No. 4 Kentucky doesn’t want to slip from its perch in second place in the SEC during a trip to third-place No. 16 Tennessee. The Wildcats, who have won six straight overall, have lost during four of their past six trips to Thompson-Boling Arena. The Volunteers, who are 13-0 at home and 18-6 overall, have captured four straight victories, including a road win 73-64 Feb. 12 home victory against Vanderbilt.
Tennessee has been set as a narrow one-point favorite. The over/under has been set at 140.5 points.
Tennessee Betting Preview
Josiah-Jordan James and Zakai Ziegler have been major contributors during Tennessee’s four-game winning streak, accounting for 49 percent of the teams scoring. James, who averages 8.9 points per game, has scored 16.5 points per game over the past four games.
Those two players’ emergence have served as a nice complement to Santiago Vescovi and Kennedy Chandler, who lead Tennessee by averaging 13.6 and 13.1 points per game, respectively. Vescovi has been the SEC’s top 3-point shooter in conference play, knocking down 45.7 percent of his shots from the perimeter.
Tennessee is 8-7 against Kentucky since Rick Barnes has taken over as coach. The Volunteers will need to dig in deep on defense to take down Kentucky.
Tennessee has limited opponents to 61.8 points per game during its home conference games and won those games by an average margin of 11.0 points per game. The Volunteers have outrebounded all six of the SEC teams that have come to Knoxville this year.
Kentucky Betting Preview
Kentucky has only played 12 games at full strength this season, but it would be difficult to ascertain that looking at the Wildcats’ 21-4 overall record and 10-2 mark in conference play.
The Wildcats have been able to stack so many victories thanks to their ferocity on the glass. Kentucky leads the country in rebounding margin, outrebounding their opponents by 10.9 per game.
Oscar Tshiebwe, who averages 16.4 points and 15.3 rebounds per contest, has now been in double digits, rebounding for 12 consecutive games. The Wildcats support their strong rebounding and Tshiebwe’s product with three other players who score in double figures. TyTy Washington Jr. (12.8 points per game), Kellan Grady (12.1), and Keion Brooks Jr. (11.2) all have been consistently scoring in double figures for Kentucky.
Kentucky vs. Tennessee Betting Prediction
Both teams enter this game on long win streaks and are jostling for position among the top of the SEC. Tennessee’s defense has been ferocious at home, but the Volunteers were lit up by Kentucky in the team’s first meeting. The Wildcats scored 102 points against Tennessee en reroute to a 28-point victory.
But no one has been able to bully Tennessee at home as the Volunteers have sent ranked opponents Arizona and LSU away from Knoxville with disappointing experiences. However, the Wildcats are playing at a different level right now.
Expect Kentucky to pull away late and hand Tennessee its first home loss of the season.
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