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Men's Basketball

Kentucky vs. Tennessee: TV/Streaming Info, Keys to the Game, & Predictions

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2 years ago

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UK Athletics

The Kentucky Wildcats will enter Thompson-Boling Arena on Saturday coming off back-to-back historic losses. Going up against a 5th-ranked Tennessee Volunteer team, it will be a tough task to put an end to the losing streak.

Tennessee is playing their best basketball of the season, while Kentucky is playing their worst basketball of the season. This leads the Volunteers to be a heavy favorite at home, a place where Kentucky has struggled of late, holding a record of just 3-6 in their last nine games in Knoxville.

With that said, this is Kentucky basketball, and realistic or not, we believe we have a chance to win every contest. Let’s take a look at three keys for Kentucky to have a shot at the win.

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Show more effort on the boards

Under John Calipari, Kentucky has traditionally been a good rebounding team, and even more so with Oscar Tshiebwe on the team. With that said, Kentucky’s effort on the boards against South Carolina was unacceptable, largely due to effort.

Not only did the Wildcats lose the rebounding batter 32-28, but they gave up 15 offensive rebounds, their most since – ironically enough – against South Carolina last season (20). With that said, Tennessee is much better at rebounding than South Carolina, ranked 5th in the country, twenty spots ahead of Kentucky.

If Kentucky wants any shot at winning, they are going to have to show more fight on the glass. Getting extra possessions and limiting Tennessee to just one, is going to be key.

Value possessions and take care of the ball

Kentucky is not a great offensive team. While it may not look like it, analytics are showing that is improving. Case in point, the Wildcats put up 68 points in 57 possessions against South Carolina, for an impressive 1.19 points per possession.

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On Saturday, the Wildcats will be going up against the stoutest defense in the country, rated No. 1 in defensive efficiency by KenPom. Limiting their opponents to just 53,4 points per game, scoring is not going to come easy against the Volunteers. Also accounting for the fact that Tennessee forces 17.1 turnovers per game, every possession will be valuable.

To put it simply, Kentucky is going to have to make shots to space the floor, which has been a struggle for them on the road this season. If they can do that and continue to effectively run some ball screen action, the Wildcats will have scoring opportunities. That is easier than done.

Show improvement on the defensive end

Given the length and athleticism of this team, this should be “a hell of a defensive team” as Calipari has put it. Yet, that is far from the case.

Countless times this season have the Wildcats beat beaten on straight-line drives. While Kentucky has played some great guards, this ultimately comes down to a lack of focus and not executing the scouting report.

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Against power five opponents, the Wildcats are allowing more than 75 points per game and if the Wildcats want to improve, this has to be the area they grow the most. As great as Tennessee is defensively, they have only been ‘good’ offensively, well until late. It should be noted they have scored 77 points or more in four of their last five games.

The Volunteers do not rely on one player and have more of a balanced scoring attack. Therefore, all five players on the floor will need to be engaged on the defensive end.

Kentucky Basketball vs. Tennessee Volunteers

Time/Date: 12:00 pm ET on Saturday, January 14th, 2023.
Location: Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville, Tennessee.
TV Channel: ESPN
Online Stream: WatchESPN, ESPN+, SEC Network+ or ESPN app
Radio: Tom Leach and Jack Givens have the UK radio network call on the UK Sports Radio Network.
Replay: SEC Network (check local listings).
Rosters: UK | UT
Team Sheets: UK | UT
Stats To Know: UK | UT

Odds: DraftKings Sportsbook has yet to release the odds, but they probably won’t look pretty. ESPN’s matchup predictor gives the Wildcats one of their worst chances to win a game for the remainder of the season at just 9.4 percent. Bart Torvik is even less confident in the Cats at 4%.

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Predictions: Bart Torvik picks the Wildcats to lose in blowout fashion 74-56. 

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Men's Basketball

Former Louisville Player “Pissed Off” at Rick Pitino’s Return to Kentucky, Suggests He Is a Liar

Published

5 days ago

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October 17, 2024

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Former Louisville player Luke Hancock was "pissed off" about his former coach Rick Pitino returning to Kentucky, and suggests he is a liar.
IMAGN

If a Kentucky fan had been told on January 1st that Rick Pitino would return to Rupp Arena for Mark Pope’s first Big Blue Madness as the Wildcats’ head coach, they would have given you quite a look. Yet, it happened, and it even caught Louisville fans off guard.

