Knoxville, TN (My Sportsbook) - One of the nation's legendary programs has a new single-game scoring king, as Jodie Meeks exploded for a school-best 54 points thanks in part to a program-record 10 three-pointers in Kentucky's 90-72 rout of SEC compatriot and 24th-ranked Tennessee.

The Volunteers (10-5, 1-1 SEC) had no answer for Meeks, who turned Thompson- Boiling Arena into his sharp-shooting showcase on Tuesday night. He drained open jumpers and was equally efficient with a hand right in his face. Meeks' all-time game wasn't just perimeter-oriented, as he made all 14 of his free throw attempts and finished with eight rebounds.

Meeks moved past Kentucky legend Dan Issel for the most points in a single game. Issel set the school record with 53 points -- registered without a three-point line -- on February 7, 1970 versus Mississippi. The 54 points came close to matching LSU's Chris Jackson's 55 points in a 1989 SEC contest.

Patrick Patterson added nine points and 12 rebounds for the Wildcats (13-4, 2-0), who won their first true road game in three chances this season.

Tyler Smith led Tennessee with 19 points, Wayne Chism donated 18 points with nine rebounds and Bobby Maze added 11 points. The Volunteers made 25 field goals -- 10 more than Meeks -- and made 6-of-23 three-pointers -- four less made treys than Meeks.

Meeks made exactly half of Kentucky's field goals in one of college basketball's all-time scoring performances. He averaged 24.2 points per game coming into the contest -- a scoring mark that is certainly going up in a victory that resulted in Tennessee's third loss in four games.

The prolific scorer put up 46 points in a December 20th game against Appalachian State, but this was a road conference contest, and a victory served as a resume-builder for the Wildcats, who led 41-37 at the half.

A pair of Meeks threes sandwiched around a Perry Stevenson dunk capped a 10-0 spurt to put the Wildcats in front, 53-41. A pair of free throws by Meeks with just under nine minutes to go increased the edge to 68-53.

Two Smith free throws just over one minute later cut the Vols' deficit under double digits at 68-59, and Chism's three-point play moments later trimmed the score to 71-64.

Meeks then responded with back-to-back threes, leaving no suspense but the scoring chase, which he surpassed on a pair of free throws with 1:31 to play.

Game Notes

Kentucky is 12-0 this season when holding opponents to under 40 percent shooting...Tennessee's 16-game homecourt winning streak against conference opponents came to an end...The Wildcats made 12-of-19 three-pointers on the contest and 18-of-20 from the charity stripe.