The #25 Kentucky Wildcats (17-7, 8-3) travel to Knoxville to play the Tennessee Volunteers (13-10, 5-6) on CBS at 1pm.
The announcers for today’s game are Ian Eagle and Clark Kellogg.
Kentucky is currently an 1.5 favorite.
Here is background on today’s SEC matchup:
The Vols have three players averaging double-figures led by 13.7 per game from Jordan McRae. Sophomore Jarnell Stokes averages 12.6 points per game and a team-best 8.6 rebounds per game. Stokes is the SEC’s reigning SEC Player of the Week.
Kentucky has posted a 4-3 record in games where it is ranked 25th in the AP poll.
The Kentucky series is UT’s oldest and most played among SEC opponents. The Vols and Wildcats first met on Feb. 5, 1910, and have clashed 215 times over the years.
Kentucky owns a 149-66 record in the all-time series with Tennessee. The Wildcats have won six straight in the series
and nine of the last 10. UK has won 20 of the last 24 meetings.
Tennessee has defeated a John Calipari coached team five times since he returned to the college game in 2000-01.
Comparing the Teams
Stat UK UT
Points 75.0 63.7
Opp. points 62.8 61.6
Rebounds 38.9 36.3
Opp rebounds 33.5 31.3
Off. Rebounds 11.4 11.5
FG % .486 .429
Opp FG% .382 .414
3-Pt. % .361 .286
Opp. 3-Pt. % .310 .309
FT % .646 .676
Opp. FT % .697 .716
Fouls 16.5 18.1
Assists 14.5 10.3
Turnovers 13.4 13.1
Opp. Turnovers 12.6 11.0
Blocks 7.5 3.9
Steals 6.4 3.9
PROJECTED STARTERS*
Kentucky Wildcats
P # Name Pts. Rebs. Assts
G 10 Archie Goodwin 13.9 4.6 3.1
• Made more than 100 free throws on the year
G 12 Ryan Harrow 9.9 2.3 3.2
• UK is 7-0 when Harrow has 4+ assists
F** 15 Willie Cauley-Stein 7.8 5.5 1.7^
• Scored in double-figures in three-straight games
F 22 Alex Poythress 12.0 6.3 0.5
• Owns a .581 field goal clip for the season
G 34 Julius Mays 9.3 2.9 3.0
• Scored in double-figures in four-straight games
Tennessee Volunteers
P # Name Pts. Rebs. Assts
G 1 Josh Richardson 8.1 4.7 0.9~
• Leads’s the team with 21 steals
G 4 Armani Moore 2.3 2.7 0.8
• Started 6 of 20 games played this season
F 5 Jarnell Stokes 12.6 8.6 1.3^
• Reigning SEC Player of the Week
G 11 Golden Tate 10.4 2.8 3.4
• Had 12 points and 7 rebs at Vanderbilt
F 52 Jordan McRae 13.7 3.6 1.8
• Dbl-dbl at Vandy with 14 points and 11 rebounds
*-Based on previous game’s starters; **-Substituted for Nerlens Noel who is out for the season; ^-blocks; ~-steals
