No. 1 Kentucky Wildcats vs. Tennessee Volunteers
This Tuesday night at Thompson-Boling Arena, the No. 1 Kentucky Wildcats will go on the road
to put their straight-up 25-game winning streak on the line against Tennessee. BetAnySports
has opened the Wildcats as heavy 14-point favorites in this SEC clash.
The Wildcats are coming off one of their most complete victories in the past few weeks after
crushing South Carolina 77-43 this past Saturday as prohibitive 18.5-point home favorites on
BetAnySports’ closing betting odds. It was the first time that Kentucky covered against the
spread in its last six contests and the total stayed UNDER the closing 121-point line after going
OVER in its previous five games.
When everything is clicking for the Wildcats it is hard to see any team in the nation beating this
team. They are averaging 73.6 points per game behind a deep lineup that boasts seven
different players scoring at least seven points a game. Defensively, the Wildcats are ranked
second in the nation in points allowed (51.8 PPG). They are shooting 46.3 percent from the field
and pulling down an average of 38.6 rebounds a game.
Tennessee is coming off an ugly 73-55 loss to LSU this past Saturday after closing as a 2.5-
point home favorite on BetAnySports’ betting odds. It was its fifth SU loss in its last seven
games while going 3-4 ATS. The Volunteers are now a costly 2-11 ATS in 13 home games this
season, but they remain a solid bet as underdogs with a 6-3 record ATS in nine previous
contests.
The trio of Josh Richardson, Armani Moore and Kevin Punter have provided the bulk of the
production on offense this season for Tennessee. Each is scoring in double figures with
Richardson leading the way with 16 PPG while shooting 46.2 percent from the field. The
Volunteers are averaging 64.2 PPG and hitting 43.2 percent of their shots from the floor. At the
other end of the court, they are giving-up an average of 63.6 points to their opponents.
Kentucky should have little problem extending its winning streak this Tuesday night, but I am not
overly confident it can cover another huge spread on the road. The Wildcats are 3-4 ATS on the
road this season and they are just 1-4 ATS in their last five games against Tennessee. Take the
14 points on BetAnySports’ current betting spread with a play on the home-town Volunteers in
this one.