Tennessee basketball concludes its regular season on Saturday afternoon as it hosts rival Kentucky at Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center on Saturday afternoon.
The Vols have already clinched the SEC Regular Season Championship but are still playing for NCAA Tournament seeding ahead of the game.
Here’s everything to know about the rivalry matchup.
More From RTI: Where The SEC Lands In Latest Bracketology Updates
How to Watch – No. 4 Tennessee (24-6, 14-3 SEC) vs No. 15 Kentucky (22-8, 12-5 SEC)
- Start Time: 4 p.m. ET/3 p.m. CT
- Location: Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center
- TV: CBS. PxP: Ian Eagle. CC: Grant Hill, CC: Bill Raftery
- Online Streaming: Watch ESPN
- Radio (Knoxville): The Vol Network/The Vol Network App
Betting Lines
- Tennessee -8.5 Kentucky
- Over/under 164.5
- Tennessee -9 Kentucky
- Over/under 163
What Tennessee HC Rick Barnes Said About Kentucky
On Tennessee turning the page quick from winning an SEC regular-season championship to focusing on Saturday’s game against Kentucky
“We’re proud of what these guys have accomplished up to this point, but we know that there’s another game Saturday. And it’s a big game, last one of the year and certainly Senior Night for some special guys here. But it’s a mindset. We keep talking about that. And we know that we have great respect for Kentucky. I think they’re the most explosive offensive team in the country. And John (Calipari) does what he always does and gets his guys playing great basketball at the end of the year and they just keep building. They been on a little bit of a roll themselves. It doesn’t take much to get our guys’ attention because of the respect that they have for Kentucky and their program. So we know that we’re going to have to be ready to play.”
On how different Kentucky is from the team that Tennessee played in Lexington on February 3
Team Statistics (via Sports Reference)
Tennessee:
Kentucky:
Stat Leaders
Last Five Games
Tennessee:
- 66-59 win at South Carolina
- 81-74 win at Alabama
- 92-84 win versus Auburn
- 86-51 win versus Texas A&M
- 72-67 win at Missouri
Kentucky:
- 93-77 win versus Vanderbilt
- 111-102 win versus Arkansas
- 91-89 win at Mississippi State
- 117-95 win versus Alabama
- 75-74 loss at LSU
Prediction:
Tennessee faces Kentucky in a bit of a precarious spot as they wrapped up the SEC earlier this week and still have one more game before moving on to the postseason. But that’s where it helps that it’s Kentucky coming to town. The Vols want the regular season sweep and I expect them to be locked in for this matchup.
The Wildcats are incredibly dangerous and can score points in bunches. If Tennessee has a poor shooting night, they’re very capable of losing. But Kentucky’s defensive woes are very real and Tennessee is playing very well right now.
I think the Vols defend their home court and earn a big rivalry victory.
Tennessee 88, Kentucky 82
2 Responses
Well who ever wins the game I’ll give a congrats to them they are very hard players so who ever wins happy for them its just a game
Student section tshirts:
Front side…Kentucky plays for second place.
Back side….Tennessee… where basketball just means more..SEC Champs 2024