Tennessee vs Kentucky: 2019-20 college basketball game preview, TV schedule
By Joey Loose
Tennessee and Kentucky meet in their latest SEC matchup; can the Volunteers scored an impressive road victory or will the Wildcats keep rolling?
TV schedule: Tuesday, March 3, 9:00 pm ET. ESPN
Arena: Rupp Arena in Lexington, Kentucky
It’s pretty clear that this Tennessee (16-13) squad is much different from last year’s Sweet Sixteen team. They sit in the middle of the pack in the SEC and will need a victorious run through the conference tournament to return to the NCAA Tournament. The Volunteers did score a nice home win over Florida this past Saturday, but winning in Rupp is a completely different animal.
The loss of star Lamonte Turner clearly affected this team, but there’s still a high level of talent on the roster. Senior guard Jordan Bowden (13.7 ppg, 4.0 rpg) recently put up 28 points in a hard-fought road loss at Auburn. Junior forward John Fulkerson (13.1 ppg, 5.9 rpg) is developing into a great player, putting up 22 points in that win over the Gators. Another name to watch is junior guard Yves Pons (10.9 ppg, 5.3 rpg), a talented player who excels all over the court.
The Volunteers sit currently at 67th in both KenPom and the NET rankings and have plenty of work ahead to get into the NCAA Tournament discussion. They play tough defense at a slow pace but really struggle shooting outside shots. While the defensive pressure is great, the team also has issues with turnovers and has failed to establish themselves as a contender this season, especially without Turner.
Across the court, Kentucky (24-5) has been one of the hottest teams in college basketball in recent weeks. They’re fresh off a great win over Auburn on Saturday, the latest in an eight-game winning streak. Things seem to be clicking at the right time for a Kentucky that had some questionable losses in nonconference play. Fortunately, they’re putting that all behind them.
Sophomore guard Immanuel Quickley (16.3 ppg, 4.3 rpg) has emerged as a true star for the Wildcats. He’s led the Wildcats in scoring each of the last five games, including 18 points against Auburn and 30 last week at Texas A&M. Freshman guard Tyrese Maxey (14.0 ppg, 4.4 rpg) is a reliable shooter and ball distributor. Junior forward Nick Richards (13.9 ppg, 7.8 rpg) is the best big on the Wildcats and is becoming a force on both sides of the ball.
Kentucky sits at 26th in KenPom and 14th in the NET rankings. Those early-season struggles (particularly against Evansville) explain the low ratings, but this team has been playing like a top 10 unit for more than a month. The Wildcats play tough defense, while the offense has been especially efficient in recent weeks. Their outside shooting has been very inconsistent, but this team could be unstoppable if Quickley and Maxey keep hitting their shots.
For the Volunteers, they’ll need to step up their defense, as Kentucky shot the ball extremely well in their previous matchup in early February. Avoid turnovers and sloppy play while limiting second-chance opportunities for the Wildcats. For those Wildcats, they need to keep doing what they’ve been doing this past month; playing great defense and an opportunistic offense. They struggled with turnovers in Knoxville but I don’t see that happening again.
Predicting 2020 conference tournament winners. dark. Next
Crazier things have happened, but I’d be surprised to see the Volunteers leave Rupp with the victory. Kentucky is getting hot at the right time of the year and look to ride into March with a lot of momentum. I don’t expect Kentucky to suddenly develop consistency with their long-range shooting, but they have the ability to outmuscle the Volunteers and notch their ninth-straight win.