First Scouting Report: Can Kentucky basketball handle Tennessee’s physicality?

A look ahead to the Kentucky Wildcats’ next men’s basketball game:

The opponent

No. 10 Kentucky (15-5, 5-3 SEC) will face No. 5 Tennessee (15-5, 5-2 SEC) on Saturday, Feb. 3, at Rupp Arena (capacity 20,545) at Central Bank Center in downtown Lexington.

The game will tip off at 8:30 p.m. (EST) and be telecast by ESPN.

In UT’s most recent contest, South Carolina upset the Volunteers 63-59 Tuesday night in Knoxville.

Series history

Kentucky leads the all-time series with Tennessee 160-77.

As UK head man, John Calipari is 18-12 vs. the Volunteers.

Tennessee coach Rick Barnes is 10-9 vs. Kentucky as UT head man and 11-11 overall.

Most recent meeting

Oscar Tshiebwe and Cason Wallace each scored 16 points and Chris Livingston had a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds to lead Kentucky to a 66-54 upset of No. 10 Tennessee on Feb. 18, 2023, at Rupp Arena.

The victory gave UK a season sweep of the Volunteers for the first time since the 2011-12 season.

Power rankings

In the Pomeroy Ratings, Kentucky is No. 21 and Tennessee No. 5.

The NCAA NET rankings have Kentucky No. 21, Tennessee No. 5.

Know your foe

1. Tennessee is 3-2 in true road games and 2-3 versus opponents ranked in the AP Top 25.

On the road, the Volunteers beat Wisconsin in Madison 80-70 and won at Georgia, 85-79, and at Vanderbilt, 75-62. UT’s away defeats are at North Carolina, 100-92 in the ACC/SEC Challenge, and at Mississippi State, 77-72.

Against the ranked, the Vols beat No. 20 Illinois 86-79 and No. 22 Mississippi 90-64 in Knoxville and lost at No. 17 North Carolina, 100-92, and to No. 1 Kansas, 69-60, and No. 2 Purdue, 71-67, on neutral courts in the Maui Classic in Hawaii.

2. Tennessee super-senior wing Dalton Knecht, a transfer from Northern Colorado, is one of the favorites for SEC Player of the Year. For the season, Knecht is averaging 20.1 points, 4.6 rebounds, 1.8 assists and shooting 48.8% from the field, 40% on 3-point attempts and 78.1% on foul shots.

The 6-foot-6, 213-pound product of Thornton, Colorado, will come to Lexington in the midst of an absolute heater. Since scoring only eight points in UT’s win over Ole Miss, Knecht has averaged 28.5 points in the six games since. In his last five games, Knecht has gone over 31 points four times.

It will be fascinating to see who John Calipari assigns to guard the Tennessee star. Does Kentucky risk putting its best perimeter offensive player, Antonio Reeves, on UT’s scoring star?

3. As usual for a Rick Barnes-coached Tennessee, the Volunteers’ calling card is their defense. UT is limiting foes to 37.5% on field-goal attempts, the third-best mark in NCAA Division I.

Opponents are making 30.1% on 3-point tries vs. the Vols, ranking the Tennessee defense against the trey at 36th in the country.

The Volunteers will present a physically mature challenge for Kentucky’s youthful roster: Tennessee starts three super-seniors and two juniors.