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Kentucky vs. Tennessee live stream: Betting odds, TV channel, prediction

By Mike Phillips

LEXINGTON, KENTUCKY - FEBRUARY 13: Davion Mintz #10 of the Kentucky Wildcats shoots the ball against the Auburn Tigers at Rupp Arena on February 13, 2021 in Lexington, Kentucky. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
LEXINGTON, KENTUCKY - FEBRUARY 13: Davion Mintz #10 of the Kentucky Wildcats shoots the ball against the Auburn Tigers at Rupp Arena on February 13, 2021 in Lexington, Kentucky. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /
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Kentucky basketball looks to pull off the upset when the Wildcats square off with SEC rival Tennessee.

Heading into the season, most people expected Kentucky and Tennessee to be jockeying for SEC supremacy. Neither team looks like the class of the conference at this point but the Wildcats have had a far more perilous season than the Volunteers to this point.

Kentucky is in an unusual position at this stage of the campaign, checking into today’s game with a 7-13 mark that has them nowhere near the bubble, let alone the top of the bracket. John Calipari’s team has to win the SEC Tournament and claim the conference’s automatic bid to go dancing, so the end of the regular season is simply about building momentum ahead of that event.

Things have improved for Kentucky over the past week as the Wildcats enter this game on a two-game winning streak. Victories against Auburn and Vanderbilt are good confidence boosters for the young Wildcats but topping Tennessee in Knoxville is a whole different beast.

Tennessee bounced back from a tough loss at LSU to crush South Carolina by 20 points earlier in the week. Victor Bailey led the way for the Volunteers, knocking down seven three-point attempts as part of a season-high 29 point performance.

The offensive explosion was highly unusual for Tennessee, which hadn’t eclipsed the 90-point plateau since non-conference play. Head coach Rick Barnes has made some notable changes to the Volunteers’ starting lineup, inserting freshmen Keon Johnson and Jaden Springer to try and generate more scoring punch to help complement Tennessee’s rugged defense.

This game is much more important to Tennessee, which needs to avoid a bad loss at this stage of the season. Kentucky is playing with nothing to lose, which could make them even more dangerous.

How to bet and watch Kentucky at Tennessee

    • Date: Saturday, Feb. 20
    • Time: 1:00 p.m. ET
    • Location: Knoxville, TN
    • Venue: Thompson-Boling Arena
    • TV: CBS
    • Live Stream: CBS Sports App
    • Line: Tennessee -7.5 (FanDuel)
    • Prediction: Tennessee 78, Kentucky 75

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