While Tennessee has a game against South Carolina in Knoxville coming up on Tuesday, the Vols have a strong rival looming in the distance.
Tennessee will face one of the toughest matchups of the season this Saturday night in Lexington when the Kentucky Wildcats host the Vols.
Tennessee, the fifth-ranked team in the nation, went 1-0 this week after defeating Vanderbilt on Saturday following a bye in the middle of the week. Kentucky, the sixth-ranked team in the nation, fell to South Carolina on the road this week before barely inching out Arkansas in Fayetteville despite a poor offensive performance. The updated AP Top 25 rankings following last week’s results are set to be released sometime on Monday afternoon.
Tennessee’s win over Vanderbilt and the continued play from Dalton Knecht, combined with the poor week that Kentucky had, are enough to separate the Vols from the Wildcats in Jeff Borzello’s latest power rankings for ESPN.
Borzello’s updated rankings on Monday morning have Tennessee slotted in as the fourth-best team in the nation as the ESPN expert rightly spotlights scoring machine Dalton Knecht. Borzello states that while Purdue’s Zach Edey still looks to be the “runaway” favorite for player of the year, Knecht’s performances in 2024 shouldn’t be overlooked.
“Dalton Knecht’s All-America case gets stronger with every game, and there’s also a case to be made that he’s a top two or three Wooden Award candidate,” Borzello wrote. “Unfortunately for Knecht, Zach Edey exists and is going to be the runaway player of the year, but that shouldn’t diminish what the Northern Colorado transfer has done. He’s averaging 32.0 points and 5.6 rebounds in his past five games, shooting 47.2% from 3. Knecht had another 32 against Vanderbilt on Saturday.”
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Tennessee’s spot at No. 4 in the power rankings (again, not the Top 25 poll) is unchanged from the previous week.
Kentucky, though, went from one spot behind Tennessee at No. 5 last week to No. 8 in the power rankings this week after picking up a conference loss. Tennessee’s margin of separation with Kentucky increased in Borzello’s power rankings on Monday and will likely also be replicated on the AP Top 25 poll that comes out soon.
“Kentucky had its two worst offensive performances since early December this past week, scoring 62 points in a 17-point loss at South Carolina and then going for 63 points in a six-point win over Arkansas,” Borzello wrote. “The Gamecocks did a good job of keeping the Wildcats out of transition, forcing them to make plays in the halfcourt, and Kentucky shooting 4-for-13 from 3-point range couldn’t make up for it.”
The matchup between Tennessee (15-4, 5-1 SEC) and Kentucky (15-4, 5-2 SEC) will feature the SEC’s two highest-ranked teams in a major rivalry showdown. The Wildcats will look for some sort of way to slow down Dalton Knecht, who is averaging an astonishing 31.4 PPG during true road games this season.
Tennessee and Kentucky will square off at 8:30 p.m. ET on ESPN this Saturday night in Rupp Arena.
Stay tuned to Rocky Top Insider on Monday for updates on the latest AP Top 25 poll for both the Volunteers and the Wildcats.
