Kentucky will play Tennessee in NCAA Tournament for first time ever
Kentucky and Tennessee have met on the hardwood 241 times. The Wildcats own a commanding series lead (163-78) and a 5-1 record against the Vols over the last six meetings. But these two programs have never met in the NCAA Tournament.
That will change on Friday night in Indianapolis. The biggest game in Tennessee basketball history has officially arrived.
This is a series that started in 1910 and has mostly been played multiple times yearly. No one has beaten Kentucky more than Tennessee, but the Vols only have a .324 winning percentage in this series. That win rate has gotten much better under Rick Barnes (11-12).
| Date | Result | Record |
| 02/02/2016 | Tennessee 84, Kentucky 77 (Knoxville) | Vols 1-0 |
| 02/18/2016 | Kentucky 80, Tennessee 70 (Lexington) | Tied 1-1 |
| 01/24/2017 | Tennessee 82, Kentucky 80 (Knoxville) | Vols 2-1 |
| 02/14/2017 | Kentucky 83, Tennessee 58 (Lexington) | Tied 2-2 |
| 01/06/2018 | Tennessee 76, Kentucky 65 (Knoxville) | Vols 3-2 |
| 02/06/2018 | Tennessee 61, Kentucky 59 (Lexington) | Vols 4-2 |
| 03/11/2018 | Kentucky 77, Tennessee 72 (SEC Tournament) | Vols 4-3 |
| 02/16/2019 | Kentucky 86, Tennessee 69 (Lexington) | Tied 4-4 |
| 03/02/2019 | Tennessee 71, Kentucky 52 (Knoxville) | Vols 5-4 |
| 03/16/2019 | Tennessee 82, Kentucky 78 (SEC Tournament) | Vols 6-4 |
| 02/08/2020 | Kentucky 77, Tennessee 64 (Knoxville) | Vols 6-5 |
| 03/03/2020 | Tennessee 81, Kentucky 73 (Lexington) | Vols 7-5 |
| 02/06/2021 | Tennessee 82, Kentucky 71 (Lexington) | Vols 8-5 |
| 02/20/2021 | Kentucky 70, Vols 55 (Knoxville) | Vols 8-6 |
| 01/15/2022 | Kentucky 107, Tennessee 79 (Lexington) | Vols 8-7 |
| 02/15/2022 | Tennessee 76, Kentucky 63 (Knoxville) | Vols 9-7 |
| 03/12/2022 | Tennessee 69, Kentucky 62 (SEC Tournament) | Vols 10-7 |
| 01/14/2023 | Kentucky 63, Tennessee 56 (Knoxville) | Vols 10-8 |
| 02/18/2023 | Kentucky 66, Tennessee 54 (Lexington) | Vols 10-9 |
| 02/03/2024 | Tennessee 103, Kentucky 92 (Lexington) | Vols 11-9 |
| 03/09/2024 | Kentucky 85, Tennessee 81 (Knoxville) | Vols 11-10 |
| 01/28/2025 | Kentucky 78, Tennessee 73 (Knoxville) | Tied 11-11 |
| 02/11/2025 | Kentucky 75, Tennessee 64 (Lexington) | Cats 12-11 |
However, the Vols are 1-5 in the last six meetings since beating Kentucky in the 2022 SEC Tournament. Tennessee is also dealing with the elusive Final Four appearance missing from the program’s Wikipedia page. There is also Barnes’ lack of NCAA Tournament success (31-28 overall, 6-18 ATS since since 2010) looming large entering this weekend as they get set to play a program that has consistently owned them throughout the decades in the SEC.
What do some of the against-the-trends (ATS) heading into this historic Sweet 16 matchup? They do not look good for the Big Orange.
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Tennessee has lost in the NCAA Tournament five times to lower-seeded teams in six appearances under Barnes. Four of those losses have been to No. 9 seed Florida Atlantic (2023 Sweet 16), No. 11 seed Loyola-Chicago (2018 second round), No. 11 seed Michigan (2022 second round), and No. 12 seed Oregon State (2021 first round). The loss to Michigan occurred in Indianapolis. No. 3 seed Purdue upset No. 2 seed Tennessee in the 2019 Sweet 16.
Kentucky is 5-0-1 ATS in its last six games as a dog in the NCAA Tournament. Tennessee is 5-10 ATS as a favorite in the NCAA Tournament under Barnes with five outright losses.
