Tennessee vs. Kentucky: Picks, Predictions and Odds

We have a familiar SEC matchup on our hands on Friday in the men's tournament round of 16 when the No. 3 seed Kentucky Wildcats take on the No. 2 seed Tennesee Volunteers in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Tennessee was able to dispatch its first two opponents - Wofford and UCLA - thanks in large part to a couple of stifling defensive performances that completely neutralized both teams.

As for the Wildcats, Mark Pope’s team showed that it is well-equipped to make a postseason run in his first season leading the program, as Kentucky easily got past Troy and Illinois last weekend despite missing a couple of key contributors in both games.

Can Kentucky pull off the upset over a longtime rival, or will Tennessee knock off the Wildcats and advance to the regional final for the second consecutive season?

Let’s get into our expert Kentucky vs Tennessee picks, predictions and best bets for this Midwest Region semifinal matchup on Friday.

Tennessee vs. Kentucky betting picks and predictions

Kentucky +4.5 (-110)

Outside of the top teams remaining in this field, Kentucky is the last opponent the Volunteers would want to face at this stage of the proceedings. After all, the Wildcats swept the regular-season series and are playing excellent basketball heading into this game.

Are those regular-season results repeatable? Well, while most talking points around the game will focus on how hard it is to beat a team three times in one season, that's actually not what the historical data suggests.

Regardless of whether Kentucky wins this game or not, the value is certainly with the Wildcats catching this many points.

This is a team that is better than its record suggests and is finally getting healthy after a season full of untimely injuries and uncertainty.

These teams don’t play similar styles of basketball, but the Wildcats do match up well with Tennessee when healthy.

As long as former San Diego State guard Lamont Butler is in the lineup, this Kentucky team has the capacity to beat almost any opponent.

All things considered, back Kentucky +4.5 at -110 to cover as short underdogs in this game.

Under 145.5 Total Points (-110)

While conventional wisdom would suggest that the best game script for Kentucky to cover this spread is likely one where the Wildcats win with their offense, our game total bet for this matchup is on Under 145.5 points at -110.

The Midwest Regional games are being played in Lucas Oil Stadium, which is not a venue that should be conducive to plenty of scoring.

As shown in previous tournament games in these massive non-basketball stadiums, the sight lines aren’t ideal for shooters and teams generally tend to start off a bit slow.

Throw in the fact that this will be a high-pressure showdown between a pair of programs that are very familiar with each other, having already played twice earlier this season, and you have a perfect recipe for a lower-scoring affair.

Kentucky plays at a very fast pace (25th in adjusted tempo per KenPom), while Tennessee wants to slow the game down to a halfcourt battle.

In this instance, it's unlikely that Kentucky will be able to dictate the pace of the game for long stretches, especially with it being such a massive game in an unfamiliar venue.

The last meeting between these teams finished below this number and that even accounted for the Wildcats shooting 50 percent from beyond the three-point arc.

Kentucky also held Tennessee to a combined 14/61 shooting from beyond the arc in those previous matchups and we should be looking at another Under if that trend holds true on Friday.

Read more College Basketball betting picks and predictions on site.

Tennessee vs. Kentucky odds

Kentucky	+165 ML
Tennessee	-200 ML
Spread	Tennessee -4.5
Total Points	O/U 145.5

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This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.