No. 12 Kentucky at No. 8 Tennessee: Preview, Odds & How to Watch

Kentucky is in the midst of its first losing streak under Mark Pope, the Cats falling in back-to-back contests vs. No. 4 Alabama and at Vanderbilt. Just three days after taking the loss in Nashville, they’re returning to the Volunteer State to take on No. 8 Tennessee with a chance to get back in the win column and give Pope a sixth victory against top-15 competition.

It won’t be easy, though, as the Vols rank first nationally in defensive efficiency while the Cats are extremely banged up — two opposite playing styles and strengths, but only one winner.

What will it take to come out on top? KSR has everything you need to know about the matchup.

Kentucky vs. Tennessee: How to Watch, Listen

• Time: 7:00 p.m. ET
• Television: ESPN (Karl Ravech, Jimmy Dykes, Molly McGrath)
• Home Radio: UK Sports Network – 630 WLAP, iHeart Radio (Tom Leach, Goose Givens)
• Online Radio: iHeart
• Satellite Radio: Sirius 160 or 191
• Live Stats: StatBroadcast

You can also follow the game via our new LIVE BLOG on the website, which will begin an hour before tip-off, or join the conversation on KSBoard.

Early season rewind

Kentucky: KenPom 22

• 11/4: 103-62 W vs. Wright State
• 11/9: 100-72 W vs. Bucknell
• 11/12: 77-72 W vs. No. 6 Duke
• 11/19: 97-68 W vs. Lipscomb
• 11/22: 108-59 W vs. Jackson State
• 11/26: 87-68 W vs. Western Kentucky
• 11/29: 105-76 W vs. Georgia State
• 12/3: 70-66 L at Clemson
• 12/7: 90-89 W OT vs. No. 7 Gonzaga
• 12/11: 78-67 W vs. Colgate
• 12/14: 93-85 W vs. Louisville
• 12/21: 85-65 L vs. Ohio State
• 12/31: 88-54 W vs. Brown
• 1/4: 106-100 W vs. No. 6 Florida
• 1/7: 82-69 L at Georgia
• 1/11: 95-90 W at No. 14 Mississippi State
• 1/14: 81-69 W vs. No. 11 Texas A&M
• 1/18: 102-97 L vs. No. 4 Alabama
• 1/25: 74-69 L at Vanderbilt

Tennessee: KenPom 6

• 11/4: 80-64 W vs. Gardner Webb
• 11/9: 77-55 W at Louisville
• 11/13: 92-57 W vs. Montana
• 11/17: 103-68 W vs. Austin Peay
• 11/21: 64-42 W vs. Virginia
• 11/22: 77-62 W vs. No. 13 Baylor
• 11/27: 78-35 W vs. Tennessee Martin
• 12/3: 96-70 W vs. Syracuse
• 12/10: 75-62 W vs. Miami (FL)
• 12/14: 66-64 W at Illinois
• 12/17: 84-36 W vs. Western Carolina
• 12/23: 82-64 W vs. Middle Tennessee
• 12/31: 67-52 W vs. Norfolk State
• 1/4: 76-52 W vs. No. 23 Arkansas
• 1/7: 73-43 L at No. 8 Florida
• 1/11: 74-70 W at Texas
• 1/15: 74-56 W vs. No. 23 Georgia
• 1/18: 76-75 L at Vanderbilt
• 1/21: 68-56 W vs. No. 14 Mississippi State
• 1/25: 53-51 L at No. 1 Auburn

Series History

Kentucky leads the all-time series 161-78 including a 59-53 record on the road at Tennessee. The two teams split the series in 2023-24, starting with a 103-92 loss for the Cats in Lexington back on Feb. 3, followed by an 85-81 victory on the road in Knoxville in the regular season finale on March 9. Rob Dillingham led all scorers in the first with 35 points while Antonio Reeves added 21. Reeves and Reed Sheppard both added 27 apiece in the second with Justin Edwards also going for 16.

Rick Barnes, in his tenth season at Tennessee, is 12-12 against the Wildcats while Mark Pope is 0-0 against the Volunteers. As a player, Pope was 4-0 against UT, averaging 6.0 points and 6.0 rebounds per contest in the series.

Kentucky vs. Tennessee Odds

Spread: Tennessee -8.5
Total: 148.5

KenPom and Bart Torvik both project wins for Tennessee, the former going with a 77-68 final score and the latter rolling with 76-68 in favor of the bad guys. ESPN’s BPI likes the Volunteers by 7.8 points while giving the home team a 77.6 percent chance to pull off the win.