“I want to come back to Camelot one more time,” Pitino said teary-eyed with a Kentucky blue pullover on. This was quite the opposite act of what he did the last time he was in Rupp Arena, which was flipping off the Wildcat fans as the head coach at Louisville in 2015.

Already angering Louisville fans with his return to their rival, Pitino was asked if he sees himself returning to Louisville in a similar fashion one day, to which he responded, “Probably not”.

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“I love that place, and I love the fans at Louisville, but I’ve never been invited back to Louisville. They fired me quite abruptly and not nicely, but I harbor nothing against the fans and certainly nothing against my players. I love them dearly. But I’ve never been invited back, not one time.”

Former Louisville captain Luke Hancock refutes this, saying he has invited Pitino back himself.

“I’ll tell you what pissed me off,” Hancock said. “The fact that coach went out there and acted like he hadn’t invited back. That’s the line I don’t like. Of course, you’ve been invited back… For him to go out of his way to say that, that’s simply not true.”

It likely is the case that Hancock invited Pitino back to Louisville, but being invited back by a player and an administration is different. Again Pitino left Kentucky on his own will to go to the Boston Celtics, whereas he was fired from Louisville.

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Now that he is back in the good graces of Big Blue Nation, and given the turmoil in his relationship with the UofL administration, it’s difficult to envision Pitino returning to Louisville for a reunion.

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BB Recruiting

Malachi Moreno Helping Kentucky Recruit Top 2025 Point Guard

Published

5 days ago

on

October 16, 2024

By

Five-star Kentucky commit Malachi Moreno is helping the Wildcats recruit one of the top point guards of the 2025 class Acaden Lewis.
UK Athletics

This past weekend was a big moment for Kentucky basketball, as the first Big Blue Madness of the Mark Pope era took place. In years past, the event has hosted multiple five-star recruits and this year was no different.

While the guest list was smaller due to USA Basketball junior mini camp, the Wildcats had two top recruits in attendance, 2026 five-star Anthony Thompson and 2024 four-star combo guard Acaden Lewis.

The latter is one of Kentucky’s biggest recruiting priorities in the 2025 class and was also on campus for an official visit as he prepares to make his college decision in early November. To help was five-star commit, Malachi Moreno.

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While Moreno couldn’t make it to Big Blue Madness, he was able to meet with Lewis during his visit on Thursday and even took part in his photo shoot, as the pair posed together in Kentucky uniforms in Rupp Arena.

It helps to have a five-star commit just down the road to help recruit. Could we see the pair play together next season at Kentucky? Things are trending in that direction, but time will tell.

Also published on A Sea of Blue.

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Men's Basketball

Rick Pitino Takes Shot at Louisville Following Return to Kentucky

Published

6 days ago

on

October 16, 2024

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Rick Pitino returned to Rupp Arena for Kentucky's Big Blue Madness, and took a shot at his former school Louisville.
© Clare Grant/Courier Journal

Time heals all wounds.

In 2015, Rick Pitino walked out of Rupp Arena with his middle finger up at the fans, as the head coach of the Louisville Cardinals. On Friday, he returned for the first time since, and as he emerged from the tunnel wearing Kentucky blue, holding the 1996 championship trophy, Big Blue Nation cheered for him for the first time in over two decades.

Clearly holding back tears, Pitino sat the trophy down on a mantle alongside seven others, and was welcomed with a warm embrace from his former player and now head coach, Mark Pope.

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“I am so happy to be back,” Pitino opened. “Before I pack it in, in coaching, I want to come back to Camelot one more time. This is one of the best nights I’ve had in a long time.”

On Friday, at an event that had become stale and repetitive of late, was a moment that will be remembered in Kentucky basketball history. To close this historical night, Kentucky Insider asked Pitino if he ever thought he would be wearing Kentucky blue again.

“Yeah, I thought so. Once I left Louisville, I said I’ll sleep in Kentucky blue.”

Pitino is one of Kentucky’s own again. Wow, how time has changed.

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