Defense meets offense when the No. 5 Tennessee Volunteers (14-2, 4-0 SEC) play host to the Kentucky Wildcats (10-6, 1-3 SEC) Saturday. Kentucky was narrowly beaten by the South Carolina Gamecocks 71-68 at Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center on Tuesday.
Oscar Tshiebwe led the way in defeat with 19 points and 12 rebounds. The Wildcats are 12th in the Southeastern Conference. Tennessee won their fifth in a row on Tuesday at Thompson-Boling Arena, beating the Vanderbilt Commodores 77-68. Julian Phillips had 15 points to lead the team.
The Volunteers are first in the Southeastern Conference. This marks the only meeting of the season between the teams. They last met in the Southeastern Conference Tourney semifinals when the Volunteers eliminated the Wildcats with a 69-62 victory at Amalie Arena in March 2022.
Kentucky and Tennessee split their regular season matchups last season, winning one game apiece. The Volunteers won the last meeting 69-62 at Amalie Arena in March 2022. Kennedy Chandler led the Volunteers with 19 points. Keion Brooks Jr. had 19 points in the losing effort.
The Wildcats have been led this season by Tshiebwe, who is averaging 14.0 points per game. Tshiebwe also has grabbed 11.5 rebounds per game, third-most in the nation. Meanwhile, Sahvir Wheeler is dishing 5.9 assists. Olivier Nkamhoua (11.6 ppg), Santiago Vescovi (11.3), and Phillips (10.3) have supplied much of the Volunteers’ offense.
Phillips also has averaged 5.4 rebounds per game. Meanwhile, Zakai Zeigler has distributed 4.4 assists per game. The Volunteers are No. 1 in defensive efficiency in the country, while the Wildcats rank 24th in offensive efficiency.
The Wildcats are 3-6 in their last 10 visits to Thompson-Boling Arena. In the last 10 games, Kentucky is 6-4 with an average margin of +2.6 (69.8-67.2).
For the season, the Wildcats are averaging 76.3 points per game, compared to 67.5 for opponents. Tennessee has a 9-1 record over the last 10, scoring 77.8 points per game on average while allowing 52.3 (+25.5 margin).
WILDCATS HOT/COLD
(Last Five | Season Average | Differential)
Points + Rebounds + Assists:
CJ Fredrick: 3.0 | 8.1 | -5.1
Points per game:
Oscar Tshiebwe: 17.8 | 14.0 | +3.8
Rebounds per game:
Jacob Toppin: 4.0 | 5.8 | -1.7
Assists per game:
Cason Wallace: 2.2 | 3.7 | -1.5
VOLUNTEERS HOT/COLD
(Last Five | Season Average | Differential)
Points + Rebounds + Assists:
Jonas Aidoo: 16.6 | 11.3 | +5.4
Points per game:
Santiago Vescovi: 16.2 | 11.3 | +4.9
Tyreke Key: 5.6 | 9.3 | -3.6
Rebounds per game:
Jonas Aidoo: 6.4 | 5.0 | +1.4
Assists per game:
Zakai Zeigler: 6.6 | 4.4 | +2.2
SportsTips’ College Basketball Pick:
Tennessee -10.5 (-110)
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*Odds correct at time of publication, courtesy of BetMGM.
