’s remarkable run vs. Top 25 teams continues

Who needs point guards when your whole roster can shoot?

No. 12 Kentucky snapped a two-game skid by pulling off an impressive 78-73 win at No. 8 Tennessee on Tuesday night. It didn’t have starting point guard Lamont Butler or backup Kerr Kriisa, plus forward Andrew Carr played just two minutes before sitting out to rest his back.

All that doesn’t matter when you shoot 50% from deep (on 12-of-24 attempts) and score 1.09 points per possession against one of the sport’s elite defenses.

Maybe the adversity helped?

"We're a really good team. This is also challenging. We do feel like we can withstand punches,” coach Mark Pope said. “We can withstand rough stretches and get better from them."

He’s not wrong. Kentucky (15-5, 4-3 in SEC) has now beaten six AP top 15 teams this season, and four have come on the road. Sure, it got some luck — the Vols were just 13-of-41 on uncontested shots — but when you’ve got guys who can shoot like this, UK deserves plenty of credit.

Each of Kentucky's five starters scored 10+ points, led by 18 from Koby Brea, 17 from Jaxson Robinson, and Amari Williams pitched in with 10 points, 13 rebounds, and four assists. Ansley Almonor started again and scored 12 points with four 3s and he's shooting over 43% in SEC play.

It’s exactly what Kentucky needed heading into Saturday’s home game against Arkansas. It’ll be interesting to see how the crowd greets former coach John Calipari.

The Vols (17-4, 4-4) have lost three of their last four and seem to have dodged an injury bullet with Zakai Zeigler. He suffered what appeared to be a serious knee injury, but he returned after halftime. The whole arena held their collective breath as Zeigler hobbled off the court after coming up lame on a drive to the basket.

We’ll see how his knee feels Saturday when Tennessee hosts Florida. Remember, the Gators handed Tennessee their first loss of the season back in January, which was a 30-point drubbing. They might be in for a rougher time than Coach Cal.

2. Games that had NCAA tourney implications

It’s almost February, so get ready to hear lots of NCAA Tournament bubble talk. Wednesday featured a bunch of games that’ll be important come March.

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