No. 4 Tennessee clinched the SEC regular-season championship and will look to keep the momentum rolling in Saturday’s regular-season finale against No. 15 Kentucky.
The Volunteers won their first outright title since 2008 with a 66-59 victory over No. 17 South Carolina on Wednesday. Tennessee shared the regular-season title six years ago with Auburn.
It was also the first time in program history the Volunteers have won three straight games against teams ranked in the top 25. The Wildcats could be the fourth, but they pose a formidable challenge.
Kentucky is tied with Auburn, Alabama and South Carolina for second place in the SEC standings and a double bye in the conference tournament.
The Wildcats rolled past Vanderbilt ,93-77, in their final home game of the season.
The Kentucky vs. Tennessee game will air on CBS. The game can also be streamed live on Fubo and Paramount. The game will be played at Food City Center in Knoxville, Tennessee.
TOP PERFORMERS:
Dalton Knecht is scoring 20.7 points per game and averaging 4.8 rebounds for the Volunteers. Zakai Zeigler is averaging 14.8 points and 3.6 rebounds over the last 10 games.
Sheppard is averaging 12.2 points, 4.5 assists and 2.6 steals for the Wildcats. Antonio Reeves is averaging 21.1 points over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES:
Volunteers: 9-1, averaging 83.7 points, 38.3 rebounds, 17.2 assists, 7.8 steals and 4.8 blocks per game while shooting 46.3% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 69.6 points per game.
Wildcats: 7-3, averaging 91.7 points, 35.6 rebounds, 17.0 assists, 7.8 steals and 6.0 blocks per game while shooting 51.7% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 82.9 points.
BOTTOM LINE:
No. 15 Kentucky plays No. 4 Tennessee after Rob Dillingham scored 23 points in Kentucky’s 93-77 victory against the Vanderbilt Commodores.
The Volunteers have gone 14-1 in home games. Tennessee is fifth in the SEC with 10.6 offensive rebounds per game led by Jonas Aidoo averaging 2.9.
The Wildcats are 12-5 in conference play. Kentucky leads the SEC with 17.6 assists. Reed Sheppard paces the Wildcats with 4.5.
Tennessee averages 80.2 points per game, 1.1 more points than the 79.1 Kentucky gives up. Kentucky scores 22.6 more points per game (89.7) than Tennessee gives up to opponents (67.1).
It’s going to be a grand game…..worth a bet.
