Tennessee basketball opens as a slight favorite for Saturday night's game at Kentucky
Tennessee basketball opened as a slight favorite for Saturday night’s game against Kentucky. The Vols, who face the Wildcats at 8:30 p.m. Eastern Time on ESPN, were listed as 1.5-point favorites by FanDuel.
Rick Barnes has led Tennessee to three wins at Rupp Arena, winning three times in a four-year span in 2018, 2020 and 2021.
Kentucky (15-5, 5-3 SEC) has lost two of its last three games, falling at home against Florida 94-91 in overtime on Wednesday after a loss at South Carolina, 79-62, last week. The Wildcats won 63-57 at Arkansas on Saturday.
Tennessee (15-5, 5-2) lost 63-59 to South Carolina on Tuesday at Thompson-Boling Arena, snapping a four-game win streak and a 13-game home win streak.
Rick Barnes has three of Tennessee’s seven wins at Rupp Arena
Before Barnes, Tennessee had won just four times at Rupp Arena, which opened in November 1976. The Vols won at Rupp in their first two games there, in January 1977 (71-67 in overtime) and January 1979 (66-55) but not again until 1999 (47-46) and 2006 (75-67).
Tennessee is 10-9 against Kentucky under Barnes. The Vols have a 77-160 overall record against the Wildcats in a series that dates back to February 1910.
The 10 wins for Tennessee against Kentucky since the 2015-16 season are the most for any UK opponent. Auburn and Kansas have won six times against the Wildcats during that same span.
Top 10
- 1New
Record shattered
ND vs. OSU ticket prices
- 2
Litigation coming?
Wisconsin DB enrolls at Miami without entering portal
- 3
Doubling-down
Bill Belichick, unsigned UNC contract
- 4
Massive fine
Sun Belt fines Marshall for bowl opt out
- 5Hot
Dick Vitale
ESPN icon returning to mic
Get the On3 Top 10 to your inbox every morning
By clicking "Subscribe to Newsletter", I agree to On3's Privacy Notice, Terms, and use of my personal information described therein.
Tennessee went 9-35 against Kentucky in the 22 seasons (1993-2015) before Barnes arrived in Knoxville. They were 7-28 when ranked and 2-21 against top-10 Kentucky teams.
Under Rick Barnes, the Vols are 6-1 against Kentucky teams ranked in the top 10
Under Barnes the Vols are 6-1 against Kentucky teams ranked inside the Associated Press top 10, 6-2 when both teams are ranked in the AP Top 25 and 3-1 when both teams are ranked in the top 10.
Kentucky swept Tennessee in the annual home-and-home last season — winning 63-53 in Knoxville and 66-54 in Lexington — the first time John Calipari’s team swept the Vols during the Barnes era.
Tennessee beat Kentucky 84-77 at home in February 2016, the first game for Barnes in the rivalry. The Vols also beat UK at home in 2017, 2018 and 2019. Kentucky’s first win over a Barnes Tennessee team in Knoxville came in February 2020.
The Vols beat Kentucky in SEC Tournament semifinal games in both 2019 and 2022 and lost to the Wildcats in the SEC Tournament championship game in 2018.
