Kentucky Wildcats vs Tennessee Volunteers Prediction, 1/14/2023 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Kentucky Wildcats vs Tennessee Volunteers

Date: Saturday, January 14, 2023

Location: Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville, TN

TV: ESPN

The Tennessee Volunteers (14-2) will try to defeat the Kentucky Wildcats (10-6) at Thompson-Boling Arena on Saturday.

The Kentucky Wildcats took the court against South Carolina and went home with a loss by a final score of 71-68 in their last contest. When talking about fouls, the Wildcats finished with 11 and South Carolina totaled 15 fouls. They also made 11 of their 20 tries from 3-point range. South Carolina finished 85.7% at the charity stripe by making 6 of their 7 attempts. Furthermore, South Carolina collected 25 boards (11 offensive, 14 defensive), but wrapped up the game with no rejections. South Carolina earned 11 assists and had 2 steals in the matchup. In regard to defense, Kentucky allowed their opponent to shoot 48.2% from the field on 27 out of 56 shooting. They also dished out 9 dimes in the matchup while forcing 12 turnovers and getting 6 steals. Concerning rebounding, they earned 27 with 13 of them being offensive. At the charity stripe, the Wildcats knocked down 7 of 14 tries for a rate of 50.0%. Kentucky wrapped up the contest with a 50.9% FG percentage (29 out of 57) and converted 3 of their 10 shots from downtown.

Oscar Tshiebwe is a guy who was a major contributor in this contest. He scored 19 points on 6 out of 11 shooting. He played 40 mins and pulled down 12 rebounds. He ended up going 54.5% from the field and also distributed 1 assist.

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Kentucky comes into this one with a win-loss record of 10-6 so far this year. They are turning it over 11.5 times per contest and as a unit are committing 15.3 fouls every game. As a unit, Kentucky is grabbing 39.1 boards per game and has accumulated 266 dimes so far this season, which is 37th in college basketball in terms of passing the rock. The Wildcats are shooting 37.9% on 3-point shots (120 of 317) and 65.6% from the charity stripe. They average 76.3 points per contest (86th in the nation) while connecting on 46.2% from the floor.

On defense, the Wildcats have forced 12.9 turnovers per game while drawing 15.9 fouls. They relinquish 35.4% on 3-point shots and they rank 140th in D-1 in PPG from their opponents (67.5). The Wildcats defensively are allowing a field goal percentage of 42.3% (389 of 920) and they concede 31.7 boards per contest as a basketball team. They are currently ranked 74th in Division 1 in giving up assists with 179 surrendered on the campaign.

When they last stepped on the court, the Tennessee Volunteers got the victory with a final of 77-68 when they played Vanderbilt. In relation to cleaning the glass, Tennessee permitted Vanderbilt to grab 26 overall (10 on the offensive glass). They shot 22.2% from three-point range by connecting on 6 out of 27 and ended up shooting 18 of 20 at the free throw line (90.0%). The Volunteers permitted Vanderbilt to bury 22 out of 58 attempts from the field which gave them a percentage of 37.9% in the game. When the final whistle blew, the Volunteers went 28 for 58 from the floor which had them shooting 48.3%. In the matter of shooting from 3-point land, Tennessee converted 7 of 21 attempts (33.3%). They were able to knock down 14 of the free throw attempts for a percentage of 93.3%. Vanderbilt earned 15 fouls in the matchup which got the Volunteers to the free throw line for 15 shots. They also turned the ball over 9 times, while recording 4 steals in this contest. The Volunteers recorded 22 defensive boards and 12 offensive boards totaling 34 in this matchup.

Julian Phillips ended up being a factor for the Volunteers in the matchup. He converted 6 out of 9 for this contest for a field goal rate of 66.7%, and accumulated 6 rebounds. He earned 15 points in his 29 minutes on the court and accumulated 3 assists in the game.

Tennessee has a mark of 14-2 this year. As an offense, the Volunteers are connecting on 44.4% from the floor, which has them ranked 195th in the nation. Tennessee has scored 1,208 points for the year (75.5 per contest) and they pull in 41.1 rebounds per game. They are assisting teammates 18.1 times per game (12th in the country) and they are losing possession via turnover 13.8 times per contest. The Volunteers have committed 16.5 fouls per contest and they go 72.7% from the free throw line.

The Tennessee defense gives up 20.9% on 3-point shots (76 of 364) and their opponents are making 74.6% of their foul shots. They have relinquished 8.3 assists and 31.1 boards every game, which has them ranked 5th and 31st in the country. The Volunteers on the defensive end are ranked 3rd in college hoops in points allowed per contest with 53.4. They are forcing their opponents into 17.1 turnovers per game and have let teams shoot 33.5% from the field (2nd in college hoops).

Who will win tonight's NCAA basketball game against the spread?

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Tennessee

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