A No. 1 seed could be on the line today.
The regular season SEC Championship has been secured, but there’s no time to let up now. No. 4 Tennessee is playing for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, and they need to hold serve today as they welcome No. 15 Kentucky to town.
Tennessee found a win on the road on Wednesday against South Carolina to lock up the outright conference title, which was Rick Barnes’ second during his time in Knoxville. They’ll wrap up the regular season today, looking to fend off Arizona for that final top seed in the Big Dance.
Tennessee got the better of Kentucky a few weeks back, walking into Rupp and coming away with a 103-92 win. Today they’re seven-point favorites, per DraftKings Sportsbook.
Rick Barnes explained what’s changed with Kentucky since their first matchup.
“Justin Edwards has become more of a part of it,” Barnes said. “D.J. Wagner didn’t play up there, so they’ve got different guys. And I think they’ve all improved. We saw what Rob Dillingham did against us, but Reed Shepherd, those guys are all improved and they’ve got a lot of guys that can make difficult shots and go get their own shots. But again, it’s what John does. His teams always get better. They always do.”
How to watch Tennessee vs. Kentucky
Location: Knoxville, Tennessee
Time: 4 p.m. ET
TV Channel: CBS
Streaming: CBS Sports with Paramount