How No. 18 Kentucky and No. 22 Tennessee match up — with a game prediction
How the No. 18 Kentucky Wildcats (13-3, 3-1 SEC) and the No. 22 Tennessee Volunteers (11-4, 2-2 SEC) match up at each position for Saturday’s 1 p.m. men’s basketball game at Rupp Arena at the Central Bank Center (capacity 20,545) — with a game prediction:
Small forward
▪ Kentucky’s Kellan Grady (11.6 ppg, 1.9 rpg, 44.9% three-pointers) is in a perimeter-shooting drought, having gone a combined 1-of-10 on treys in UK’s past two games. A 6-foot-5, 200-pound graduate transfer from Davidson, Grady has shot 12-of-35 overall in Kentucky’s last three games.
▪ Tennessee’s Josiah Jordan-James (6.7 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 21 steals) is a versatile player who has struggled this season with his shot. The 6-6, 214-pound product of Charleston, S.C., is making only 30.3% of his field-goal tries (27-of-89) and has been even worse on three-point attempts at 23.9% (16-of-67). James was 1-of-8 from the field in the Volunteers’ road loss at Alabama and 1-of-7 in the Vols loss at LSU. In UT’s 82-71 win over UK last season in Rupp Arena, James had a double-double, 10 points and 10 rebounds.
Advantage: Even.
Power forward
▪ UK’s Keion Brooks (10.7 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 50.4% FGs) was a Volunteers mauler last season. In Kentucky’s two games vs. Tennessee in 2020-21 — the 82-71 loss in Rupp followed by a 70-55 Wildcats win in Knoxville — Brooks averaged 16.5 points and 12.5 rebounds. After a rough go (two points, three rebounds) in UK’s loss at LSU, the 6-7, 210-pound junior from Fort Wayne, Ind., has averaged 11.5 ppg in the Cats’ wins over Georgia and at Vanderbilt.
▪ On Saturday, Tennessee’s John Fulkerson (9 ppg, 6 rpg, 55.4% FGs) will be playing in his 11th game against Kentucky. The 6-9, 219-pound super-senior had a stellar run against the Cats in 2019-20. That year, he scored 27 points to lead UT to a come-from-behind 81-73 win over UK in Rupp Arena. Earlier that season, in a 77-64 Wildcats win in Knoxville, Fulkerson went for 16 points and seven boards. Last season, when Fulkerson was slowed by the after effects of having contracted COVID-19, he made only one of 10 field goals vs. Kentucky and had a combined four points in two games.
Advantage: Even.
.JPG "LEX_200303UKMBB-109 (1).JPG")
Center
▪ Kentucky’s Oscar Tshiebwe (17 ppg, 15.1 rpg, 62.7% FGs) is injecting himself into the National Player of the Year conversation. The 6-9, 255-pound product of the Democratic Republic of Congo had 30 points and 13 rebounds in UK’s 78-66 win at Vanderbilt on Tuesday night. That followed a 29-point, 17-rebound performance last Saturday in the Cats’ 92-77 victory over Georgia. In addition to leading the nation in rebounding, the transfer from West Virginia is second in double-doubles with 12.
▪ Since making nine of 10 shots and scoring 21 points in a win over South Carolina Upstate, Tennessee’s Olivier Nkamhoua (9.3 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 50% three-pointers) has been mired in a shooting funk. The 6-8, 232-pound junior has made only 16 of 40 shots in the six games since. Last season, the Helsinki, Finland, product was not much of a factor vs. Kentucky, scoring only four points combined in the two UK-UT games.
Advantage: Kentucky.
Shooting guard
▪ Kentucky’s Davion Mintz (9 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 19 assists/16 turnovers) has flourished after gaining more minutes in the past two games due to the injury to UK starting guard Sahvir Wheeler. In the wins over Georgia and Vandy, the 6-3, 195-pound super-senior has combined to make 10 of 18 shots, eight of 12 three-point tries. Last season against Tennessee, the Creighton transfer had only four points (on 1-of-8 shooting) in the loss in Rupp Arena but went for 15 points (5-of-7 three-point shooting) in the victory at Thompson-Boling Arena.
