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ESPN college basketball analysts pick Tennessee to beat Kentucky in Sweet 16

IMG_3593by:Grant Ramey•03/27/25•

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Rick Barnes, Tennessee Basketball | Jordan Prather-Imagn Images
(Jordan Prather-Imagn Images) Feb 11, 2025; Lexington, Kentucky, USA; Tennessee Volunteers head coach Rick Barnes talks with guard Zakai Zeigler (5) during the first half against the Kentucky Wildcats at Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center.

Kentucky beat Tennessee twice in the regular season, but ESPN believes the Vols will get the best of the Wildcats in Round 3 in the Sweet 16 Friday night at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. 

ESPN’s Jeff Borzello, Myron Medcalf and Joe Lunardi all picked Tennessee to beat Kentucky and advance to Sunday’s Elite Eight. Borzello picked the Vols 73-69, Medcalf predicted a 79-77 win and Lunardi’s final score was 72-71.

Tennessee (29-7) the No. 2 seed in the Midwest Region, faces No. 3 Kentucky (24-11) on Friday at 7:39 p.m. Eastern Time (TV: TBS/TruTV), with the winner moving on to face either No. 1 Houston or No. 3 Purdue. 

Vols beat Wofford, UCLA to advance to third straight Sweet 16

“Kentucky already has beaten Tennessee twice this season,” Borzello wrote, “but the Volunteers saw fantastic performances from their guards in the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament, with Chaz Lanier totaling 49 points in two games while shooting 10-for-18 from 3-point range and Zakai Zeigler averaging 13.5 points and 9.0 assists. 

“Tennessee also had its best defensive performance in weeks against UCLA, limiting the Bruins to 58 points and 0.93 points per possession.”

Tennessee beat No. 15 Wofford 77-62 in the first round last Thursday in at Rupp Arena in Lexington, then advanced to the Sweet 16 with a 67-58 win over No. 7 UCLA.

Kentucky beat No. 14 Troy and No. 6 Illinois to get to reach the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2019. The Wildcats beat the Vols 78-73 at Food City Center in Knoxville on January 28 and won 75-64 at Rupp Arena.    

“Kentucky looked great in its pair of tourney wins,” Borzello wrote, “especially with Lamont Butler healthy. But Kentucky also went 12-for-24 from 3 in each previous meeting with the Vols; that lofty shooting efficiency could be hard to replicate a third time.”

ESPN: Chaz Lanier is player to watch in Tennessee-Kentucky matchup

Kentucky shot exactly 50% from the field and the 3-point line in its two wins over Tennessee. Meanwhile, the Vols went 11-for-45 from the 3-point line in the home loss to Kentucky and 3-for-18 from three in Lexington. 

Lanier scored 29 points and hit six threes in the first round against Wofford, then had 20 more points and four more threes against UCLA.

Lanier is the player to watch in the third Tennessee-Kentucky matchup, according to Borzello. 

“He wasn’t at his best in either prior game against Kentucky,” he wrote. “Lanier was 3-for-10 from 3 in the first meeting and 0-for-7 in the second, averaging 12.5 points. 

“In Tennessee’s wins this season, Lanier is averaging 19.4 points and shooting 43.8% from 3; in losses, he is at 12.6 points and 27.5% from 3.”

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