INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (WTVF) — Tennessee and Kentucky have met 241 times on a basketball court, but never before in the NCAA Tournament. That will change Friday night when the two longtime rivals meet in the Midwest Region Sweet 16 at Lucas Oil Stadium.
It's a rivalry that doesn't need any extra incentive, but the stakes of a trip to the Elite Eight makes this matchup for this season's ultimate bragging rights.
“We got a chip on our shoulder,” Tennessee Guard Jordan Gainey said. “We know what the stakes are and it’s going to be fun. There’s a lot of talk in the media and we hear it, and we’re ready (for this matchup). We’re just ready to get to the game.”
Kentucky has dominated the all-time series with 163 wins over Tennessee, including a regular season sweep this year.
The Wildcats won 78-73 in Knoxville on Jan. 28th, then protected their homecourt with a 75-64 win Feb. 11th in Lexington.
“Maybe you have the emotional advantage of winning two so that you know that you can,” Kentucky Head Coach Mark Pope said. “But I think that’s like the .01 percent. I think mostly this is a free standing game. That’s a great Tennessee team. It’s one of the top teams in the country.”
Kentucky boasts one of the most electric offenses in the country and it was on display in the first two meetings. The Wildcats shot 50 percent from the field and knocked down 12-of-24 threes in both games against a highly rated Tennessee defense that is normally stingy in giving up threes.
“I think when you lose a game it’s easy to start saying we didn’t do this or we didn’t do that,” Tennessee Head Coach Rick Barnes said. “But the fact is they did what they did and they probably had something to do with why we didn’t do this or do that. But we’ve got to be better, we know that. Both of those games were very close played games and they made more plays and the right plays when they needed to, and we’ll have to be better.”
That will start on the defensive end where the Vols expect to see more of the same from a balanced Wildcats attack that will look to get a bevy of shooters open from long range.
“They’re not going to switch how they play,” Tennessee Forward Jahmai Mashack said. “Just like we’re not going to switch the way we play. They want our best, we want their best and we want to come out and show why Tennessee’s the better team.”
The Vols hope they can turn the tables on their rival in the biggest game of the season. It's a win that would give their fans something to cheer about and extend the season at least until Sunday.
"It's the first time (we've met) in a place like this," Tennessee guard Zakai Zeigler said. It's the first time for a moment like this. And it's definitely going to mean a lot to us and to all Vol Nation."