▪ Tennessee’s Santiago Vescovi (13.6 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 3.4 apg, 35.3% treys) has scored in double figures in 12 of 15 games. However, the 6-3, 191-pound junior has gone six straight games without making 50% of his shot attempts. The Montevideo, Uruguay, product scored 18 points in his first career game vs. UK in 2019-20, but has scored only nine points combined in the three contests against the Cats since.
Advantage: Tennessee.
Point guard
▪ Kentucky freshman TyTy Washington (13.7 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 4.8 apg) has thrived at the point since Wheeler’s injury. In UK’s win over Georgia, the 6-3, 197-pound product of Phoenix broke John Wall’s Kentucky single-game assist record of 16 by doling out 17 dimes. In the win at Vandy, Wheeler had 15 points, four rebounds and four assists. In his two starts at the point, Wheeler has made 14 of 24 shots, three of five treys.
▪ Tennessee’s Kennedy Chandler (13.4 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 5.1 apg) was the No. 9-rated recruit in the class of 2021 Rivals 150 — five spots ahead of UK’s Washington. The 6-foot, 171-pound Memphis product is a dynamic creator, but a streaky shooter. He made only two of 14 shots in UT’s 77-73 upset of then-No. 6 Arizona in December but hit six of 12 shots and had 19 points in the Vols’ 79-67 loss at LSU this month.
Advantage: Kentucky.
Bench
▪ Kentucky would get a turbo-charge if Sahvir Wheeler (9.6 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 7.3 apg) is able to return. The 5-9, 180-pound transfer from Georgia has not played since suffering a neck injury after blindly running into an LSU pick in Baton Rouge. . . . Versatile junior forward Jacob Toppin (5.6 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 18 assists/eight turnovers) had 14 points, eight rebounds and two assists in the loss at LSU and four points, five rebounds and three assists in the win at Vandy. . . . Kentucky continues to look for development from freshman forwards Daimion Collins (3.9 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 1.3 blocks) and Bryce Hopkins (2.6 ppg, 1.9 rpg).
▪ Tennessee’s Justin Powell (5.8 ppg, 1.9 rpg, 46.8% FGs, 39% treys), the former North Oldham High School star, will face his home-state school for the first time. A transfer from Auburn, the 6-6, 197-pound Powell missed the Tigers’ two games with UK last year due to a concussion. . . . Former Oregon Duck Victor Bailey (4.3 ppg, 0.9 rpg) has struggled with his shot in 2021-22. The 6-4, 182-pound senior is making only 31.5% overall and 22.4% on three-point tries. Bailey played well vs. Kentucky last season, averaging 13.5 ppg and making nine of 18 field goals, five of 11 treys. . . . Diminutive freshman guard Zakai Zeigler (6.9 ppg, 1.7 rpg, 2.6 apg), a 5-9, 167-pound Long Island, N.Y., product, and freshman big man Brandon Huntley-Hatfield (4.2 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 50.9% FGs), a 6-10, 246-pound Clarksville, Tenn., product, have each played in all 15 games. . . . So too has 7-1, 251-pound Arizona State transfer Uros Plavsic (3.7 ppg, 2.9 rpg).
Advantage: Tennessee.
Intangibles and history
▪ In the tradition of former Tennessee head men Ray Mears and Don DeVoe, Volunteers Coach Rick Barnes has become the proverbial thorn in Kentucky’s side. Since taking the UT job before the 2015-16 season, Barnes has gone 8-6 vs. the Cats and beaten UK three times in Rupp Arena, including the past two meetings.
▪ As Kentucky coach, John Calipari is 15-10 vs. Tennessee.
▪ Against teams ranked in the AP Top 25 poll this season, UT is 2-3, UK 0-2.
▪ Going back to last season, Kentucky is 1-7 in its past eight games vs. ranked foes — but the one win came against Tennessee, a 70-55 victory in Thompson-Boling Arena last February 20.
▪ Overall, UK leads the all-time series with UT 157-75.
Advantage: Even.
Prediction
Kentucky 74, Tennessee 69.
