Kentucky vs. Tennessee Tech: Preview, Odds & How to Watch

It’s time for one final tune-up ahead of Thanksgiving — and a run of four ranked games in five tries coming up in December for the Kentucky Wildcats. They took care of business on Friday against Loyola (Md.), and now, they’re set to host the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles, coached by none other than Unforgettable and two-time captain John Pelphrey.

That’s what this matchup is all about, a feel-good homecoming for a UK legend. It’s also all about taking care of business and, nicely, sending them home with a loss (preferably in blowout fashion as projected 30-plus-point favorites).

What do you need to know about the matchup? KSR has you covered.

Kentucky vs. Tennessee Tech: How to Watch, Listen

• Tipoff: 7:00 p.m. ET
• TV: SEC Network (Tom Hart, Dane Bradshaw)
• Local Radio: UK Sports Network (Tom Leach, Goose Givens)
• AM: 840 WHAS, 630 WLAP
• FM: 98.1 WBUL
• Online: iHeart Radio
• Sirius XM: 84

You can also follow along on the KSR LIVE BLOG, which will start a few hours before tipoff, and join the conversation on KSBoard.

Lock in for the 2025 Kentucky Basketball season with KSR Plus! We’re giving you behind-the-scenes intel you won’t find anywhere else. Join the most vibrant online community in the BBN during Mark Pope’s second season.

Season Rewind

Kentucky: KenPom 11

• 11/4: 77-51 W vs. Nicholls
• 11/7: 107-59 W vs. Valparaiso
• 11/11: 96-88 L at No. 12 Louisville
• 11/14: 99-53 W vs. Eastern Illinois
• 11/18: 83-66 L vs. Michigan State
• 11/21: 88-46 W vs. Loyola (Md.)

Tennessee Tech: KenPom 322

• 11/3: 82-70 L at Western Kentucky
• 11/7: 70-65 L at Charlotte
• 11/10: 118-58 W vs. Virginia Lynchburg
• 11/13: 86-64 W vs. Berea
• 11/17: 61-59 L vs. West Georgia
• 11/19: 88-84 W at USC Upstate

Series History

Kentucky and Tennessee Tech have met five times in the past — all in Lexington, all wins for the Wildcats. It’s been a minute since the Golden Eagles have been in town, though, last taking on the blue and white in 2007. That was a 69-47 win for UK, Patrick Patterson leading the way with 24 points and 15 rebounds, followed by Ramel Bradley with 12 and A.J. Stewart with nine. Other head-to-head battles came in 2004, 2003, 1993 and 1989.

Mark Pope never faced off against Tennessee Tech at either of his prior stops, while John Pelphrey is 1-3 all-time coaching against his alma mater during the former Wildcat legend’s time at Arkansas. The Paintsville native got his lone win against UK in 2011 when Rotnei Clarke went for 26 points in the 77-76 overtime victory.

Kentucky vs. Tennessee Tech Odds

KenPom is predicting a final score of 93-61 with a 99.8 percent chance to win for Kentucky, while Bart Torvik is calling for a 94-61 victory for the Wildcats with a 99 percent hit rate. ESPN’s Matchup Predictor also gives UK a 99.0 percent chance to enter Thanksgiving with back-to-back wins.

Kentucky Potential Starters

#1 – Denzel Aberdeen
6-5 – 195 – GUARD – SENIOR
13.7 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 3.3 APG

#5 – Collin Chandler
6-5 – 205 – GUARD – SOPHOMORE
11.3 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 2.5 APG

#00 – Otega Oweh
6-4 – 215 – GUARD – SENIOR
12.5 PPG, 4.0 RPG, 2.2 APG

#3 – Kam Williams
6-8 – 205 – GUARD – SOPHOMORE
5.2 PPG, 3.7 RPG, 1.3 APG

#24 – Malachi Moreno
7-0 – 250 – CENTER – FRESHMAN
10.2 PPG, 7.0 RPG, 1.8 APG

Tennessee Tech Potential Starters

#1 – Mekhi Cameron
6-4 – 195 – GUARD – REDSHIRT SENIOR
14.2 PPG, 4.0 RPG, 1.3 APG

#6 – Brandon Muntu
6-4 – 208 – GUARD – GRADUATE STUDENT
9.7 PPG, 3.0 RPG, 0.8 APG

#8 – Ty Owens
6-0 – 185 – GUARD – JUNIOR
2.7 PPG, 2.5 RPG, 4.8 APG

#10 – Grant Slatten
6-5 – 195 – GUARD – SENIOR
4.8 PPG, 1.5 RPG, 0.3 APG

#11 – Dani Pounds
6-8– 225 – FORWARD – JUNIOR
11.2 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 1.3 APG

Statistical Comparison

(via Kentucky’s game notes)

Fun stats from UK’s game notes:

• Three times this season, Kentucky has had nine different players score at least six points in the same game. Between 2004-05 and 2024-25, that only happened three times.
• In wins, Kentucky has held all four of its first four opponents to 60 points or fewer for the first time since 2014-15. Overall, the Cats are limiting opponents to 36.2 percent overall and 28.7 percent from three. They are also pulling down 84.2 percent of opponents’ misses with a +13.3 rebounding margin.
• UK held Loyola (Md.) to just 46 points and no individual player scored more than seven. It was the fewest points allowed to an individual player since Nov. 23, 2014 vs. Montana State.
• In addition to Jayden Quaintance missing each of the first six games, UK has been without Jaland Lowe (four games), Mo Dioubate (one game) and Trent Noah (one game) this season.

