Kentucky at Tennessee College Basketball Betting Tips
The Kentucky Wildcats continue to underwhelm gamblers in their second season under head coach Mark Pope. Most important of all, Kentucky under Pope has not been a good value with the college basketball lines.
Last season, Pope arrived from BYU after John Calipari bolted one step ahead of the Big Blue posse for Arkansas. Pope is a Kentucky alum and former player. Thus, he understands the passion and pressure that come with being the Wildcats' head basketball coach.
On Saturday, Kentucky has a difficult road game against the Tennessee Volunteers.
Head coach Rick Barnes has two SEC regular season and one tournament championship. But the NCAA Tournament has not quite been what Big Orange fans hope for.
Tennessee is coming off two Elite Eight finishes, but fans and gamblers wonder if that is as far as it will go.
Kentucky at Tennessee Preview
On Saturday, January 17, 2026, the Tennessee Volunteers will host the Kentucky Wildcats at Food City Center in Knoxville, TN. Tipoff time is Noon ET with television coverage on ESPN.
Public Betting Odds Factors
- Betting interest is always high for legacy programs like Kentucky, especially in a rivalry matchup.
- Kentucky remains a powerful and legacy brand in college basketball, drawing heavy casual sector interest.
- The Wildcats could get additional play from bargain hunters and sharps, who don’t see much difference between the Wildcats and Volunteers.
- Meanwhile, Tennessee is a respected brand too, especially at home, but with too much red ink on the season.
Kentucky at Tennessee Predictions
Handicapping Factors to Consider
- As mentioned below, Tennessee has not been a good home value against Kentucky.
- The Vols have been a poor overall value at home.
- Gamblers have a sense of feeling burned by Tennessee this season.
- Kentucky will get a more favorable price on the college basketball spread than usual based on current circumstances and the form of both teams.
Kentucky at Tennessee Prime Best Bet: Kentucky Wildcats
Kentucky at Tennessee Betting Tips
Kentucky Wildcats
- Kentucky has NCAABB metrics of 99th for scoring offense, 52nd for field goal percentage, 203rd for 3-point field goal percentage, 121st for free throw percentage, and 73rd for offensive rebounding.
- On defense, the Wildcats rank 64th in scoring defense, 58th in field goal percentage allowed, 38th in 3-point field goal percentage allowed, and 67th in defensive rebounding.
- The Kentucky Wildcats are 10-6 straight up, 7-9 against the spread, and 7-9 over/under the total.
- Late on, Kentucky has covered three out of its last six games.
- The Wildcats have gone under the total in four of their previous six matchups.
Tennessee Volunteers
- Tennessee has NCAABB metrics of 114th in scoring offense, 53rd in field goal percentage, 153rd in 3-point field goal percentage, 276th in free throw percentage, and 9th in offensive rebounding.
- On defense, the Volunteers rank 43rd in scoring defense, 17th in field goal percentage allowed, 33rd in 3-point field goal percentage allowed, and 6th in defensive rebounding.
- The Tennessee Volunteers are 12-5 straight up, 6-11 against the spread, and 11-6 over/under the total.
- Tennessee has covered two out of its last five games.
- The Volunteers have gone over the total in five of their previous five matchups.
Kentucky at Tennessee Head-to-Head and Key Stats
- Seven of the last nine games between the Wildcats and Volunteers went under the total.
- Specifically, in Tennessee, Kentucky has won five of its last six games against the Vols.
- The Volunteers and Wildcats went under the total in seven of their last nine meetings at Tennessee.
- Kentucky failed to cover the spread in four of its last five away games.
- Six of the last eight Kentucky road games went over the total.
- In like manner, Tennessee covered the spread in only five of its last 15 home games.
- The Volunteers went over the total in five of their most recent eight home games.
