It’s all on the line.
The matchup everyone was looking ahead to is officially happening. For the first time ever, Tennessee and Kentucky will meet in the NCAA Tournament. The 186th meeting all-time in the series will take place in the Sweet 16 on Friday with a trip to the Elite 8 on the line.
Kentucky beat Tennessee in both Knoxville and Lexington this season, shooting 50 percent from three-point range in both games. Zakai Zeigler and Chaz Lanier had two of their worst shooting nights of the entire season, combining to go 0-9 and 4-21 from long range against the Wildcats.
The gambling market thinks those trends change on Friday. Per Fanduel Sportsbook, Tennessee is a 4.5 point favorite over Kentucky. The total has been set at 145.5.
Kentucky breezed past Troy in the first round, then beat Illinois in the round of 32. The Wildcats controlled that game from the jump, forcing the Illini into 14 turnovers. Tennessee took care of Wofford in the opening round, then handled a tough UCLA squad to advance.
Believe it or not, this will be Kentucky’s first appearance in the Sweet 16 since 2019. The Wildcats rank 15th overall in KenPom with the 11th ranked offense in the country. Their defense checks in at 45th.
Kentucky has six players averaging double figures, led by Otega Oweh who is putting up over 16 per game. Senior guard Lamont Butler is back after missing a chunk of games in SEC play. Butler averages 11 points per game.
“They got guys that can shoot the ball,” Rick Barnes said after the loss in Lexington to Kentucky. “I mean, I asked the question, the guys we expect to shoot it, why aren’t we making ours? Because we have some great looks at it. So you give them credit for making the shots. But with all those threes going in, they’re going to score. That’s what they do. I mean, you expect them to shoot it. But you can’t give them the other things that we gave up tonight, along with that.”
Tip-off in Indianapolis is set for 7:39 p.m. ET. TBS or TruTV will have the call.