Pregame Storylines

WELCOME HOME, JOHN PELPHREY!

An all-time great at Kentucky, one whose jersey hangs in the rafters of Rupp Arena as an Unforgettable and a two-time captain, is coming home — albeit on the opposite bench, looking to beat his alma mater. Pelphrey has coached against the Wildcats four times before during his time at Arkansas from 2007-11, those matchups as an SEC foe and even pulling off a win in his final season coaching the Razorbacks. This time, though, is more of a sweet homecoming against OVC competition with two Wildcat legends going at it.

Mark Pope is certainly excited for the opportunity.

“I love Pel,” he said. “You talk about a legend, an all-time legend, great human being, great coaching career, great legacy here at the University of Kentucky. Great representative of the sport of basketball. It’s going to be really fun to have him up. I know that BBN will be so excited to welcome him back into this gym.”

Pelphrey’s reaction?

“The reality of it is, for me, this is not just another place, and certainly the building. I’ve had a long relationship with it,” he said. “Everybody knows my love affair with my alma mater. So I’ll have to deal with some of that, and I certainly tried to prepare myself. It’s just a lot of emotion there.”

PROGRESS, BUT DON’T EXPECT JALAND LOWE OR MO DIOUBATE

Good news and bad news when it comes to all three of Kentucky’s injured/recovering players. We already know Jayden Quaintance is still a ways away –– although he is doing three-on-three work now in practice. As for the more guys expected back sooner rather than later, Pope confirmed both Lowe and Dioubate were back in practice to start the week with varying degrees of confidence surrounding their statuses.

The former is ramping up quickly, even if he’s highly unlikely to give it a go against the Golden Eagles.

“Jaland Lowe was on the court today in non-contact skill work,” Pope said Monday. “He’s making progress, which is really exciting. It’ll continue to be a day-to-day scenario. It was good to see him, not just in the skill work, but also out there coaching — which is going to be a really important part of what he does when he’s playing on the floor and in practice. We’re trying to give him more and more responsibility. He’s doing well.”

As for Dioubate, his injury isn’t nearly as severe, but Pope was pessimistic about his imminent availability. Don’t expect him on the floor before Thanksgiving either, BBN.

“Mo was coaching again today, and he shot free throws. He coached and shot free throws,” Pope continued. “We tested him last night. He’s still got a ways to go, but he was at practice, participating as much as he could.”

WILL KAM WILLIAMS AND MALACHI MORENO KEEP THEIR STARTING JOBS?

With Dioubate out against Loyola (Md.) last week, Pope rolled with a new starting lineup featuring Williams in the junior forward’s place at the four while also trading out Brandon Garrison for Malachi Moreno. He called it a fit-based substitution, matching Williams’ skill and athleticism with Moreno’s size and physicality, but it’s hard to ignore the freshman center’s production and not view it as a reward. Then both players used that opportunity to put forth strong performances against the Greyhounds, Williams finishing with a team-high 13 points with nine rebounds, four assists and three steals and Moreno adding 10 points, eight rebounds, four blocks, two assists and a steal.

Will they stick with what worked and roll out the same starting lineup this go-round? The first-year Wildcats did nothing to deserve being taken off the floor, so it’s fair to assume they’ll both get another shot — especially if Dioubate remains out, as expected.

THIS IS THE SECOND-WORST TEAM ON THE SCHEDULE (RESPECTFULLY)

Look, I’m genuinely trying to be as polite as possible. We know the Golden Eagles are well-coached and have some interesting qualities (top-100 defensive eFG%, 1.149 PPP in transition, 95th percentile in transition defense) — but they’re still ranked No. 323 overall by KenPom with only 27 offenses deemed worse in the sport at No. 338 nationally. They also have a 23.8 percent turnover rate, good (bad?) for No. 357 in the country.

The only team worse on the schedule in terms of KenPom is NC Central, who enters December ranked No. 348 nationally. On paper, it’s a feel-good-win opportunity just before Thanksgiving and right before UNC comes to town next week.

But the Wildcats have to take care of business.

Join The Discussion on KSBoard

Want to interact with the KSR crew during the game? Consider joining the conversation on KSBoard, where we’ll be sharing live updates as your eyes and ears inside Rupp Arena while also answering questions and providing real-time analysis (and probably complaining about the officiating).

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Rapid Reaction on the KSR YouTube Channel

Miss the game? KSR’s got you covered with a Rapid Reaction outside of Rupp Arena immediately after the game, live on the KSR YouTube Channel. We’ll also have wall-to-wall postgame coverage on the website, including highlights, comments from Mark Pope and the players, stats, and takeaways.

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