Tennessee vs. Kentucky: TV Schedule, Live Stream, Spread Info and More

Fresh off completing their third week this season as the No. 1 team in the country, the Kentucky Wildcats get back into the swing of things by hosting the Tennessee Volunteers in SEC action on Tuesday night. 

Tennessee played a very good game against Kentucky two weeks ago in Knoxville. It was a 65-62 loss for the Volunteers, but they held the lead late into that game and just made a few mistakes to come up short. 

Kentucky has been on fire all season, winning 21 of its first 22 games. Even the Wildcats' lone loss came by one point on the road against Indiana. This team has been the best in the country since the start of the year and is starting to separate itself from the rest of the pack in the SEC. 

Where: Rupp Arena in Lexington, KY

When: Tuesday, Jan. 31 at 7:00 p.m. EDT

Watch: ESPNU

Live Stream: ESPN3.com

Betting Line: Kentucky (-16.5) according to Vegas Insider

Key Injuries

Neither team has a significant injury entering this game. 

What's At Stake?

Tennessee is still searching to find an identity. Last season, this program started to slide and big changes were made. At just 10-11 this year, things are not getting better for this program. A win against the top team in the country would be a huge confidence boost. 

Kentucky is looking to further assert its dominance over the rest of the SEC. John Calipari has done another fantastic job coaching a talented group of young players up to their potential, and they are virtually a lock to be a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, barring some epic collapse. 

What They Are Saying

John Calipari is never satisfied. It's one of the things that makes him such a great head coach in college basketball, and why his young players always respond to him. 

Last week, he declared that his team should be a lot better than it is right now. 

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“We are just into our own thing right now, and you can’t be a special team and be that way. The biggest thing is let’s step this thing up. Last year’s team, I could not believe we were as good as we were so I did not have to say a whole lot. This year’s team, we could be really special and we are not right now.”

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They can be special, but there are not a lot of special teams in college basketball right now, so they can get away with just being really good. 

Tennessee Player To Watch: F Jeronne Maymon

The Volunteers don't have a dominant scorer, and they are middle of the pack as a team, but Maymon is going to be the player who can carry them to an upset. He has a tough draw, going up against shot-blocker extraordinaire Anthony Davis. 

Maymon needs to have a monster game on both offense and defense in order to carry his team to victory on the road. 

Kentucky Player To Watch: F Anthony Davis

No player in college basketball has the effect on a game that Davis does. He could be a non-factor on offense, yet still change a game because he is so good at blocking shots and grabbing rebounds on defense. 

Davis is going to be locked up with Maymon, and the winner of this battle is going to give his team the upper hand in this contest. 

Key Matchup: Tennessee Forwards vs. Anthony Davis

Instead of putting the whole burden on Maymon here, it is incumbent on all the big men that the Volunteers have in order to make sure they stay in this game. 

If they gave out a most valuable player award in college basketball, there is no doubt that Davis would win it. He changes everything for this Kentucky team. He has improved on offense as the season has gone on and has become more lethal on the defensive side of the ball. 

Prediction

This game is not going to be nearly as close as the first matchup between these two teams. 

Kentucky 77, Tennessee 55

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