The Official #25 Tennessee @ Kentucky Game Thread, 8:30 PM ET, ESPN

[YankeeVol]

#25 Tennessee Volunteers: 16-6 (6-3 SEC)

@

Kentucky Wildcats: 16-7 (7-3 SEC)

GAME 23 | TENNESSEE at KENTUCKY - Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026 | 8:30 p.m. ET | Lexington, Ky. | Rupp Arena (20,500)

Line: UT +1.5
O/U: 146.5

TV: ESPN / Watch
Radio: Vol Network / Listen / Live Stats
Satellite Radio: SiriusXM 390 / Internet: SXM App
Online: WatchESPN.com

Kentucky Game Notes

 

[YankeeVol]

THE MATCHUP
• Tennessee has the most wins (79) over Kentucky of any team, with Vanderbilt a distant second at 51.
• This is the ninth series meeting in a row with Tennessee ranked above Kentucky. Its prior high was four in a row (2/1/00 to 2/14/01).
• The Vols' eight road wins at Rupp Arena are the second-most of any team, trailing only Florida (10).
• Rick Barnes has led UT to a 4-4 mark at Rupp Arena over the last eight years after it was 2-36 in the prior 38 seasons (1979-2017).
• Tennessee's 12 wins over Kentucky in Barnes' tenure (2015-26) are four more than any other team. The Volunteers, who are 11-8 against ranked Wildcat teams under Barnes, have beat Kentucky at least once in nine of his 11 years.
• In the 22 seasons before Barnes' arrival (1993-2015), UT went 9-35 against Kentucky, including 7-28 when the Wildcats were ranked.
• After a 24-12 (10-8) season that included a Sweet 16 bid, Kentucky was picked second in the SEC.
• Senior guard Otega Oweh, the SEC Preseason Player of the Year, paces the Wildcats at 17.0 ppg.

 

[YankeeVol]

NEWS & NOTES
• Rick Barnes' 13 victories against Kentucky rank co-sixth all-time, tied with Dean Smith, and are four greater than any other active coach. He is one shy of tying Roy Skinner for fifth.
• UT's Gavin Paull and Kentucky's Walker Horn were teammates at Westlake HS (Texas) in 2021-22.
• Last season, for the first time ever, Tennessee and Kentucky met in the NCAA Tournament. The Vols logged a 78-65 Sweet 16 win on 3/28/25 in Indianapolis. UT led by as many as 19 points and trailed for only 32 seconds. Zakai Zeigler put up 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.
• Nate Ament has scored 17-plus points in each of UT's last seven outings, with 22-plus in four of them. He is averaging a team-best 22.1 ppg in that span, while shooting 39.3 percent from deep and 80.0 percent at the stripe. He has 65 free-throw attempts in that stretch, good for 9.3 per outing, with nine-plus in five of them.
• UT has played just two contests this season that did not feature a double-digit lead for at least one team, an 86-85 overtime win at Georgia (1/28/26) and a 62-60 loss at Syracuse (12/2/25). Of its 22 games, 16 have featured a lead of 14-plus, with 12 at 23-plus.
• The Vols compiled a 28-9 (.757) record in the second leg of regular season home-and-home series the last eight years (2017-25).
• Rick Barnes' 852 wins lead all active DI coaches and rank ninth all-time (min. 10 years in DI).
• 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' 217 wins the last nine years (2017-26) rank eighth in DI. Only Houston (263), Gonzaga (261), Duke (241), Kansas (229), Purdue (224), Saint Mary's (220) and Liberty (218) own more. Arizona (216) and Auburn (216) round out the top 10.

 

[YankeeVol]

WINNING WAYS
• Over the last nine seasons (2017-26), Tennessee paces all SEC programs in total victories (217) and postseason victories (23), plus ranks second in overall winning percentage (.731; 217-80). In that period, UT has three SEC titles (2018 and 2024 regular seasons, 2022 tournament).
• In that same span, the Volunteers are one of two SEC teams with even 205-plus wins and/or a winning percentage above .695, alongside Auburn (216-79; .732).
• Over SEC play across the same period, Tennessee tops the SEC in league winning percentage (.684; 104-48) and co-leads the way in league victories, alongside Kentucky (104-49; .680). The only other schools at even 95-plus wins and/or a .600 clip are Auburn (101-52; .660) and Alabama (96-57; .627).
• In just the last five seasons (2021-26), the Vols own a 125-42 (.749) overall record. That is good for the most total wins and the best winning percentage in the SEC, narrowly ahead of Auburn (.748; 122-41).
• In that same time, Tennessee (57-24; .704) is second in the SEC in both league winning percentage and league wins. It trails just Auburn (58-23; .716) in both categories.

 

[YankeeVol]

POLL PRESENCE
• Tennessee has played 260 games as a ranked team in the AP Poll in Rick Barnes' tenure, posting a 194-66 (.746) record. In total, 71.6 percent of the Volunteers' 363 games since Barnes arrived in 2015-16 have come with the team ranked in the AP Poll, all since 2017-18 (260 of 297, 87.5 percent).
• UT is 170-59 (.742) while in the AP top 20 under Barnes, 129-44 (.746) while top-15, 103-33 (.757) while top-10, 49-14 (.778) while top-five, 25-3 (.893) while top-three and 14-2 (.875) while No. 1.
• The Vols are 40-30 (.571) in AP top-25 matchups under Barnes, including 32-23 (.582) with both teams in the top 20, 20-16 (.556) with both in the top 15 and 11-10 (.524) with both in the top 10.

BEATING THE BEST
• Under Rick Barnes, Tennessee has 48 total victories over 15 (of the 37) NCAA champions: Arizona, Arkansas (8x), Baylor, Cincinnati, Duke, Florida (10x), Kansas (2x), Kentucky (12x), Louisville (3x), Maryland, North Carolina, NC State (2x), Syracuse (2x), UCLA, Virginia and Wisconsin.
• The Volunteers also own wins during Barnes' tenure over non-SEC teams such as Butler, Colorado (2x), Creighton, Georgia Tech (3x), Gonzaga, Houston, Illinois (2x), Iowa, Memphis, Miami, Purdue, Rutgers, St. Joseph's, Southern Cal, Texas (2x pre-SEC), Wake Forest (2x), Washington, West Virginia and VCU.
• In his 39 years as a head coach, Barnes owns 188 total wins over 28 (of the 37) programs with a national title. He has never coached against six of the other nine.

 

[YankeeVol]

BEATING THE BLUEGRASS BLUEBLOOD...
• 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 12-13 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' 11 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).
• Last year, in the teams' 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 5-6 at home against Kentucky, 4-6 on the road, 2-1 in the SEC Tournament and 1-0 in the NCAA Tournament.

...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 12-13 record during his Tennessee tenure, as well as a 0-1 mark at Texas and 1-1 ledger at Clemson, putting him at 13-15 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.

 

[7thgroupvolfan]

Lets get it and make it 5 in a row.

 

[chuckb1448]

Playing Three Teams tonight: Kentucky, the Zebras, and the Fans.... hope we Beat em all!
Go Rocky Top

 

[imw8n4u]

Thanks as always @YankeeVol

GBO

 

[kiddiedoc]

It's GameDay!

 

[Bigorangefan 98]

Revenge tonight . We got get them back their place . They stole one at our place .

 

[zeppelin128]

Looking forward to seeing the "Kentucky lost again" thread active and humming tonight.