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Kentucky vs. Tennessee III up next

What you need to know for Kentucky vs. Tennessee Round 3.

By Jason Marcum Updated

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UPDATE 2

The Kentucky Wildcats’ next game is vs. the Tennessee Volunteers in the semifinal round of the SEC Tournament. Game time is set for approximately 3:00 pm ET on ESPN.

The two border rivals split the regular-season series with each team winning at home.

Kentucky is in position to earn a 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament with a three-game sweep in Tampa, but Tennessee is a very formidable opponent, and possibly the toughest left in the league tourney.

UPDATE

The Kentucky Wildcats will open SEC Tournament play against an unexpected opponent.

The Vanderbilt Commodores will be the late Friday night foe following their Thursday upset win over the Alabama Crimson Tide.

Tip time should be around 8:00 pm ET on the SEC Network.

The Wildcats swept the regular-season series with Vanderbilt, though the last matchup saw Kentucky struggle at home to put away the Dores before winning 77-70.

After the Baylor Bears fell earlier today to Oklahoma, Kentucky has a very real chance of snatching a 1 seed with an SEC Championship weekend run.

The postseason is here for the Kentucky Wildcats, who open SEC Tournament play Friday in the quarterfinal round. Game time for Kentucky’s opening game is set for approximately 8:00 pm ET.

After watching the women’s basketball team win four games in four days to take home their SEC title in Nashville, the men will look to do the same this week in Tampa.

Thankfully, the path won’t be nearly as daunting for the men, who only need to win three games after earning the No. 3 seed and automatically advancing to the quarterfinal round.

Likely awaiting the Wildcats in the late Friday night matchup are the No. 6 seed Alabama Crimson Tide, who will play Thursday vs. the Wednesday winner of Vanderbilt vs. Georgia. The Dores have been competitive enough to think they can give the Tide a good run, but it’s hard to see Bama not being Kentucky’s opponent for an astounding 20th time in the SEC Tournament.

Plus, a win over Alabama would be a much-needed Quad I win for Kentucky, who is oh so close to the 1-seed line in the Big Dance.

Kentucky is 17-2 all-time against Alabama in the SEC Tournament and 6-1 against the Tide in quarterfinal matchups. They last met in the quarterfinals in 2019 with Kentucky winning 73-55.

Kentucky managed to beat Alabama twice this season, though both matchups were competitive enough to think the Tide may very well win Friday if the Wildcats don’t come ready to play.

If the Wildcats do win, they’ll play in Saturday’s semifinal round, likely against the No. 2 seed Tennessee Volunteers, who will face the winner of Thursday’s Mississippi State vs. South Carolina. Kentucky and Tennessee split the regular-season series at 1-1 with each team winning at home.

If Kentucky makes it to Sunday’s SEC Championship, the top-seeded Auburn Tigers, but don’t sleep on the No. 4 seed Arkansas Razorbacks or No. 5 seed LSU Tigers being there. Kentucky went 1-3 vs. those teams during the regular season, though all three losses came on the road. It’s safe to think the crowd in Tampa will be largely Wildcat fans throughout the weekend if they make it to Sunday.

As for current bracketology projections, the Wildcats consistently being projected as the first or second 2 seed in the field of 68 with Auburn ahead of them. It’s hard to see Kentucky jumping up to the 1-seed line without winning the SEC Championship.

Kentucky enters the week with the best odds to win the SEC Tournament at +190, followed by Auburn (+260) and Tennessee (+330)

If John Calipari’s team is able to make it to Sunday’s championship game, here is how to watch and stream Kentucky basketball in the 2022 SEC Tournament, along with projections for who Kentucky would play if the top seeds advance in each round.

Game 1

  • Likely Opponent: Alabama Crimson Tide Vanderbilt Commodores
  • Time and Date: Friday, March 11th at approximately 8:00 pm ET
  • Location: All games this week will be played at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida.
  • TV Channel: SEC Network
  • Online Stream: WatchESPN, ESPN+, the ESPN app, or use a free trial of fuboTV.
  • Tickets
  • Replay: WatchESPN, ESPN+ and the SEC Network (check local listings)
  • Radio: UK Sports Network with Tom Leach and Mike Pratt.
  • Rosters: UK l UA VU
  • Stats To Know: UK I UA VU
  • Team Sheets: UK I UA VU

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Game 2 (if applicable)

Game 3 (if applicable)

Odds to win 2022 SEC Tournament via DraftKings

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