The Official #24 Tennessee vs. Kentucky Game Thread, 12:00 PM ET, ESPN

#1
YankeeVol

YankeeVol

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#1
#24 Tennessee Volunteers: 12-5 (2-2 SEC)
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vs.

Kentucky Wildcats: 11-6 (2-2 SEC)
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GAME 18 | TENNESSEE vs. KENTUCKY - Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026 | 12 p.m. ET | Knoxville, Tenn. | Food City Center (21,678)

Line: UT -6.5
O/U: 146.5

TV: ESPN / Watch
Radio: Vol Network / Listen / Live Stats
Satellite Radio: SiriusXM 84 / Internet: SXM App
Online: WatchESPN.com

Kentucky Game Notes

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#2
#2
THE MATCHUP
• Tennessee's 79 victories over the Wildcats lead all teams. Vanderbilt is a distant second with 50.
• Tennessee's 12 wins over Kentucky in Rick Barnes' tenure (2015-26) are four more than any other team. That includes an 11-8 record against ranked Wildcat teams, good for over twice as many such wins as anyone else. UT has beat Kentucky at least once in nine of his 10 years.
• In the 22 seasons before Barnes' arrival (1993-2015), UT went 9-35 against Kentucky, including 7-28 when the Wildcats were ranked.
• Barnes' 13 wins over the Wildcats rank co-sixth all-time, tied with Dean Smith, and far lead all active coaches. He is one shy of Roy Skinner for fifth. More on Page 6.
• This is the eighth straight series meeting with Tennessee ranked above Kentucky. Its prior high was four (2/1/00 to 2/14/01).
• Coming off a 24-12 (10-8) season and a Sweet 16 berth, the Wildcats were picked second in the SEC.
• Senior guard Otega Oweh, the SEC Preseason Player of the Year, leads Kentucky with 15.8 ppg.
 
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#3
#3
NEWS & NOTES
• Last season, for the first time ever, Tennessee and Kentucky met in the NCAA Tournament. The Vols tallied a 78-65 Sweet 16 victory on 3/28/25 in Indianapolis. UT led by as many as 19 points and trailed for just 32 seconds. Zakai Zeigler tallied 18 points and 10 assists.
• To reach the Sweet 16 last year, the Volunteers first posted two NCAA Tournament wins at Rupp Arena, over Wofford and UCLA.
• UT's Gavin Paull and Kentucky's Walker Horn were teammates at Westlake HS (Texas) in 2021-22.
• The Vols' 87-82 double-overtime win Tuesday against Texas A&M was their first multiple-overtime affair in nearly 13 years. The last one was also against the Aggies, a 93-85 road victory in quadruple-overtime on 3/23/13.
• The Vols grabbed 60 boards in the win over Texas A&M, their first time with 55-plus since 11/18/08 when it had 58 versus UT Martin.
• Jaylen Carey (10p, 9r) was one rebound shy of giving UT three double-doubles versus the Aggies. Bishop Boswell (13p, 11r) and Felix Okpara (10p, 12r) both had one.
• Of his game-high 23 points in the win over Texas A&M, Nate Ament scored 19 in the final 20 minutes, including 10 in the overtimes. He registered 40 total points in the last two games.
• EvanMiya.com labels Ja'Kobi Gillespie the No. 11 player in the nation, second-best in the SEC.
• With 848 wins, Rick Barnes co-leads active DI coaches and is co-ninth all-time (min. 10 years in DI).
• The Volunteers are seeking to begin (at least) 3-0 in SEC home games for the third year in a row.
• Tennessee, Alabama and Houston are the only schools to make the last three Sweet 16s. Tennessee, Alabama and Duke are the only three in the last two Elite Eights.
• UT finished a program-best fifth in the AP Poll, Coaches Poll and KenPom in 2023-24 and 2024-25.
• The Vols' 213 wins the last nine years (2017-26) rank seventh in DI. Only Houston (259), Gonzaga (256), Duke (236), Kansas (224), Purdue (222) and Saint Mary's (217) own more. Auburn (212), Liberty (212) and Arizona (211) rounds out the top 10.
 
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#4
#4
BEATING THE BLUEGRASS BLUE BLOOD...
• From 1993-2015—a 22-season stretch that spanned the tenures of seven Tennessee coaches—the Volunteers went 9-35 (.205) against Kentucky, including 7-28 (.200) versus ranked Wildcat squads and 2-21 (.087) with UK in the top 10.
• Since Rick Barnes' hire in 2015-16, UT is 12-12 against Kentucky. No other team has even nine-plus wins, while just Alabama (eight), Auburn (seven) and Kansas have even six. The Vols are 11-8 against ranked Wildcat teams, over twice as many wins as any team in that time (five by Auburn and Kansas).
• The Vols are 7-1 against Kentucky teams ranked in the top 10 under Barnes, including 6-1 when the Wildcats are in the top six and 5-1 when they are in the top five. UT is 6-0 in non-road games versus top-10 Kentucky teams in Barnes' tenure.
• UT has topped Kentucky at least once in nine of Barnes' first 10 seasons, including each of the first seven. It went 2-1 in 2021-22, 2018-19 and 2017-18. The Vols beat UK in Knoxville four years in a row, 2015-16 through 2018-19, and again in 2021-22.
• Under Barnes, UT is 8-5 against UK with both teams in the AP top 25 and 4-1 with both in the top 10.
• The Vols are 4-4 on the road against Kentucky the last eight seasons (since 2017-18) after going 2-36 in the prior 38 years (1979-2017).
• In the teams' last meeting, their first-ever NCAA Tournament matchup, the Vols tallied a 78-65 victory on 3/28/25 in the Sweet 16 in Indianapolis. They led by as many as 19 points, trailed for just 32 seconds and had three players score 16-plus.
• UT's most recent road win at Kentucky was a 103-92 road on 2/3/24. The 103 points marked the Vols' co-second-most ever against the Wildcats, including their top total on the road. It also marked the fourth time any visitor scored triple digits at Rupp Arena, including the second time an SEC team did so. • Under Barnes, Tennessee is 5-5 at home against Kentucky, 4-6 on the road, 2-1 in the SEC Tournament and 1-0 in the NCAA Tournament.
 
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#5
#5
...BEHIND BARNES' TUTELAGE
• Rick Barnes is tied with Dean Smith for sixth all-time with 13 wins against Kentucky as a head coach. That figure is, by far, first among all active DI head coaches. It includes a 12-12 record during his Tennessee tenure, as well as a 0-1 mark at Texas and 1-1 ledger at Clemson, putting him at 13-14 overall.
• No other active coach is even in double digits, as Bill Self (nine), Nate Oats (seven) and Tom Izzo (seven) are the only other ones above even six.
• The five coaches above Barnes on the list are Dale Brown (18), Billy Donovan (17), Bob Knight (15), Ray Mears (15) and Roy Skinner (14).
• Just eight others, including Barnes, are in double figures. Those individuals are Kevin Stallings (12), Don DeVoe (11), Bruce Pearl (11), Wimp Sanderson (11), C.M. Newton (10) and Roy Williams (10).
• Of the 13 coaches with 10-plus wins, four coached Tennessee: Barnes (2015-present), Pearl (2006-11), DeVoe (1978-89) and Mears (1962-77). Pearl was 4-9 at Tennessee and 7-9 at Auburn (11-18 overall), while DeVoe went 11-12 at UT and 0-2 at Florida (11-14 overall). Mears was 15-15 exclusively with the Vols.
 
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#12
#12
I really wish this wasn't a noon game! Hope our boys have a good breakfast and maybe get a few rounds of Rochambeau in before tip.
 
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