Both #5 Tennessee (15-5) and #10 Kentucky (15-5) got caught looking ahead to this top 10 showdown on Saturday night in Lexington as each suffered losses this week. The Vols fell 63-59 at home to South Carolina as -14 point favorites while UK also took it on the chin at home losing 94-91 in OT to Florida as -7.5 favorites. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kentucky swept the season series last year, but they’re hurting coming into the first 2024 meeting with the Vols – literally. The Wildcats did not have Justin Edwards<\/strong> (knee) or D.J. Wagner<\/strong> (ankle) in the loss to Florida this week and both are questionable vs. Tennessee. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Missing Edwards and Wagner would be 19.7 ppg out of the Wildcats lineup, but on the bright side Kentucky does have five other players that average at least a dozen points per game. That’s why Kentucky is the #3 scoring team in the nation (88.7 ppg). <\/p>\n\n\n\n There are a couple positives for Tennessee here, one being that although Kentucky’s offense is great – the Volunteers have the #2 defensive efficiency in the country<\/a>. The other big asset for Rick Barnes’ team is that Dalton Knecht<\/strong> is absolutely on a heater right now, going for 30+ points in four of his last five and 25+ in six straight games. <\/p>\n\n\n\n