What has long shaped up as one of the marquee matchups in the SEC this season lost a little of its luster when Kentucky and Tennessee each lost on the road over the weekend—the Wildcats to resurgent Vanderbilt, the Volunteers to top-ranked Auburn. Now both rivals limp into Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville, where Tennessee is an 8.5-point favorite over Kentucky on Tuesday night.
The 12th-ranked Wildcats (14-5 outright) have actually lost two straight both outright and ATS, and have covered in just four of their past 10 contests. The eighth-ranked Volunteers (17-3) have dropped two of their last three outright but have covered in three of their last four, including as a 7-point underdog in a 53-51 loss at Auburn on Saturday.
Kentucky vs Tennessee Odds Today
Matchup Page: Kentucky vs Tennessee, 7:00 PM ET
Team | Spread | Moneyline | Total |
---|---|---|---|
Kentucky Wildcats | +8.5 (-110) | +300 | O148.5 (-115) |
Tennessee Volunteers | -8.5 (-110) | -385 | U148.5 (-105) |
Odds as of January 28 at Sportsbook
Kentucky vs Tennessee Today
Tennessee -8.5 (-110) & UNDER 148.5 (-105) at Sportsbook
While Tennessee has split its past six games after a 14-0 start, it remains a fairly good cover option in the SEC—among league teams, only Florida boasts a better ATS rate than the Volunteers’ 65 percent, according to data at TeamRankings.com. All three of Tennessee’s outright defeats have come away from home, and the Vols have a very good 8-3 ATS mark in Thompson-Boling Arena, where they’ve covered in all three of their SEC games to this point.
The Wildcats have been far more hit-and-miss. Kentucky has wins and covers over four ranked opponents, but has lost three of its four true road games—including Saturday as a 2.5-point favorite at Vanderbilt. While the Wildcats have the third-highest scoring offense in the nation at 88.1 points per game, they rank 15th out of 16 SEC teams in scoring defense. The Wildcats are ranked 22nd at the analytics site KenPom.com compared to sixth for the Vols, largely due to UK’s deficiencies on defense.
And did we mention that Tennessee owns the nation’s third-stingiest scoring defense, allowing opponents just 58.4 points per game? Look at the two biggest league games these teams have played so far: the Vols fell at Auburn 53-51 in a bare-knuckled fistfight, while the Wildcats outlasted Florida 106-100. You really think UK can put up those kind of points against the league’s best defensive team on the road? Didn’t think so.
No surprise, Tennessee with its boa constrictor-like defense has gone UNDER in nine of its last 12 games. The eyebrow-raiser is that Kentucky has gone UNDER in five of its last eight, although the Wildcats face totals that are routinely higher than those of Tennessee. No matter—Kentucky has fallen UNDER the total in all three of its road losses, and figures to do so again against one of the nation’s best defensive teams.
Kentucky vs Tennessee News
Wildcats forward Andrew Carr, who is averaging 10.9 points per game, has been a key performer for Kentucky in the paint—when he’s able to play. But Carr in recent weeks has been battling back problems, which limited him to just 18 minutes against Alabama on Jan. 18, and then kept him out entirely at Vanderbilt. “Often in 2024-25, it has been Carr who has made plays late to allow Kentucky to close out tight victories,” Mark Story wrote in the Lexington Herald-Leader. Carr’s status for the Tennessee game remains uncertain.