Alas and alas, reality has returned.

Kentucky stopped Tennessee’s three-game winning streak, 75-64, Tuesday evening at Rupp Arena.

Kentucky again hit 50 percent from long range against what is supposedly a great Volunteer defense.

Kentucky played without one starting guard and lost the other in the second half.

Kentucky bumped the Vols back into the middle of Southeastern Conference standings. Their record is 7-5. Tennessee contributed. It hit three of 18 three-point shots.

The Volunteers went to Lexington hoping to do to the Wildcats what the Wildcats did to them in Knoxville (that one was 78-73). Didn’t happen. Revenge evaporated.

Tennessee did enjoy a moment of optimism. An 11-3 spurt earned a 58-55 lead with 6:32 to play. It was up 60-58 with 4:50 left. The Vols hit one more shot the rest of the way. Kentucky closed with an overwhelming 17-4 run. Koby Brea delivered the daggers, a pair of threes launched from much too close to the mid-court logo.

Freshman forward Trent Noah added an amazing feat – three of four from behind the arc and two free throws, 11 points. In Kentucky’s previous 23 games, he had scored 24.

Rick Barnes’ summation was blunt.

“Way, way, way too many defensive breakdowns on our part. Give Kentucky credit, they did it, but we had way too many things that you can’t do there at the end of the game.

“I thought we had a few guys that got too emotional, didn’t make really good decisions on the offensive end.”

Two Vols played at a winning level. Igor Milicic had 16 on six-of-nine shooting, three of four threes. He had nine rebounds.

Zakai Zeigler, as usual, gave great effort. He scored 17 points on 7-of-11 and had six assists.

Felix Okpara scored eight points but had only four rebounds. Chaz Lanier scored 10 but missed 10 of 13 shots. He was 0-for-7 on threes.

Tennessee started sluggishly on offense. It was plagued by early turnovers and poor shooting. It led for 25 seconds at 9-8, was even at 21 and trailed by 35-26 at intermission.

The Vols brought some intensity to the second half. They hit their first six shots and eight of nine. There was a problem. Kentucky was hot, too. It hit six of eight, including three threes.

Behind the statistics was a surprising element. Kentucky guard Jaxson Robinson was out of the lineup with an injury. With 8:40 remaining, point guard Lamont Butler was lost with a shoulder injury. Seven-foot center Amari Williams became a part-time playmaker.

Barnes tipped his cap to Kentucky coach Mark Pope for the adjustment.

“I think Mark’s system is very sound. I think he puts all his guys in position to where they can excel … that was like a quarterback in football, just getting to stand back there all day and he’s a good enough passer, he can pick you apart … I give credit to Mark and his system for putting his guys where they need to be.”

Tennessee gets another chance at revenge Saturday – at Food City Center. Vanderbilt will be there for a 1 o’clock tipoff. Maybe you remember that the Commodores won in Nashville, 76-75 when Lanier missed a tying free throw with 2.8 seconds remaining.

Vandy has lost three of its five games since – to Alabama, Oklahoma and Florida. There is one bad omen. It beat Kentucky.

Marvin West welcomes comments or questions from readers. His address is marvinwest75@gmail.com