Kentucky Potential Starters

#2 – Jaxson Robinson
6-6 – 192 – GUARD – GRADUATE STUDENT
13.0 PPG, 3.7 RPG, 1.7 APG

#00 – Otega Oweh
6-4 – 215 – GUARD – JUNIOR
15.7 PPG, 4.1 RPG, 1.7 SPG

#4 – Koby Brea
6-7 – 215 – GUARD – GRADUATE STUDENT
10.8 PPG, 3.1 RPG, 0.7 APG

#15 – Ansley Almonor
6-7 – 235 – FORWARD – GRADUATE STUDENT
5.7 PPG, 1.9 RPG

#22 – Amari Williams
7-0 – 262 – CENTER – GRADUATE STUDENT
9.9 PPG, 8.8 RPG, 1.6 BPG

Tennessee Projected Starters

#5 – Zakai Zeigler
5-9 – 172 – GUARD – SENIOR
12.3 PPG, 7.5 APG, 3.5 RPG

#2 – Chaz Lanier
6-5 – 207 – GUARD – GRADUATE SENIOR
18.0 PPG, 3.1 RPG, 1.1 APG

#15 – Jahmai Mashack
6-4 – 202 – GUARD – SENIOR
5.9 PPG PPG, 3.8 RPG, 1.4 APG

#7 – Igor Milicic Jr.
6-10 – 225 – FORWARD – SENIOR
10.0 PPG, 8.1 RPG, 2.0 APG

#34 – Felix Okpara
6-10 – 245 – FORWARD – JUNIOR
7.5 PPG, 6.5 RPG, 1.7 BPG

Statistical Comparison

(via Kentucky’s game notes)

Interesting stats from UK’s game notes:

• UK and UT are one of the nation’s oldest rivalries, meeting 239 times with the Wildcats holding a 161-78 all-time edge. This will mark the first of two meetings between the teams this season.
• Ansley Almonor has emerged as a steady threat for the Cats, averaging 9.8 points over his last four games while hitting 10 of 16 attempts from three (62.5%) in that span.
• Otega Oweh’s double-figure scoring streak continues, going for 10-plus points in every game this season. He currently leads the team in scoring at 15.9 PPG.
• A win in Knoxville could give Kentucky the most top-15 AP ranked wins in program history, tying the 2002-03 record of six.

Pregame Storylines

CATS ARE BANGED UP

Pope said before the Vanderbilt game the Cats were ‘doing better’ and ‘grateful for this week (off) because it at least helps us make some progress.’ Then Andrew Carr was ruled out with a back injury while Kerr Kriisa remained out with a broken foot — plus Lamont Butler playing at less than 100 percent with a shoulder issue. Depth was a serious issue in Nashville, and things are only worse following the quick turnaround from Saturday to Tuesday with Butler ruled out and Carr still questionable. Everyone is banged up this time of year, certainly in the toughest league in college basketball, but Kentucky is especially banged up.

TOUGH AND PHYSICAL WITH THE NO. 1 DEFENSE

The Volunteers boast the No. 335 tempo out of 364 teams — about as slow as you can get at the high-major level. They are, however, the No. 1 defense in college basketball in terms of efficiency, allowing just 58.4 points per game (No. 3) on 36.0 percent shooting (No. 2) and 25.4 percent from three (No. 1). Tennessee will look to muck things up and beat Kentucky up on both ends, especially as toughness criticisms continue for Mark Pope’s group coming off a second straight loss. “It’s gonna be a dog fight. … No schemes, no gimmicks. It’s just go out there and be tougher. It’s that simple,” Ansley Almonor said of the matchup.

CHAZ LANIER GOES FROM FORMER UK TARGET TO RIVAL

Remember portal season when the Wildcats made a push for North Florida transfer Chaz Lanier? He’s now Tennessee’s leading scorer, averaging an impressive 18.0 points on 41.4/77.6/42/3 shooting splits in 30.1 minutes per contest. Picking UT over UK, the 6-4 guard has scored in double figures in all but two games for the Vols with eight games of 20-plus points. Following Lanier’s commitment to Rick Barnes, Mark Pope turned to Jaxson Robinson and secured his addition the day after the draft withdrawal deadline. He’s put together 14 double-figure outings for the Cats as the team’s third-leading scorer.

SOLID IN THIS SPOT

Kentucky had responded with a victory coming off a loss in the first three instances before going back-to-back this go-round, falling to Alabama and Vanderbilt for Mark Pope’s first official losing streak with the Wildcats. Fear not, though, as other trends favor the blue and white. UK is 3-0 under Pope as underdogs, winning all three outings outright. The Cats have also won back-to-back games in Knoxville as an eight-point underdog. They’ve won their last three games on the road coming off consecutive losses and five overall.

TWO TEAMS IN ELITE COMPANY

Very few resumes are better than both Kentucky and Tennessee this season. In fact, only seven other teams join the Cats and Vols among programs with five-plus Quad 1 wins and zero Quad 2-4 losses: Alabama, Auburn, Duke, Iowa State, Louisville, Purdue and Texas A&M. Pope’s group has stacked up six such wins against Duke, Gonzaga, Louisville, Florida, Mississippi State and Texas A&M — five coming against top-15 competition. Tennessee’s five came against Louisville, Baylor, Illinois, Texas and Mississippi State.

Join The Discussion on KSBoard

Want to interact with the KSR crew during the game? Consider joining the conversation on KSBoard, where we’ll be sharing live updates as your eyes and ears inside Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center while also answering questions and providing real-time analysis (and probably complaining about the officiating).

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Rapid Reaction on the KSR YouTube Channel

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

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