Tennessee Volunteers vs Kentucky Wildcats Prediction, 2/3/2024 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Tennessee Volunteers vs Kentucky Wildcats

Date: Saturday, February 3, 2024

Location: Rupp Arena in Lexington, KY

TV: ESPN

Rupp Arena is the site where the Kentucky Wildcats (15-5) will attempt to defeat the Tennessee Volunteers (15-5) on Saturday.

The Tennessee Volunteers took the court against South Carolina and walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 63-59 in their last game. Tennessee ended with a 36.2% FG percentage (21 out of 58) and buried 5 of 21 3-point attempts. At the free throw line, the Volunteers made 12 of their 20 tries for a percentage of 60.0%. Regarding grabbing rebounds, they compiled 36 with 8 of them being of the offensive variety. They also distributed 11 assists for the matchup in addition to forcing 10 turnovers and getting 5 steals. With respect to defense, Tennessee allowed 33.9% from the floor on 19 of 56 shooting. South Carolina distributed 15 dimes and had 5 steals in this contest. Additionally, South Carolina snagged 40 boards (9 offensive, 31 defensive), but didn't notch a block. South Carolina finished the game at 83.3% when shooting free throws by knocking down 15 of their 18 shots. They made 10 out of their 29 shots from beyond the perimeter. Concerning personal fouls, the Volunteers walked away with 16 and South Carolina finished the game with 18 personal fouls.

Dalton Knecht is someone who was a major factor in this matchup. He finished with 31 points on 11 out of 24 shooting. He was on the hardwood for 34 minutes played and pulled down 7 boards. He finished the game at 45.8% from the floor and also distributed 2 assists.

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Tennessee will play this game with a mark of 15-5 on the season. They are giving up possession 10.6 times per contest and as a squad they are committing 17.0 fouls every game. As a unit, Tennessee is collecting 39.5 rebounds per game and is sitting with 336 dimes for the campaign, which is 44th in Division 1 in terms of passing. The Volunteers are shooting 33.7% on shots from downtown (169 of 502) and 75.1% from the charity stripe. They average 78.5 pts per game (75th in the nation) while going 44.6% from the field.

On the defensive end, the Volunteers have forced 13.2 turnovers per contest while drawing 17.7 personal fouls. They are currently ranked 21st in college hoops in allowing assists to the opposition with 213 relinquished on the campaign. The Volunteers are giving up an opponent shooting percentage of 37.5% (437 of 1,164) and they concede 34.6 boards per game as a squad. They concede 30.1% from 3-point land and they rank 45th in D-1 in PPG from their opponents (65.9).

When they last stepped on the court, the Kentucky Wildcats went home defeated by a final of 94-91 when they faced Florida. When talking about rebounding, Kentucky allowed Florida to collect 42 overall (10 on the offensive side). They finished the game shooting 42.9% from 3-point land by connecting on 12 of 28 and ended up shooting 18 out of 22 from the free throw line (81.8%). The Wildcats allowed Florida to bury 32 of 78 attempts from the field which left them with a shooting percentage of 41.0% in this matchup. At the conclusion of this game, the Wildcats went 35 for 78 from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 44.9%. Regarding shots from beyond the perimeter, Kentucky made 10 of 26 attempts (38.5%). They were able to make 11 of them for a percentage of 64.7%. Florida committed 17 fouls for the game which took the Wildcats to the charity stripe for a total of 17 tries. They also coughed up the ball 9 times, while getting 6 steals for the contest. The Wildcats were able to pull down 32 defensive rebounds and 14 offensive rebounds totaling 46 in this game.

Ugonna Onyenso ended up being a major contributor for the Wildcats for this contest. He recorded 13 points in his 33 minutes on the court, but didn't record an assist. He converted 4 of 11 in the game for a field goal rate of 36.4%, and tallied 16 rebounds.

Kentucky has a record of 15-5 this year. When it comes to executing on offense, the Wildcats are hitting on 48.9% from the field, which ranks 19th in college hoops. Kentucky has totaled 1,773 points for the year (88.7 per game) and they average 38.6 rebounds per contest. Their rate of assisting teammates is at 18.0 times per contest (13th in the country) and they are turning it over 9.9 times per contest. The Wildcats have committed 16.0 fouls per game and they go 74.4% from the charity stripe.

The Wildcats on the defensive side of the court are 309th in college basketball in PPG given up with 77.2. They are forcing 12.7 TO's per game and allow teams to shoot 41.9% from the floor (98th in college basketball). The Kentucky defense gives up 32.2% on shots from beyond the perimeter (173 of 537) and their opposition makes 70.1% of their free throw shots. They have given up 14.5 assists and 37.7 boards per contest, which ranks them 308th and 308th in the country.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Kentucky

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