Tennessee at Kentucky Preview

Tennessee at Kentucky
1.22.08 9:00 et ESPN

The schedule doesn't get any easier for the Cats as they host #5 Tennessee in Rupp Arena on Tuesday night. The Cats suffered another tough defeat on Saturday night in Gainesville at the hands of the Gators in overtime. They showed a lot of poise and heart to fight their way back and finally tie the game on a last second shot by Ramel Bradley but the Gators dominated the overtime period scoring 20 points while the Cats were only able to score 9. The loss marks the 7th game in a row in which Florida has beaten Kentucky, tying an all-time record for consecutive losses to one team for Kentucky. Tennessee enters Tuesday night's game riding an 11 game winning streak, the longest of any team in the SEC. The Vols beat Ohio State in Knoxville on Saturday, holding off several runs by the Buckeyes. Clearly, Tennessee will be a big favorite going into this game but look for Kentucky to put in another strong effort with hopefully a better outcome than the past two games. Kentucky continues to dominate the series, the second oldest in the SEC, 139-64 including a 28-4 record in Rupp Arena.

TENNESSEE VOLUNTEERS STATS (16-1, 3-0)

Tennessee, like so many teams the Cats have played this season, will look to play at a very fast pace. The Vols want to run their opponents out of the gym but can play at a slower pace if the game calls for it. The Vols average 85.6 points a game but on put up 74 on Saturday against Ohio State. In road games this year, they have averaged 81.5 a game. Defensively, the Vols give up 68.2 points per contest, 75 per road game. The Vols are 3-0 in the SEC with wins over Mississippi, South Carolina, and Vanderbilt. Coach Bruce Pearl is 2-2 against Kentucky, one of the few coaches with non-losing records against UK. Making his final visit to Rupp Arena will be Kentucky native Chris Lofton. It's no secret the past Lofton has with UK. He wasn't recruited by UK when he played at Mason County High School and has made the Big Blue Nation's heads hurt every time he has stepped on the court against their beloved Wildcats. Lofton has averaged 19 points a game in six career contests against the Cats and loves Rupp Arena but has only won two of those six games. He missed one of the games last year but scored 23 in the other.

The Volunteers spread the ball around well and lead the SEC in assists. As well as sharing the ball, the Vols posses the quickest hands in the SEC, leading the conference in steals. Needless to say, they also lead the conference in their assist to turnover margin (1.64). The Vols also like to pop the three ball a lot during their games. They average 9.53 3-point makes per game, requiring the defense to extend and defend the arc well. The main 3-point shooters for the team are Jordan Howell (44%), Tyler Smith (39%), JaJuan Smith (37%), and the aforementioned Chris Lofton (34%). The leading scorers for the Volunteers are JaJuan Smith (14.8), Chris Lofton (13.4), and Tyler Smith (13.3).

Other Tennessee Statistics Per Game:

Rebounds – 37.4
Assists – 20.2
Turnovers – 12.4
Steals – 11.4
Blocks – 3.2
Field Goal % - 46.5
Free Throw % - 65.3
3-Point % - 35.4

KENTUCKY WILDCATS STATS (7-9, 1-2)

After their second consecutive SEC road loss, the Cats return home to host Tennessee. The Cats points per game average has slipped a little during the past few games to 72.1. They are giving up 67 points a game to opposing teams. An interesting fact for this team is that it possesses three players in the Top-10 in scoring in the SEC. Patrick Patterson is 7th in scoring, averaging 16.6 points per game, Joe Crawford is 8th in scoring, averaging 16.4 points per game, and Ramel Bradley is 9th in scoring, averaging 16.1 points per game. Patterson also leads the team in rebounds per game, averaging 8 a game. Another interesting tidbit is that senior guard Ramel Bradley has played 175 consecutive minutes, the entire game for the past four, and scored more than 20 points in 6 consecutive games. Going into Tuesday's game, the Cats are 1st in the SEC in free throw %, shooting 76% from the charity stripe. This will be Billy Gillispie's first game against the Volunteers.

Other Kentucky Statistics Per Game:
Rebounds – 35.1
Assists – 13.6
Turnovers – 17.1
Steals – 7.9
Blocks – 4.4
Field Goal % - 46.7
Free Throw % - 76.2
3-Point % - 35.2

KEYS TO THE GAME

REBOUND THE BASKETBALL ON BOTH ENDS OF THE COURT! UT is 2nd in the SEC in offensive rebounds (14.29) but last in defensive rebounds (23.06). Kentucky will have to crash the boards every time Tennessee puts a shot up to avoid allowing the Vols to have second chances at baskets. The Cats are 10th in offensive rebounds and 8th in defensive rebounds which will require big effort by the Cats on the boards.

TURNOVERS!! Tennessee leads the SEC in steals and Kentucky averages 17 turnovers a game. The Cats must maintain control of the basketball and prevent the Vols from getting easy baskets on the fast break. On the other side of the page, Kentucky must cause havoc against the Vols ball handlers if they want to keep the game in their style.

MAKE FREE THROWS! Kentucky leads the SEC in FT% while Tennessee is 9th. If the game comes down to free throws, Kentucky should have an advantage because they shoot 11% better from the stripe. If the game comes down to free throws, here is who each team will want on the line and who each team will want to try to foul.

TENNESSEE

-Don't Foul-
JaJuan Smith – 82%
Chris Lofton – 82%
Jordan Howell – 78%

-Hack 'Em-
Wayne Chism – 38%
JP Prince – 51%
Ramar Smith - 61%

KENTUCKY

-Don't Foul-
Ramel Bradley – 86%
Joe Crawford – 84%
Jodie Meeks – 80%
Patrick Patterson – 76%

-Hack 'Em-
Mark Coury – 50%
Perry Stevenson – 57%
Ramon Harris - 59%