Joe B. Hall, who died Saturday at age 93, amassed 297 wins during his coaching career at Kentucky from 1972-85.
Maybe Kentucky should give him one more.
Seemingly inspired by the pre-game festivities at Rupp Arena honoring Hall, the No. 18 Wildcats (14-3, 4-1 SEC) took control late in the first half and rolled to a 107-79 victory over No. 22 Tennessee (11-5, 2-3).
TyTy Washington scored 14 of his career-high 28 points in the first half for Kentucky, which won its third straight game. The Wildcats also improved to 12-0 at home this season.
Kentucky guard TyTy Washington Jr. was a big reason the Wildcats won on Saturday. (Jordan Prather-USA TODAY Sports)
Kentucky scored 52 first-half points against the Vols — who entered the game only allowing 60.7 points per game — and took a 52-38 lead into the break. The Wildcats began the second half with a 15-7 run over the first 3:39 to open up a 22-point advantage at 67-45.
Kentucky’s lead grew as big as 89-57 on a Kellan Grady free throw with 8:18 left. Grady finished with 16 points.
Sahvir Wheeler scored 21 points for Kentucky. Oscar Tshiebwe (nine points, 12 rebounds) was denied his 13th double-double of the season, but his free throw with 2:31 left gave Kentucky its 100th point. The West Virginia transfer also leads the nation in rebounding.
Tributes to Hall started before the game
The Wildcats remembered Hall in a video tribute before the game.
The Wildcats also came out in a 1-3-1 zone — a defense that Hall loved but Calipari’s team doesn’t play — on their first possession. Calipari was also coaching with a rolled-up program in his hand, another Hall trademark.
Unfortunately for UK fans, the Vols scored on the possession. But the Wildcats took a 6-5 lead early in the first half and never trailed again.
Kentucky had quite a day, but the day belonged to Joe B. Hall.
