By Neil Schmidt
The Cincinnati Enquirer

UK's Cliff Hawkins scores vs. Tennessee in the first half. UK clinched a share of the SEC East title. The Cincinnati Enquirer/GARY LANDERS

LEXINGTON - Culling numerous close victories from an undersized lineup, there are nights Kentucky seems to survive on smoke and mirrors.

On its best nights, though, it's all mirrors - one Wildcat's talents seem to reflect the next's.

Displaying versatility throughout its lineup, No. 9 UK beat Tennessee 92-60 Wednesday in Rupp Arena. With post players racking up assists and guards scoring on the low block, it befuddled a team that had nearly upset it a month prior.

On a night leading scorer Gerald Fitch played just 35 seconds because of illness, UK still had all five starters score in double figures and recorded its largest victory margin of the league season.

"We've got a lot of guys who can do a lot of different things and play a lot of different positions," said Kelenna Azubuike, who scored a team-high 17 points. "That makes us tough to beat."

In clinching a share of the Southeastern Conference East title and a 14th consecutive 20-victory season, the Wildcats (20-4, 10-3 SEC) shot 59 percent and held UT to 38 percent, outrebounding the Volunteers (13-11, 5-8) 40-27.

UK has no starter taller than 6-foot-8, and nearly every player can pass well and shoot from the perimeter. Wednesday, it seemed to find answers anywhere it looked. Playing 13 players before halftime, it built an 18-point lead in less than 18 minutes.

It made 11 of its first 16 3-point tries, finishing 11-for-19 to match a season high for 3s.

"We've got so many pieces, so many different types of abilities," forward Chuck Hayes said. Versatility? UK center Erik Daniels had six assists and made a 3-pointer; Hayes totaled three assists, three steals and also tried a 3. Meanwhile, point guard Cliff Hawkins was scoring in the post.

"We try to recruit players that are capable of playing multiple positions," coach Tubby Smith said. ". . . They're all versatile players. We can win many types of ways."

Often, UK will rotate defenders to keep a fresh body on a team's top scorer. Wednesday, it used Azubuike, Antwain Barbour and Ravi Moss to wear down UT star Scooter McFadgon.McFadgon totaled 18 points on 5-of-14 shooting, well under the 33 points he totaled last month against UK.

UK is improving for two reasons: Its bench is maturing, and Hawkins has been given the freedom to call plays. Wednesday, he assisted on UK's first four baskets and finished with 15 points, seven assists and five rebounds.

"Cliff is orchestrating things the right way," Smith said. "He's got a nice feel for when we should push it and when we should get in our half-court sets."

It's only a three-game winning streak, but the Wildcats spoke as confidently Wednesday as they had all season.

"We've got balanced scoring, everybody knows their role, and we're getting better at the right time," Barbour said.

This was the 11th consecutive 20-victory season for UK coach Tubby Smith, including two seasons each at Georgia and Tulsa.

E-mail nschmidt@enquirer.com

Tennessee	M	FG	Att	FT	Att	R	A	F	TO	TP
Crump	29	3	6	0	1	6	0	4	3	6
Asumnu	28	4	7	5	12	1	2	3	2	13
Wingate	26	2	3	0	1	4	0	2	1	4
McFadgon	32	5	14	4	4	4	0	2	3	18
Watson	29	3	10	3	4	2	6	2	3	11
Herndon	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Winchester	7	1	3	0	0	1	0	2	0	2
Bradshaw	22	2	6	0	0	4	3	3	0	4
Hendrix	24	1	6	0	0	3	0	3	2	2
Albrecht	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
Totals	200	21	55	12	22	25	11	21	15	60

Team rebounds - 2.

Kentucky	M	FG	Att	FT	Att	R	A	F	TO	TP
Daniels	27	5	10	1	2	4	6	3	2	12
Hayes	27	5	6	4	5	6	3	3	1	14
Azubuike	25	7	10	0	1	6	0	3	2	17
Hawkins	27	5	8	4	6	5	7	2	3	15
Barbour	29	6	9	1	3	3	2	2	1	16
Moss	5	1	1	1	2	0	0	0	1	4
Stockton	11	1	1	0	0	1	1	0	0	3
Carrier	8	0	0	0	0	4	0	1	0	0
Obrzut	9	0	1	2	2	1	0	1	2	2
Cote	2	0	0	1	3	0	0	0	0	1
Perry	13	1	4	1	2	7	0	2	1	4
Thomas	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
Alleyne	5	1	2	0	0	1	0	0	0	2
Fitch	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0
Heissenbuttel	10	1	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	2
Totals	200	33	54	15	26	38	19	19	14	92

Team rebounds - 2.

Tennessee	29	31	- 60
Kentucky	44	48	- 92

3-pointers - Tennessee 6-14 (McFadgon 4-8, Watson 2-4, Winchester 0-1, Bradshaw 0-1), Kentucky 11-19 (Azubuike 3-4, Barbour 3-4, Daniels 1-1, Moss 1-1, Stockton 1-1, Hawkins 1-3, Perry 1-3, Hayes 0-1, Heissenbuttel 0-1). Attendance - 23,201.