Kentucky vs. Tennessee game thread and pregame reading

Let’s start a win streak.

Summarized by AI ⓘ

What is the story about?

The Kentucky Wildcats will travel to Knoxville to take on the Tennessee Volunteers on Saturday. Game time is set for 12:00 PM ET on ESPN. Kentucky is a 6.5-point underdog.

The Cats are now 11-6 on the season after a buzzer-beating win over the LSU Tigers earlier this week. Mark Pope’s squad has won two in a row, but they’ll have their work cut out for them in this one. Pope has not been good on the road in his short tenure, but he did just win on Wednesday, and don’t forget that big win over UT on the road last

season.

Jaland Lowe is obviously out, and Jayden Quaintance will sit out his third straight game due to continued “knee swelling.” Pope indicated good news was on the way with JQ on Monday, but he’s missed two consecutive games since then.

As for the Volunteers, they’re 12-5 on the season and have had their fair share of ups and downs. They are 2-2 in the SEC, just like UK, with losses to Arkansas and Florida, and wins over Texas and Texas A&M. They’ve also beaten Houston and Louisville but lost to the likes of Kansas and Syracuse.

This is a typical Rick Barnes squad, as they aren’t especially good offensively and they’re extremely physical. The physicality will likely be an issue for the Cats, especially without Quaintance, but the good news is that Kentucky has won three straight and five of its last six in Thompson-Boling Arena.

Let’s start a win streak.