Once Upon A Time In Las Vegas – Wildcard Edition
The Kentucky Wildcats (10-6, 4-11-1 ATS, 9-7 O/U) battle the Tennessee Volunteers (14-2, 9-7 ATS, 7-9 O/U) in an SEC bout on Saturday afternoon. The Wildcats are looking to rebound from a disappointing home loss to South Carolina. The Volunteers defeated Vanderbilt in their previous bout. Tennessee beat Kentucky in two of the three meetings last season.
The Kentucky Wildcats are in need of a victory. They have lost back-to-back games and are only 2-3 in their last five games. Kentucky lost a 78-52 decision at Alabama followed by a stunning 71-68 home loss against South Carolina on Tuesday in a bout that had the Wildcats favored by 20 points. Kentucky has plummeted to 1-3 in SEC play. They have struggled against power conference opponents all season including losses to Michigan State and UCLA. They have not covered in 10 consecutive games.
Oscar Tshiebwe scored 19 points in Tuesday’s loss and has played well, even in the defeats. The senior forward has four double-doubles in SEC play and is averaging 16 PPG along with 13.1 RPG. Antonio Reeves has scored 33 points in his last two performances. The senior guard has increased his season average to 11.8 PPG. Cason Wallace has shot over 50% in two of his last four games. The freshman guard has fi led an average of 11.6 PPG and 3.7 APG.
There we go, Tone ????#GoBigBlue pic.twitter.com/icvx2kAWr1
— Kentucky Men's Basketball (@KentuckyMBB) January 7, 2023
The Wildcats are ranked 44th in the country in Ken Pomeroy’s ratings and have a lot of catching up to do to find a way into the AP Top 25. Kentucky is 0-2 in their only two road games on the season including a loss to Missouri. The Wildcats are scoring an average of 76.3 points, marking them 88th. They have conceded over 70 points in three of their four SEC games and are conceding an average of 67.5 points, placing them 137th.