The Kentucky Wildcats are coming off a surprising overtime loss to Arkansas where the Razorbacks shocked the No. 13 SEC team with a buzzer-beater finale. The young Wildcats will look to avoid two-straight losses as their SEC East rivals Tennessee come into town.
Kentucky is seeking some revenge against Tennessee. The Volunteers beat their rival team 85-58 last February, the game the caused a knee injury to star Nerlens Noel. Saturday is the only matchup between the two teams until they possibly meet up in the SEC Conference finale in March.
Head coach John Calipari is blaming the Arkansas loss on miscommunication. He could be right considering the Razorbacks only shot 38 percent from the floor while Kentucky outrebounded them 50-32 during the game. Freshman James Young blamed himself for not making the block that led to the game-winning dunk. Alex Poythress led the team with 12 points and six rebounds, something he hopes to repeat against the inconsistent Volunteers.
Tennessee was Kentucky's downfall last season. After losing to the Volunteers, the Wildcats went just .500 down the stretch, knocking them out of the NCAA tournament. Tennessee is the definition of an inconsistent team this season. Sitting at 11-5 overall and 2-1 in conference play, the team is coming off big win of Auburn where the team shot 51 percent overall. However, Tennessee's downfall comes in turnovers where they are a league-worst minus 7.5 margin.
Tennessee is looking to be the upset team once again as they face their rivals in Rupp Arena. Kentucky is perfect on the season at home while Tennessee is just 1-2 on the road this year.
