The Kentucky Wildcats dominated the Tennessee Volunteers back in January. However, the Vols have looked great since, and they will be aiming to shoot down Kentucky in this intriguing SEC college basketball matchup this Tuesday. Check out our preview of this game below.
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Betting Preview for the Kentucky Wildcats vs Tennessee Volunteers NCAA College Basketball Game on February 15 2022
Where: Thompson-Boling Arena, Knoxville, TN
When: Tuesday, February 15, 2022, 9:00 PM ET
Line: Kentucky Wildcats (+1.5) vs. Tennessee Volunteers (-1.5) – view all 2022 NCAAB lines
TV Broadcast: CBS
Betting on the Kentucky Wildcats (+1.5)
Record: 21-4 Overall/10-2 Conference
Kentucky remains hot, as the Wildcats have stitched together a six-game win streak after defeating the Florida Gators last Saturday at home, 78-57. Oscar Tshiebwe made sure people hear his name a lot after that game, as he scored 27 points and grabbed 19 rebounds in 38 minutes. Tshiebwe is just an omnipresent figure for the Wildcats, who benefits a ton from his rebounding and efficient offense. In fact, Tshiebwe is third nationally in offensive rebounding rate and tops in defensive rebounding rate. But it’s not just Tshiebwe who makes Kentucky go, as the likes of TyTy Washington, and Keion Brooks are all capable of taking over for the Wildcats. Washington paced Kentucky with 28 points in the Wildcats’ 107-79 win versus the Vols back in January in Lexington. As a team, Kentucky is being powered by an offense that is fourth in Division I basketball with 119.2 points per 100 possessions and12th with 89.9 points allowed per contest.
Kentucky is 5-5 against the spread in its last 10 games overall.
Betting on the Tennessee Volunteers (-1.5)
Record: 18-6 Overall/9-3 Conference
Tennessee’s been making some loud noises of late, as well. The Vols are in great form heading into the big matchup against Kentucky, having won all of their last four games overall. In their most recent outing, the Volunteers eked out a 73-64 home win over the Vanderbilt Commodores. Tennessee hopes that the momentum they’ve gathered will be enough get the Vols over the hump that is Kentucky. Obviously, Tennessee is going to need a tighter defense this time around. It can’t allow the Wildcats to go off right away and turn the contest into a blowout in favor of Kentucky, which scored 52 points in the first half of the first meeting. One way to do that is to cut down on turnovers, as the Vols had 20 miscues in the loss to Kentucky while the Wildcats only had 12. The Vols will also look to stun Kentucky ballhandlers, as they are second in the nation in steals percentage.
Tennessee is 6-4 against the spread in its last 10 games overall.
Writer’s Prediction
Kentucky wins, 73-71.
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