Entertainment Value High for Top 25 showdown at Rupp Arena
Kentucky’s Perfect Record at Home on the Line against Tennessee
When Tennessee heads to meet Kentucky there is the potential for some offensive fireworks. Kentucky is first and Tennessee third in the SEC in field-goal attempts per game.
The 18th-ranked Wildcats are 11-0 at home. However, will that be enough to beat the 22nd-ranked Volunteers?
Tennessee has had Kentucky’s number recently winning four of the last six meetings and covering in all four of the wins. Tennessee has won the last three meetings at Kentucky
Tennessee (+1500) has the fifth-best odds to win the SEC championship while only Auburn is ahead of Kentucky (+350) in the odds to win the conference championship. The Wildcats (+2200) have the seventh-best odds to win the national championship.
Kentucky’s Oscar Tshiebwe (+850) is tied for the fifth-best odds to be named the national player of the year.
Game: Tennessee (11-4) at Kentucky (13-3)
Location: Rupp Arena, Lexington, Kentucky
Day/Time: Saturday, January 15, 12 p.m. ET
Television: ESPN
Tennessee Volunteers at Kentucky Wildcats
Fulkerson, Tennessee Eyeing Another Win at Rupp Arena
Plenty of talented Tennessee players have authored some impressive performances but there is a chance for current Volunteers’ forward John Fulkerson to make some history.
The fifth-year senior is one of two Tennessee players to win three games at Kentucky’s Rupp Arena. He has a chance to make it four on Saturday.
“That would be cool but other than winning there four times, it would just be good to focus on our next game,” Fulkerson said. “It doesn’t really matter what happened the past three times, we still have to go out there and execute our game plan.”
Fulkerson had a quiet game in last season’s trip to Kentucky as he missed all three of his field-goal attempts although he did have three rebounds. That was not the case in the March 3, 2020, game. Fulkerson played 39 minutes and finished with 27 points as well as six rebounds in the 81-73 victory. He was also a part of the 2019 victory at Rupp Arena.
“It’s a big rivalry. Being so close, playing them twice a year and just the history between us,” Fulkerson said. “It is a game a lot of people are looking forward to, we are looking forward to it as well.”
Fulkerson is fourth on the Volunteers in scoring averaging 9 points per game on 55.4% shooting. He leads Tennessee with 35 offensive rebounds and is tied for the team lead with 18 blocked shots.
Santiago Vescovi and Kennedy Chandler are the go-to offensive players for Tennessee averaging 13.6 and 13.4 points per game.
Tennessee coach Rick Barnes is 8-6 against Kentucky since arriving in Knoxville in 2015.
Tennessee has won five of its last seven games but both the losses have come on the road when listed by the college basketball spreads as underdogs against Alabama and LSU.
Wheeler Could Return for Kentucky
It is looking like Sahvir Wheeler, the SEC leader with an average of 7.3 assists, to be back on the court when Kentucky plays host to Tennessee in a top-25 showdown.
Wheeler has missed two games due to a neck injury. He played just four minutes in a five-point loss at LSU and then missed wins over Georgia and Vanderbilt.
“You saw that Sahvir stirs the drink offensively for us,” Kentucky coach John Calipari said after the LSU loss. “Someone (asked), in the last minutes Kellan (Grady) didn’t get the ball. And I say, we didn’t have a point guard in. So, those guys who would find him, that’s who they are. So now we’ve got to say, all right, how do we do this?”
Wheeler’s return could come at a perfect time for Kentucky with games coming up against No. 4 Auburn and No. 9 Kansas as well as Saturday’s showdown with the Volunteers.
John Calipari says Sahvir Wheeler did practice yesterday. Cal says his guess is that Wheeler will be available Saturday against Tennessee. #BBN #ukbasketball
— John Clay (@johnclayiv) January 14, 2022
Freshman Tyty Washington had a program-record 17 assists against Georgia but against Vanderbilt, it was all about National Player of the Year candidate Oscar Tshiebwe torching Vanderbilt for 30 points and 13 rebounds.
Tshiebwe leads the country in rebounding averaging 15.1 per game and is also the SEC leader in field-goal percentage. In his last two games, he is 24-of-36 from the field and is averaging 29.5 points and 15 rebounds. It has been quite the breakthrough campaign for a player who averaged 10.6 points and 8.9 rebounds in 41 games at West Virginia over the last two seasons. He never scored more than 19 points in a game for the Mountaineers but is now averaging 17 points each time out for Kentucky.
The Wildcats are 5-2 against the Las Vegas odds in their last seven games.
Freshmen Get Introduction to Tennessee-Kentucky rivalry
While both Tennessee and Kentucky have veteran players to call upon, the x-factors could be a pair of highly touted freshmen. Tennessee’s Kennedy Chandler was ranked 10th and Tyty Washington of Kentucky 14th in ESPN’s Class of 2021 recruiting rankings. Both are among the top 15 scorers in the SEC and in the top five in assists per game. It will be interesting to watch how they perform in this heated rivalry.
Kentucky leads the SEC in scoring, offensive rebounds and total rebounds while Tennessee has attempted the second most three-pointers among SEC teams.
Something to consider for those who bet online, the total has gone over in four of the last six games when Kentucky is favored. However, the total has gone under in eight of Tennessee’s last 11 games on the road.
