No. 8 Tennessee basketball returns to Rocky Top for a battle with No. 12 Kentucky in a pivotal SEC contest. Read more for a full Tennessee vs Kentucky prediction and preview.
No. 8 Tennessee Volunteers return home Tuesday night to face No. 12 Kentucky Wildcats in their fourth consecutive home game against a ranked SEC opponent at Food City Center.
Tuesday marks the beginning of a three-game homestand for Tennessee, including back-to-back AP top-20 matchups against Kentucky, Florida, and Missouri.
The last meeting was on March 9, 2024, when Kentucky guards Antonio Reeves and Reed Sheppard each scored 27 points and Tennessee standout Dalton Knecht finished with a career-high 40 points.
General Information:
Teams: Tennessee (17-3, 4-3) and Kentucky (14-5, 3-3)
Tip-Off: 7 p.m. EST
Watch: ESPN
Latest on Kentucky basketball:
One of the most historic college basketball rivalries begins a new era when first-year Kentucky head coach Mark Pope makes his first journey to Knoxville as the Wildcats’ coach.
Since John Calipari departed for Arkansas, Kentucky’s roster has transformed completely. There are no players from last season’s squad, and only one freshman, guard Travis Perry, remained committed to the UK.
Pope assembled a squad featuring an array of transfers, including guards Jaxson Robinson, Otega Oweh, Lamont Butler, and Kobe Brea. All four have an average of at least ten points. Oweh now leads the UK with 15.9 points. Brea shoots 46.4% from three, ranking second in the SEC.
Pope, who previously managed a highly ranked attack at BYU, brings this offensive firepower to Kentucky. The Wildcats are second in the SEC in points per game (88.7) in field goal percentage (48.4%). They top the conference with 18.6 assists per game.
“But you know, they’re fun to watch. They’re innovative. They space the floor, shoot a lot of threes, get up and down, and play at a pretty good pace. So he’s doing a great job, man. I think Coach Pope, I have a lot of respect for him.” – Rod Clark, Vols assistant coach.
The Kentucky Wildcats have lost three of their previous five games, and their dynamic offense faltered on the road, losing to Vanderbilt and Georgia.
Kentucky has struggled on the road this season, going 1–3 in true away games. When not playing in Lexington, the Wildcats have gotten off to a slow start, trailing by seven or more points at halftime in six of their seven road games this season.
Pope’s team has a challenging task against a Tennessee team that has performed admirably on Rocky Top.
The Wildcats enter this game with two of their finest players on the injury report.
Lamont Butler, the starting point guard and second-leading scorer, is sidelined due to a nagging shoulder issue. Andrew Carr, a 6’11” senior forward, missed Saturday’s defeat to Vanderbilt with a back issue and is questionable for Tuesday night’s game.
Kentucky will rely on its reserves to compensate for Butler and Carr’s potential absences.
Latest on Tennesee basketball:
Tennessee is experiencing its first four-game streak against AP top-20Â teams in program history.
Rick Barnes’ squad’s most recent encounter ended in a nail-biting 53-51 loss against the nation’s top-ranked team, the Auburn Tigers.
The game was a physical clash, with neither team able to break away as their defenses swarmed. Auburn held the largest lead of the second half, five points, but the Vols knotted the game 45-45 a minute later.
Both teams concluded the game with fewer than 32% shooting from the field and less than 20% from beyond the three-point line. Zakai Zeigler led the Vols with 14 points, six rebounds, and five assists.
After facing the No. 1 offensive attack against Auburn, the Volunteers will face the No. 4 offense on Tuesday versus Kentucky. Tennessee’s top-ranked defense will be prominent in Tuesday’s game.
Fans are also hoping that players like Chaz Lanier and Igor Milicic Jr. can bounce back and return to their early-season form.
The Volunteers will need to capitalize on a struggling Kentucky team to win at home.
Tennessee vs Kentucky prediction: Vols by 10 (73-63)
To keep up with Tennessee Volunteers basketball on social media, follow @BleedOrangeRev on X/Twitter.
Fun fact: Zakai Zeigler is three points away from becoming the SEC’s second all-time leader with 1,300 points, 600 assists, and 200 steals. Only Arkansas’ Kareem Reid (1995-99) has accomplished this feat.