Live Updates: No. 5 Tennessee vs. Kentucky
No. 5 Tennessee renews its rivalry with Kentucky on Saturday, a Noon Eastern Time start at Thompson-Boling Arena. The Vols have won five of seven against the Wildcats at home during the Rick Barnes era, who has a 10-7 overall record against the Cats since being hired at Tennessee in 2015.
Follow along here for live, in-game updates on The General’s Quarters
The Vols (14-2, 4-0 SEC) beat Vanderbilt 77-68 at home on Tuesday, coming off two wins over South Carolina and Mississippi State by a combined 77 points.
Kentucky (10-6, 1-3) lost 71-68 at home to South Carolina on Tuesday, after losing 78-52 at Alabama on Saturday. The Wildcats opened SEC play with a loss at Missouri.
“What I know is the respect I have for John Calipari and his program,” Tennessee coach Rick Barnes said on Thursday. “What he’s meant not only to the University of Kentucky but to college basketball in general. When you think of his teams, all I know is they always get better. Always.
“I don’t care what has happened up to this point with either the University of Kentucky or the University of Tennessee. You can throw all of that out. It’s going to be a game where both teams are going to play hard, going to try to get better. So we’re going to have to be ready to play.”
Barnes coached Tennessee to four straight home wins over Kentucky, from 2016 to 2019. The Vols beat Kentucky at home last year then again in the SEC Tournament semifinals in Tampa. Tennessee has won three times against Kentucky at Rupp Arena, in 2018, 2020 and 2021, and beat the Cats in the SEC Tournament semifinal in 2019 at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville.
Tennessee vs. Kentucky: How to watch, stream, listen
Tipoff Time: Noon ET, Saturday
Location: Thompson-Boling Arena
TV: ESPN
Streaming: ESPN App or WatchESPN.com
Radio: WNML-FM 99.1 in Knoxville. The Vol Network radio broadcast (Bob Kesling – play-by-play – Bert Bertelkamp, analyst) can be heard on local affiliates across the state of Tennessee.
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A closer look at Kentucky
Kentucky is 1-3 in SEC play after back-to-back losses against Alabama and South Carolina. The Wildcats had their 28-game home win streak snapped Tuesday in a 71-68 loss to the Gamecocks, who entered the game as a 19-point underdog. They lost 78-52 at Alabama on Saturday, the lowest point total for Kentucky under John Calipari.
Senior forward Oscar Tshiebwe leads Kentucky in points and rebounding, averaging a double-double with 16.0 points and 13.1 rebounds per game. Guard Antonio Reeves averages 11.8 points per game, just ahead of five-star freshman Cason Wallace, who averages 11.6 points, 3.7 assists and 3.5 rebounds per game.
Wallace played only eight minutes against South Carolina, leaving the game with what was reported to be a lower-back issue.
Kentucky is unranked in the polls. The Cats are No. 44 in the KenPom.com ratings, ranked 20th in adjusted offensive efficiency and 92nd in defensive efficiency. The NET ranking has Kentucky at No. 63.
The 10 wins so far for Kentucky have come against Howard, Duquesne, South Carolina State, North Florida, Bellarmine, Michigan, Yale, Florida A&M, Louisville and LSU. The Cats lost to Michigan State, Gonzaga, UCLA, Missouri, Alabama and South Carolina.
