Of the teams that are expected to make the March Madness tournament, Gonzaga (1) and Kentucky (4) rank among the favorites of winning the NCAA Championship.
Gonzaga plays in the West Coast Conference, which is a mid-major conference, so they will not be tested until March. Kentucky, on the other hand, plays in the SEC, which is the second-toughest conference in the country according to KenPom.
The SEC contains two potential No. 1 seeds in Auburn (2) and Kentucky (4), as well as a potential No. 2 or No. 3 seed in Tennessee (16). The Tennessee Volunteers will host the Kentucky Wildcats on Tuesday, Feb. 15, in what should be an exciting game.
In the first matchup between these two teams in January, the Wildcats blew out the Volunteers at home, 107-79. The question for Tuesday is if we will see a more competitive game in Tennessee.
All CBB gameday odds are current as of 5 p.m. ET on Tuesday, February 15.
Kentucky vs Tennessee Predictions
As noted above, both of these teams are nationally ranked in the AP Top 25. KenPom had them rated highly as well, with Kentucky at No. 3 and Tennessee at No. 10 in his rankings.
Kentucky is one of the NCAA Tournament winner favorites in my March Madness simulation.
Personally, I view the Wildcats as one of the two best teams in the country. They’re 21-4 overall and all four of their losses came against brutal opponents. The only teams to beat them so far are Auburn (who is likely to win the SEC), LSU, a Notre Dame team that might win the ACC regular-season title, and Duke.
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The Wildcats didn’t beat anyone really good until mid-January, but since then they have been almost unstoppable. They blew the doors off Tennessee, routed likely Big 12 champion Kansas by 18 points on the road, and beat Alabama by double-digits on the road as well.
Based on substance alone Kentucky should win, as they have the fourth-best offensive efficiency in the country and the 12th-best defensive efficiency.
Tennessee (18-6) has played well this season but has struggled against stronger opponents. The Volunteers squeaked past Arizona in December, but other than that they have not beaten an AP Top 25 team, losing to Villanova, Texas Tech, and Texas.
We know that the Vols can take care of easy opponents, but can they beat a true contender like Kentucky? Tennessee has one of the staunchest defenses in the nation, but their offense is not strong enough to break through Kentucky’s stifling defense.
I don’t believe we’ll see another blowout like last time, but Kentucky should still win fairly comfortably on Tuesday.
Kentucky vs Tennessee Prediction: Kentucky 74, Tennessee 69
Can the Tennessee Volunteers bounce back with a better performance in their SEC rematch against the Kentucky Wildcats? (Image: USA TODAY Sports)
Kentucky vs Tennessee Best Bet
Best Bet: Kentucky +2 (-110) at Caesars
Wager: 2 Units
Kentucky should beat Tennessee, yet the books have them as road underdogs. Based on their styles, I think the Wildcats will win by more than a possession.
I tend to not believe in momentum, but UK has been hot lately. They had a rough start to the season but deserve more respect after their convincing road wins against Kansas and Alabama.
Even though Tennessee is a tough place to play, I’m not worried about Kentucky’s chances at all and am taking them with the points as my CBB bet of the day.
