Halftime Report
After a tough loss on the road their last time out, Tennessee looks much better today on their home court. A win is still up for grabs for either team after one quarter, but Tennessee is up 33-30 over Kentucky.
Tennessee came into the game with some extra motivation after the defeat they were dealt the last time these two teams faced off. We’ll see if they’re able to flip the script or if it’ll just be more of the same.
Who’s Playing
Kentucky Wildcats @ Tennessee Volunteers
Current Records: Kentucky 14-5, Tennessee 17-3
How To Watch
What to Know
Tennessee and Kentucky are an even 5-5 against one another since March of 2020, but not for long. Both will face off in an SEC battle at 7:00 p.m. ET on Tuesday at Thompson-Boling Arena. The Volunteers will be looking to keep their 11-game home win streak alive.
Tennessee is headed into this one after the oddsmakers set last week’s over/under low at 141.5, but even that wound up being too high. They fell just short of Auburn by a score of 53-51 on Saturday.
The loss doesn’t tell the whole story though, as several players had good games. One of the most active was Zakai Zeigler, who posted 14 points in addition to six rebounds and five assists. The team also got some help courtesy of Jahmai Mashack, who earned seven points along with six rebounds and two steals.
Kentucky has been a dominant force so far, but they’re in the middle of a mini-slump at the moment. They fell 74-69 to Vanderbilt on Saturday. The Wildcats didn’t live up to their potential and found themselves falling short of the advantage oddsmakers thought they had coming into the game.
Otega Oweh put forth a good effort for the losing side as he dropped a double-double on 21 points and 12 rebounds.
Tennessee’s loss dropped their record down to 17-3. As for Kentucky, their defeat dropped their record down to 14-5.
Some high-performance offense is likely on the agenda as the two teams are some of the highest scoring teams in the league. Tennessee hasn’t had any problem running up the score this season, having averaged 75.1 points per game. However, it’s not like Kentucky (currently ranked third) struggles in that department as they’ve been averaging 88.1. With both teams so easily able to put up points, the only question left is who can run the score up higher.
As for their next game, Tennessee is the favorite in this one, as the experts expect to see them win by nine points. For those looking to play the spread, take note: they are a solid 8-3 against the spread when playing as the favorites at home.
Odds
Tennessee is a big 9-point favorite against Kentucky, according to the latest college basketball odds.
The oddsmakers had a good feel for the line for this one, as the game opened with the Volunteers as a 8.5-point favorite.
The over/under is 148.5 points.
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Series History
Tennessee and Kentucky both have 5 wins in their last 10 games.
- Mar 09, 2024 – Kentucky 85 vs. Tennessee 81
- Feb 03, 2024 – Tennessee 103 vs. Kentucky 92
- Feb 18, 2023 – Kentucky 66 vs. Tennessee 54
- Jan 14, 2023 – Kentucky 63 vs. Tennessee 56
- Mar 12, 2022 – Tennessee 69 vs. Kentucky 62
- Feb 15, 2022 – Tennessee 76 vs. Kentucky 63
- Jan 15, 2022 – Kentucky 107 vs. Tennessee 79
- Feb 20, 2021 – Kentucky 70 vs. Tennessee 55
- Feb 06, 2021 – Tennessee 82 vs. Kentucky 71
- Mar 03, 2020 – Tennessee 81 vs. Kentucky 73