Kentucky Wildcats vs Tennessee Volunteers Picks and Predictions February 11th 2025

Kentucky Seeks Back-to-Back Wins as No. 5 Tennessee Visits

The No. 15 Kentucky Wildcats haven’t won back-to-back games in nearly a month. That could change Tuesday night when they host No. 5 Tennessee in a marquee SEC showdown in Lexington.

Kentucky Aims for Consistency

The Wildcats (16-7, 5-5 SEC) are coming off a dominant 80-57 home win over South Carolina on Saturday. Otega Oweh led the way with 17 points, but the bigger story was the return of Lamont Butler and Jaxson Robinson, who played despite injury concerns.

• Butler had missed three games due to a shoulder injury.
• Robinson suffered a wrist injury in practice Friday.

His return gave the team a much-needed boost.

Oweh, who leads Kentucky with 16 points per game, has been the team’s most consistent player, scoring in double figures in all 23 games this season.

Before beating South Carolina, Kentucky had lost four of five games, including two where they allowed opponents to shoot over 55%. However, their only win in that stretch was a 78-73 victory over then-No. 8 Tennessee on Jan. 28.

Key Kentucky Players:

• Otega Oweh: 16.0 PPG
• Lamont Butler: 12.9 PPG, 4.7 APG, 1.7 SPG
• Koby Brea: Led Kentucky with 18 points in last win vs. Tennessee

Tennessee Brings Elite Defense to Lexington

Since their Jan. 28 loss to Kentucky, the Volunteers (20-4, 7-4 SEC) have been on a roll, winning three straight, including a dominant 70-52 win over Oklahoma on Saturday.

• Chaz Lanier led the Vols with 21 points.
• Tennessee shot 69.2% from the field in the first half.
• The Vols led by as many as 28 points in the second half.

Lanier is the team’s leading scorer at 17.7 PPG, while Zakai Zeigler runs the offense, averaging 7.5 assists and 2.1 steals per game.

Tennessee has already avenged one loss this season, splitting their season series with Florida after a 64-44 home win on Feb. 1. Now, they’re looking to return the favor against Kentucky.

The Vols lead the SEC in defense, allowing just 59.3 points per game, nearly seven points fewer than second-ranked Texas A&M (66.1 PPG).

Can Kentucky’s Offense Break Tennessee’s Defense?

This game features a classic clash of styles:

• Kentucky ranks second in the SEC in scoring (86.7 PPG).
• Tennessee leads the conference in defense (59.3 PPG allowed).
• Kentucky’s defense, however, ranks second-worst in the SEC (76.6 PPG allowed).

Before holding South Carolina to 32.8% shooting, the Wildcats had allowed Arkansas and Ole Miss to shoot over 54% in their last two games.

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What’s at Stake?

• A win for Kentucky would give them their first back-to-back victories since mid-January and a season sweep over Tennessee.
• A win for Tennessee would extend their four-game winning streak and keep them in the race for an SEC title.

With both teams hungry for a statement victory, expect a high-intensity battle in Lexington.