Tennessee vs. Kentucky: 2018-19 college basketball game preview, TV schedule

A monster SEC showdown will take place on Saturday, when the country’s number-one team, Tennessee, travels to hostile territory at Kentucky.

TV schedule: Saturday, February 16, 8:00 pm ET. ESPN.
Arena: Rupp Arena in Lexington, Ky.

A pair of top-five schools will collide on Saturday evening, with huge ramifications for the Southeastern Conference regular-season race. No. 1 Tennessee (23-1, 11-0) is putting its nineteen-affair victory streak on the line as it does battle at No. 5 Kentucky (20-4, 9-2).

I have no doubt that the Wildcats will feel fired up for this epic encounter. On Tuesday, Kentucky fell at home by two points to No. 19 LSU, in a contest that culminated with a bunch of controversy due to a no-call on an apparent offensive-goaltending violation by the Tigers on their winning basket at the buzzer.

The Volunteers, meanwhile, are clearly cruising. They currently lead the SEC by one game over LSU, with the Wildcats two back. If Kentucky wants to capture the conference title, it must conquer Tennessee at Rupp Arena, where I guarantee that the crowd will prove boisterous and frenzied.

This match-up also possesses critical importance in terms of eventual seeding for the Big Dance. On the Bracket Matrix Web site, the Volunteers are slotted as a No. 1 seed, which is no surprise at all, and the Wildcats are projected as a No. 2 seed. I believe that Tennessee would really have to falter down the stretch to come off the one-line. Kentucky has an opportunity to move up if it can get on a roll prior to the SEC Tournament.

So far in the 2018-19 campaign, the Volunteers are a perfect 6-0 on the road, and they have a NCAA NET rating of No. 4. The Wildcats, with a NCAA NET ranking of No. 6, are 13-1 on their own turf. I can’t wait to see these two heavyweights go toe to toe.

To prevail, Kentucky will have to lock in on defense, as Tennessee is a scoring machine, averaging more than 85 points per contest. The Volunteers have a veteran roster and share the ball extremely well, securing 20 assists every 40 minutes.

The Wildcats, though, hold a slight edge in rebounding and steals. A few facets that I deem as pivotal to both groups are offensive boards, second-chance points, turnovers committed, and free-throw shooting.

ESPN’s Basketball Power Index says that Kentucky is favored to succeed, at 59.2 percent. That’s logical, given that the Wildcats are hosting Tennessee. However, in the end, I foresee the Volunteers squeaking past Kentucky in a closely knit affair.

Prediction: Tennessee 75 – Kentucky 71