As hard it is to fathom, the Kentucky Wildcats likely won’t be heading to the NCAA Tournament once the middle of March rolls around. That is unless they somehow find a way to put it all together and win the SEC Tournament. Their odds of pulling off the feat currently check in at +5000 should you feel so inclined to wager on the unlikely scenario occurring at online sportsbooks. As for the No. 19 ranked Tennessee Volunteers, the luster off a hot start to the season has worn out in a big way. After dropping a non-competitive 78-65 decision at the LSU Tigers before taking South Carolina on Wednesday night, Rick Barnes’ troops are now attempting to fend off Florida, Ole Miss, Mizzou and Georgia for one of those highly clamored for double byes in the SEC tourney. Should it fall for the third time at home against the Wildcats, they can likely kiss their shot of locking one down goodbye.
Take this SEC matchup in live on CBS at 1 p.m. ET from Thompson-Boling Arena on Saturday, February 20, 2021. BookMaker.eu will have NCAA basketball odds available for this and every game set to go on Saturday’s loaded college basketball schedule.
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Odds Analysis
Kentucky has five games remaining on the regular season docket. That includes a trip to Nashville to battle the Vanderbilt Commodores on Hump Day. This edition of John Calipari’s cast of one and doners have been nothing if not a detriment to college basketball bettor’s bankrolls all season. The memes and videos created by those that felt Kentucky’s wrath are countless! The team has seriously only managed to cover the closing pointspread in five of its 19 overall played games. On top of all that, it’s only come out on top and covered in two of its six played games away from Lexington. Rocky Top hasn’t been kind to Kentucky either with the team managing just one win and cover in its last five treks to Vols country. That triumph did however go down last season when the Wildcats came away with the 77-64 win and cover as 2.5-point favorites.
Kentucky Wildcats
Isaiah Jackson and Brandon Boston Jr. put the team on their backs and led them to the 82-80 win over Auburn that snapped the team’s four-game losing streak over the weekend. Unfortunately, the losing streak against the linemakers remained intact after the Wildcats defense nearly pissed away a 72-60 lead with 5+ minutes remaining. Kentucky should’ve easily covered the closing 3.5-point spread, but Sharife Cooper and company refused to go quietly. It took a blocked shot and free throws made in the closing seconds to fend off the Tigers' desperation attempt at stealing the win to sweep the season rivalry. It’s possible Kentucky enters this tilt losers of six straight against the spread dependent upon how Wednesday’s visit to Memorial Gymnasium plays out.
Tennessee Volunteers
Though the Pomeroy Ratings currently have the Volunteers tabbed as the No. 17 ranked team in the country, there really isn’t all that much to like about the 2021 version of the team; save for the defense. It’s way too unreliable. One game, it goes out and takes the wood to a decent Kansas Jayhawks team. Then the next, it goes out and gets waxed by an undermanned Florida Gators outfit. There’s simply just no consistency with this group! Why linemakers have the team lined as +300 choices to win the SEC tourney behind only Alabama is quite the headscratcher. That said, the Vols have been nothing short of dominant at home to date in winning all but two of their 13 played games with the losses coming against Alabama and Missouri.
Kentucky vs. Tennessee Prediction
If going by KenPom, Tennessee is 10+ points better than Kentucky. If linemakers hung a number like that due to the face value that the Wildcats bring with them into every contest, they might not book a single Volunteers bet. Instead, look for the number to beat to situate in the 6-8 point range with the total lined in the mid-130s. As bad each of these teams are at shooting accurately from beyond the arc with Kentucky ranked No. 225 and Tennessee No. 153, this could end up being a rock fight with the team that does the better job of performing in the paint being the ultimate decider of the game’s final outcome. Though these teams combined for 153 points in the first meeting a few weeks back, linemakers had the total for that game set at 126. That tells me all I need to know about the rematch. The final outcome of that game paired with both team’s recent defensive play should also inflate the total a few more possessions, so that’s something I’ll be looking to take advantage of come Saturday afternoon.
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