Tennessee was one shot away from a perfect evening Wednesday. Everything else was in place.

You had a near-sellout crowd of 24,108 at Thompson-Boling Arena. You had the orange-and-white checkerboard decor.

And you had a couple of UT legends in the house. Former UT coach Ray Mears, the man most identified with Big Orange basketball, and John Ward, the longtime "voice of the Vols," were honored at halftime.

The only thing missing was a final basket.

When C.J. Watson's last-second 3-pointer missed its mark, Kentucky claimed an 80-78, come-from-behind victory.

Kentucky didn't just win the game. It proved itself in an unfamiliar role.

The SEC's dominant basketball program looked remarkably comfortable as an underdog. The Wildcats didn't cave in when the Vols raced to a 21-7 lead; they were tougher and more tenacious down the stretch.

And when Watson's last shot fell harmlessly to the floor, the Wildcats reminded the crowd who's who.

Guard Ravi Moss tugged at the lettering on his jersey as if to say: "We're still Kentucky." Center Randolph Morris shouted postgame pleasantries to the disappointed crowd.

It was Kentucky's game. But in a way, it was still UT's night.

"In the 14 years that I've been (at UT), I don't remember a better atmosphere with Tennessee fans making it happen," UT athletic director Mike Hamilton said. "Certainly, we would have liked to have capped it off with a win."

The disappointment of one loss will fade. The experience will last.

Remember all the times Kentucky fans have turned Thompson-Boling into Rupp Arena South? Their fans were no more prevalent Wednesday night than UT fans were in Lexington on Feb. 7.

UT fans didn't just show up. They showed how much they cared.

They were passionately involved with almost every basket and call. No one could have appreciated that more than Mears, the brilliant coach and promoter who created the same atmosphere at Stokely Athletics Center in the 1960s and 1970s.

I remember interviewing Mears by phone in 1991 when the program he had built had fallen into disrepair.

"Sure, it makes me sad," said Mears, who was then the athletic director emeritus at the University of Tennessee-Martin. "I took great pride in building that program. I didn't want anybody else to have to rebuild it. I want it to be strong."

Mears was sitting in a wheelchair when he and Ward were honored at halftime. Although his health has declined, I doubt it dulled the significance of the moment. Mears knows the game and crowd too well to miss the obvious signs: UT basketball is strong again under first-year coach Bruce Pearl.

"I didn't think he could do it," Mears said before the game.

He wasn't just referring to UT's 20-5 pregame record, but to the overall atmosphere of a born-again basketball program.

Banners honoring Mears and Ward were hung from rafters at halftime. Those banners will become permanent fixtures in Thompson-Boling.

But the banner might not mean anymore to Mears than the knowledge that basketball matters again at UT.

UT basketball has always mattered to Charlie Durham, who has been an usher for 50 years. Before the game, he talked enthusiastically about the similarities between Mears and Pearl as coaches and promoters.

"When Coach Pearl had his players come down through the stands before a game the first time, I thought that was just the kind of thing Coach Mears would have done," Durham said with a smile.

He added, "I'm just proud to be here."

I don't think the outcome changed his mind.

Sports editor John Adams may be reached at 865-342-6284 or adamsj@knews.com.