Kentucky vs. Tennessee: Preview, Odds, How to Watch

After a letdown finish against Florida, Kentucky looks to get back on track in a top-10 rivalry matchup at home. It’s Cats vs. Vols, two of the top teams in the SEC with some of the league’s top individual talent. They’re both 15-5 overall and are looking for a statement win inside Rupp Arena.

What do you need to know about UK vs. UT round one? KSR previews the matchup.

How To Watch

No. 10 Kentucky (15-5) vs. Tennessee (15-5)
8:30 p.m. ET | Saturday, Feb. 3 | Rupp Arena

• TV: ESPN (Tom Hart, Jimmy Dykes)
• Streaming: WatchESPN
• Home Radio: UK Sports Network – 630 WLAP, iHeart Radio (Tom Leach, Goose Givens)
• Online Radio: iHeart
• Satellite Radio: Sirius 83 and on the SiriusXM App
• Live Stats: StatBroadcast

Last Five

Kentucky: NET 25, KenPom 23

• 1/17: 90-77 W vs. Mississippi State
• 1/20: 105-96 W vs. Georgia
• 1/23: 79-62 L at South Carolina
• 1/27: 63-57 W at Arkansas
• 1/31: 94-91 L (OT) vs. Florida

Tennessee: NET 5, KenPom 6

• 1/13: 85-79 W at Georgia
• 1/16: 85-66 W vs. Florida
• 1/20: 91-71 W vs. Alabama
• 1/27: 75-62 W at Vanderbilt
• 1/30: 63-59 L vs. South Carolina

Series History

Kentucky leads the all-time series vs. Tennessee 160-77, with John Calipari 21-15 overall against the Volunteers, including 11-11 against Rick Barnes (9-10 at UT). The Wildcats currently hold a two-game winning streak in the series, a victory potentially moving the team to 72-50 against top-25 competition and 15-14 against teams ranked inside the top five under Coach Cal.

UK defeated UT in Knoxville back on Jan. 14 by a final score of 63-56, Antonio Reeves leading the Cats with 18 points while Oscar Tshiebwe added 15 points and 13 rebounds and CJ Fredrick put up 13. Kentucky won the rematch in Lexington on Feb. 18, Reeves and Tshiebwe going for 16 apiece while Chris Livingston added 12 in the victory.

Kentucky vs. Tennessee Odds via FanDuel

Spread: Kentucky -1.5
Total: 157.5

One play from every win over Tennessee since 1995

Kentucky Projected Starters

(Starting lineup based on the last game)

#15 – Reed Sheppard
6-3 • 187 • GUARD • FRESHMAN
12.1 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 4.2 APG

#12 – Antonio Reeves
6-6 • 195 • GUARD • SENIOR
19.5 PPG, 4.4 RPG

#1 – Adou Thiero
6-8 • 222 • GUARD • SOPHOMORE
7.0 PPG, 5.3 RPG

#4 – Tre Mitchell
6-9 • 231 • FORWARD • GRADUATE STUDENT
13.0 PPG, 7.8 RPG, 3.3 APG

#2 – Ugonna Onyenso
7-1 • 226 • FORWARD • FRESHMAN
4.2 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 2.8 BPG

Head Coach: John Calipari (32nd season, 15th at UK) – 847-258 overall, 402-118 at UK

Tennessee Projected Starters

(Starting lineup based on the last game)

#5 – Zakai Zeigler
5-9 • 171 • GUARD • JUNIOR
9.8 PPG, 5.0 APG, 2.4 RPG

#25 – Santiago Vescovi
6-3 • 192 • GUARD • SENIOR
7.9 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 2.8 APG

#3 – Dalton Knecht
6-6 • 204 • GUARD • SENIOR
20.1 PPG, 4.6 RPG, 1.8 APG

#30 – Josiah-Jordan James
6-6 • 224 • GUARD • SENIOR
8.4 PPG, 6.7 RPG

#0 – Jonas Aidoo
6-11 • 241 • FORWARD • JUNIOR
11.6 PPG, 7.4 RPG, 1.8 BPG

Head Coach: Rick Barnes (9th season at Tennessee, 37th overall): 190-97 at TENN, 794-411 overall

Statistical Comparison

(via Kentucky’s game notes)

Fun stats from UK’s game notes:

• Kentucky has not played a single game at full strength this season.
• Tennessee is the fourth AP top-10 ranked foe of the season for UK. The Wildcats are 2-1 thus far against ranked competition.
• Ugonna Onyenso has logged multiple blocks in eight of 11 games played. He logged 13 points, 16 rebounds and eight blocks vs. the Gators becoming the first UK player in the history of the program to have that stat line.
• Against Florida, UK used its sixth different starting lineup this season and the third unique lineup in three outings.

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Pregame Storylines

WILL DJ WAGNER PLAY?

Adou Thiero is good to go, as is Justin Edwards. They both confirmed their respective availabilities Friday. However, DJ Wagner will sit out for the second straight game with an ankle injury. The Cats are 0-2 on the season without their lead guard on the floor, falling to UNC Wilmington earlier in the season before Wednesday’s loss to the Gators.

HOW DO YOU SLOW DOWN DALTON KNECHT?

There may not be a real answer to that. He’s fallen short of the 25-point mark just once in SEC — Tennessee’s opener vs. Ole Miss. The Volunteers have been a one-man show with the 6-6 senior running the show, and considering Kentucky’s defensive struggles, that’s a problem. It’s a neck-and-neck race for SEC Player of the Year between Knecht and Antonio Reeves, this matchup going a long way to help decide that.

BOTH TEAMS COMING OFF LOSSES

The Vols fell to unranked South Carolina on Tuesday, only to see the Wildcats do the same against Florida on Wednesday. Now the two teams seen as top contenders to win the SEC are Nos. 4 and 6 in the conference race, respectively, with Tennessee 1.5 games back and Kentucky another 0.5 behind. The loser of this game becomes a serious longshot to win the league, specifically in the Cats’ case.

CALIPARI VS. BARNES

John Calipari (847) and Rick Barnes (794) are the two active winningest DI head coaches. They join Kansas’ Bill Self (789) as the only active coaches in the top 20 all-time list. The duo combines for 47 NCAA Tournament berths while the other 12 current SEC head coaches combine for 53. Calipari is 11-11 vs. Barnes overall, but 9-10 against him at Tennessee. Coach Cal looks to split the tie all-time.

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Join The Discussion on KSBoard

For the first time in over a decade, KSR will be without its in-game live blogs, a longtime tradition here on the blog. Unfortunately, the company that hosted the KSR live blogs no longer exists, so we are without the machine that made it all possible.

If you still want to interact with the KSR crew, consider joining the conversation on KSBoard. New members can try 1 month for $1.

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Rapid Reaction on the KSR YouTube Channel

Miss the game? KSR’s got you covered with a Rapid Reaction live from Rupp Arena on the KSR YouTube Channel. We’ll also have wall-to-wall postgame coverage on the website, including highlights, comments from John Calipari and the players, stats, and takeaways.

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