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Live Updates: No. 4 Tennessee basketball vs. No. 15 Kentucky on Senior Day

IMG_3593by: Grant Ramey03/09/24GrantRamey
Rick Barnes
© Jordan Prather-USA TODAY Sports

Tennessee basketball clinched the SEC’s regular-season championship in the 66-59 win at No. 17 South Carolina on Wednesday, but the fourth-ranked Vols still have plenty to play for. It’s Senior Day in Knoxville with rival and 15th-ranked Kentucky in town and a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament up for grabs.

Follow along for all the live updates before, during and after today’s game on The General’s Quarters

Tennessee (24-6, 14-3 SEC) beat Kentucky 103-92 at Rupp Arena in Lexington on February 3 and are looking for a season sweep in the series for the second time under Rick Barnes, who is 11-9 against UK as Tennessee’s head coach. The Vols also swept the Cats in 2017-18, when Tennessee won a share of the SEC’s regular-season title. 

Kentucky (22-8, 12-5 SEC) is in a four-way tie for second in the SEC standings with South Carolina, Auburn and Alabama, two games back of the Vols. Tennessee picked up three straight Quad 1 wins over the last week — at home against Auburn, at Alabama and at South Carolina — and are looking for a fourth straight to end the season.

How To Watch: No. 4 Tennessee vs. No. 15 Kentucky

Start Time: Saturday, 4 p.m. Eastern Time

Location: Thompson-Boling Arena (21,678)

TV: CBS

Streaming: Paramount+

Radio: WNML-FM 99.1 in Knoxville. The Vol Network radio broadcast can be heard on local affiliates across the state of Tennessee. 

KenPom Prediction: Tennessee 86, Kentucky 77 (Vols 79% chance to win)

The Line: Tennessee -8.5 (via FanDuel)

A Closer Look: The Kentucky Wildcats

In Tennessee’s 103-92 win at Rupp, the Vols got 26 points from both Josiah-Jordan James and Zakai Zeigler. James added five rebounds and went 4-for-9 from the 3-point line and Zeigler had 13 assists, going 8-for-11 from the field, 3-for-6 from the 3-point line and 7-for-10 at the foul line.

Dalton Knecht had 16 points, four rebounds and two assists and Santiago Vescovi had 11 points, four rebounds and two assists and Jonas Aidoo had 11 points and 11 rebounds.

Robert Dillingham had a game-high 35 points in the loss, going 14-for-20 from the field and 6-for-8 from the 3-point line. Antonio Reeves had 21 points and Reed Sheppard scored 16. 

Kentucky is currently projected as a No. 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament by ESPN Bracketologist Joe Lunardi. The Wildcats are the No. 13 overall seed in Lunardi’s projection.

The loss to Tennessee was part of a 4-5 stretch over nine games, including three straight home losses against Florida, the Vols and Gonzaga. Kentucky has won six of seven since February 13 and is ranked No. 20 in the NET with a 5-6 Quad 1 record, a 2-1 Quad 2 record and an 8-1 Quad 3 record.

Kentucky is ranked No. 18 overall in the KenPom.com ratings. The Wildcats are No. 8 in adjusted offensive efficiency, scoring 123.0 points per 100 possessions, but are ranked just 99th in adjusted defensive efficiency, giving up 102.7 points per 100 possessions. 

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