On the whole, John Calipari has been a success as head coach of the Kentucky Wildcats. Coach Cal has a record of 379-108 for a win percentage of .778 at UK. And he led the Wildcats to the 2012 national championship. At that time, it seemed as if Calipari would establish a Kentucky dynasty. One that would rival the late great legend Adolph Rupp. Calipari recruited a dominant level, better than anyone had ever seen. And he was the undisputed College Basketball odds king of the one-and-done superstars. Yet Kentucky last made the national championship game in 2014.
Tennessee Volunteers vs. Kentucky Wildcats Betting Information
| Date and Time: | Saturday, February 18, 2023, 1 p.m. ET |
|---|---|
| Location: | Rupp Arena, Lexington, Kentucky |
| TV Coverage: | CBS |
| Betting Online Odds at SBG: | Click Here |
Tennessee at Kentucky SBG Odds Overview
Consider that Kentucky’s last Final Four was in 2015. Since its 2019 Elite Eight berth, Kentucky has been mired with sportsbook inconsistency. The Wildcats rate as 50/50 for the Big Dance. But will it even matter?
Tennessee Volunteers Team Overview
Overall, the Tennessee Volunteers are 19-6 straight up, 13-12 against the spread, and 11-14 over/under the total. Tennessee has national metrics of 158th for scoring offense, 263rd for field goal percentage, 252nd for 3-point field goal percentage, 121st for free throw percentage, and 6th for offensive rebounding. While defensively, the Vols are 3rd for scoring defense, 2nd for field goal percentage permitted, 1st for 3-point field goal percentage allowed, and 42nd for defensive rebounding.
Late on, the Vols failed to cover its last four games. Three of those games went under the total. Last Saturday, an 86-85 home loss to the Missouri Tigers was a shocker. Mizzou won the game on a long-range buzzer-beater. Additionally, the Vols were coming off a lackluster 66-65 loss at Vanderbilt. As a result, Tennessee has fallen four games behind the Alabama Crimson Tide. The Vols continue to suffer and fall behind with a lack of offense.
Kentucky Wildcats Team Overview
In sum, the Kentucky Wildcats are 16-9 straight up, 10-14-1 against the spread, and 16-9 over/under the total. Kentucky has national metrics of 116th for scoring offense, 120th for field goal percentage, 61st for 3-point field goal percentage, 253rd for free throw percentage, and 29th for offensive rebounding. By contrast, defensively, UK is 127th for scoring defense, 161st for field goal percentage permitted, 157th for 3-point field goal percentage allowed, and 16th for defensive rebounding.
Late on, Kentucky failed to cover three of its previous five games. Additionally, all five of those tilts went over the total. The Wildcats are coming off another bizarre loss, 75-68, at Georgia on Saturday.
Yet again, head coach John Calipari’s problems in developing consistency at a program that is expected to win national championships showed. Now Kentucky rates as a coin flip chance for the NCAA Tournament.
Namely, Oscar Tshiebwe leads the Cats with 15.7 points and 13.3 rebounds per contest. While Tshiebwe is a fine player, this hasn’t been a great season. Cause by distractions with NIL cash and celebrity.
Tennessee at Kentucky SBG Free Picks
In this situation, Kentucky has too many NCAABB betting failures to be trusted. Tennessee will get a superior price as the quality road team. Kentucky remains an overlay based on branding.
Tennessee at Kentucky SBG Best Bet: Tennessee Volunteers.