Tennessee at Kentucky


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The Kentucky Wildcats host the Tennessee Volunteers Tuesday in a game that will be nationally televised on ESPN at 9:00 EST. This SEC showdown on Super Tuesday features the return of Vols heads coach Bruce Pearl, who is back after serving an eight-game suspension. Pearl has not won at Kentucky’s Rupp Arena since 2006 and will have a tall task ahead if he’s going to end that streak. The line for this contest show us odds of Kentucky -9 over Tennessee with a total set of 138 points.

Tennessee (15-8, 5-3) will have their leader back on the bench wearing his patented bright-orange blazer. He only pulls it out for games against rivals Kentucky and Vanderbilt. It’s not going to be easy for Pearl, who will have to play a pair of ranked SEC foes this week in the No. 18 Wildcats and also No. 17 Florida. This will be Tennessee’s third game in six days, and they are coming off a tough overtime loss to SEC West-leading Alabama at home.

The Volunteers currently sit in second place in the SEC East, just one game back of Florida. If they can get junior guard Scotty Hopson back tonight, their chances of pulling off the upset in Rupp Arena are much greater. Hopson has miss consecutive games against Alabama and Auburn due to a sprained left ankle. He is listed as questionable, but did participate in a walk-through on Sunday. Hopson leads the team in scoring (16.7) this season. He is one of only three players averaging in double-figures, as next in line is Tobias Harris (14.8) and Cameron Tatum (10.5).

Kentucky (16-6, 4-4) has suffered several close losses this season, and just have to find a way to win these games. This is a young team, so that has a lot to do with it but they’re far enough along in the season that there’s no excuses for these freshmen any more. The Wildcats have not been at .500 in SEC play at the midway point since 1990. Head coach John Calipari had not lost back-to-back games since coaching in Memphis back in 2004-05 before dropping his last two games in SEC play.

Their most recent setback was a 2-point loss at Florida on Saturday after Brandon Knight’s 3-pointer missed at the buzzer. Calipari takes the blame, but also says that it’s up to the players to make some changes as well by focusing more in team meetings and individual meetings. The Wildcats are in a four-way tie in the SEC West with Georgia, South Carolina and Vanderbilt. Four of their six losses have come by exactly two points. Knight along with freshman Terrence Jones have been spectacular this season despite the tough losses. Jones averages 17.9 points and 8.9 rebounds to lead the team in both categories, while Knight puts up 17.5 points and a team-best 3.8 assists. Doron Lamb is their third-leading scorer at 13.8 points per contest.

Projected Score at BetOnline: Kentucky 74 – Tennessee 65

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