For the third time this season, the Kentucky Wildcats (24-11) will take the court Friday to play the Tennessee Volunteers (29-7).
Kentucky won the two regular season games. Are those two meetings a factor to consider as the teams prepare for Round 3? The stakes for this matchup are substantially higher than in either of those first two meetings. This time they meet in the Sweet 16 in Indianapolis.
Under first-year head coach and former Wildcat Mark Pope, Kentucky has exceeded expectations. Kentucky is the first school in the history of the NCAA Tournament to reach the Sweet 16 without one player on the roster who scored in the previous season. They reached the Sweet 16 as the result of a convincing win over Illinois on Sunday by the score of 84-75. Koby Brea matched a career-high with 23 points as the Wildcats made it out of the first weekend of the Tournament for the first time since 2019.
Tennessee is in the Sweet 16 following workmanlike efforts against Wofford and UCLA. The Vols allowed the Bruins just 25 points in the first half of their game Saturday. The offense was led by Chaz Lanier who hit for 20 and Zakai Zeigler who added 15 points and six assists to the equation.
As mentioned previously, this will be the third meeting of the season between these schools. They first met January 28 in Knoxville with the Wildcats pulling out a 78-73 win over Tennessee. The Vols led at the half, but Kentucky controlled the second half and ultimately prevailed. Koby Brea was a perfect 5-5 from the field including 3-3 from deep to pace the Kentucky attack. The schools next met in Lexington on February 11 and again, Kentucky prevailed, 75-64. The Vols were just 3-18 from beyond the arc and Otega Oweh had 13 points and six rebounds for Kentucky.
This game is taking place in the cavernous Lucas Oil Stadium, but can Tennessee find a way to shoot better? Can Kentucky knock off the Vols for a third time this season? Lets dive into the matchup and offer some information and possibly a sweat or two.
We’ve got all the info and analysis you need to know ahead of the game, including the latest info on the how to catch the opening tip, recent team performance, player stats, and of course, our predictions, picks & best bets for the game from our modeling tools and staff of experts.
Game details & how to watch Kentucky vs. Tennessee
- Date: Friday, March 28, 2025
- Time: 7:39PM EST
- Site: Lucas Oil Stadium
- City: Indianapolis, IN
- Network/Streaming: TBS / truTV
Never miss a second of the action and stay up to date with all the latest scores and player news. Check out our day-by-day NCAA Basketball Schedule Page that includes live game updates.
Game odds for Kentucky vs. Tennessee
The latest odds as of Tuesday courtesy of BetMGM:
- Odds: Kentucky Wildcats (+155), Tennessee Volunteers (-190)
- Spread: Volunteers -4.5
- Total: 144.5 points
Expert picks & predictions for Kentucky vs. Tennessee
NBC Sports Bet Best Bet
Vaughn Dalzell expects Tennessee’s defense to show up: Kentucky Team Total Under 70.5 (-120)
“This will be the third meeting and despite Kentucky winning the first two matchups, I will say the Wildcats go Under their team total and lean Tennessee to win. Kentucky shot 12-of-24 from three in both meetings with Tennessee, while the Vols were 14-of-63 from deep. That type of variance should change with a trip to the Elite 8 on the line, so I will take the Under on Kentucky’s Team Total of 70.5. The Wildcats scored 75 and 78 in the two prior meetings.”
Our model calculates projections around each moneyline, spread and over/under bet for every game on the NCAA calendar based on data points like past performance, player matchups, injuries, and the schedule.
Once the model is finished running, we put its projection next to the latest betting lines for the game to arrive at a relative confidence level for each wager.
Here are the best bets our model is projecting for Friday’s Wildcats & Volunteers game:
- Moneyline: NBC Sports Bet is staying away from a play on the Moneyline.
- Spread: NBC Sports Bet is leaning towards a play ATS on Tennessee -3.5.
- Total: NBC Sports Bet is recommending a play on the Game Total UNDER 144.5.
Kentucky vs. Tennessee: Top betting trends and recent stats
- Tennessee has shot just 22.2% (14-63) from deep in their two games against Kentucky
- Tennessee is 1-1 against the spread in the NCAA Tournament and 4-6 ATS in their last 10 games overall
- Kentucky covered the spread as an underdog in each of the two regular season meetings between the schools
- Kentucky has covered the spread in both of their NCAA Tournament games and in each game the Game Total UNDER has cashed
If you’re looking for more key trends and stats around the spread, moneyline and total for every single game on the schedule today, check out our NCAA Basketball Top Trends Tool on NBCSports.com!
Please bet responsibly. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, call the National Gambling Helpline at 1-800-522-4700.
Follow our experts on socials to keep up with all the latest content from the staff:
· Jay Croucher (@croucherJD)
· Drew Dinsick (@whale_capper)
· Vaughn Dalzell (@VmoneySports)
· Brad Thomas (@MrBradThomas)