Three-Party: Kentucky and Tennessee have done this before
Kentucky and Tennessee have never played in the NCAA Tournament, but these two programs have faced each other three times in year in 18 seasons. There have only been five clean sweeps. The last one occurred in 2005.
| Year | First Meeting | Second Meeting | Third Meeting | Final Result |
| 2025 | Kentucky 78, Tennessee 73 (Knoxville) | Kentucky 75, Tennessee 64 (Lexington) | Kentucky vs. Tennessee (NCAA Tournament) | TBD |
| 2022 | Kentucky 107, Tennessee 79 (Lexington) | Tennessee 76, Kentucky 63 (Knoxville) | Tennessee 69, Kentucky 62 (SEC Tournament) | Vols 2-1 |
| 2019 | Kentucky 86, Tennessee 69 (Lexington) | Tennessee 71, Kentucky 52 (Knoxville) | Tennessee 82, Kentucky 78 (SEC Tournament) | Vols 2-1 |
| 2018 | Tennessee 76, Kentucky 65 (Knoxville) | Tennessee 61, Kentucky 59 (Lexington | Kentucky 77, Tennessee 72 (SEC Tournament) | Vols 2-1 |
| 2010 | Kentucky 73, Tennessee 62 (Lexington) | Tennessee 74, Kentucky 65 (Knoxville) | Kentucky 74, Tennessee 45 (SEC Tournament) | Cats 2-1 |
| 2005 | Kentucky 84, Tennessee 62 (Knoxville) | Kentucky 73, Tennessee 61 (Lexington) | Kentucky 76, Tennessee 62 (SEC Tournament) | Cats 3-0 |
| 1993 | Kentucky 84, Tennessee 70 (Lexington) | Tennessee 78, Kentucky 77 (Knoxville) | Kentucky 101, Tennessee 40 (SEC Tournament) | Cats 2-1 |
| 1979 | Tennessee 66, Kentucky 55 (Lexington) | Tennessee 101, Kentucky 84 (Knoxville) | Tennessee 75, Kentucky 69 (SEC Tournament) | Vols 3-0 |
| 1952 | Kentucky 65, Tennessee 56 (Knoxville) | Kentucky 95, Tennessee 40 (Knoxville) | Kentucky 81, Tennessee 66 (SEC Tournament) | Cats 3-0 |
| 1950 | Tennessee 66, No. 2 Kentucky 53 (Knoxville) | Kentucky 79, Tennessee 52 (Lexington) | Kentucky 95, Tennessee 58 (SEC Tournament) | Cats 2-1 |
| 1949 | Kentucky 66, Tennessee 51 (Knoxville) | Kentucky 71, Tennessee 56 (Lexington) | Kentucky 83, Tennessee 44 (SEC Tournament) | Cats 3-0 |
| 1948 | Kentucky 65, Tennessee 54 (Knoxville) | Kentucky 69, Tennessee 42 (Lexington) | Kentucky 70, Tennessee 47 (SEC Tournament) | Cats 3-0 |
| 1945 | Tennessee 35, Kentucky 34 (Knoxville) | Kentucky 40, Tennessee 34 (Lexington) | Kentucky 39, Tennessee 35 (SEC Tournament) | Cats 2-1 |
| 1943 | Kentucky 30, Tennessee 28 (Knoxville) | Kentucky 53, Tennessee 29 (Lexington) | Tennessee 33, Kentucky 30 (SEC Tournament) | Vols 2-1 |
| 1941 | Tennessee 32, Kentucky 22 (Knoxville) | Kentucky 37, Tennessee 28 (Rupp Arena) | Tennessee 36, Kentucky 33 (SEC Tournament) | Vols 2-1 |
| 1940 | Kentucky 35, Tennessee 26 (Lexington) | Tennessee 27, Kentucky 23 (Knoxville) | Kentucky 30, Tennessee 29 | Cats 2-1 |
| 1939 | Tennessee 30, Kentucky 29 (Lexington) | Kentucky 36, Tennessee 34 (Knoxville) | Kentucky 46, Tennessee 38 (SEC Tournament) | Cats 2-1 |
| 1937 | Kentucky 43, Tennessee 26 (Lexington) | Tennessee 26, Kentucky 24 (Knoxville) | Kentucky 39, Tennessee 25 (SEC Tournament) | Cats 2-1 |
| 1936 | Kentucky 40, Tennessee 31 (Lexington) | Tennessee 39, Kentucky 28 (Knoxville) | Tennessee 39, Kentucky 28 (SEC Tournament) | Vols 2-1 |
Rick Barnes and Tennessee failed to sweep Kentucky in 2018 losing the SEC Tournament Championship Game in a contest where the Vols were a one-point favorite. Will Kentucky get their first triple sweep in this series since 2005?
We will find out on Friday night in Downtown Indianapolis.
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