Now coach Rick Barnes and his Vols are aiming for March Madness lines history. To get there, the Vols must first defeat a hated rival from the SEC. Tennessee and Kentucky have plenty of history and animosity. Correlate that will be magnified with so much at stake on Friday Night. Rick Barnes arrived at Tennessee in 2016 and has methodically compiled the second-highest total of career wins for any Volunteers head coach. But Tennessee has never made the Final Four in its school history. Last year, they came close with the second Elite Eight in program history.
2025 NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen Friday Kentucky Wildcats vs. Tennessee Volunteers
| Date and Time: | Friday, March 28, 2025, 7:39 p.m. ET |
|---|---|
| Location: | Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis, IN |
| TV Coverage: | TBS |
| Team | Spread | Total | ML | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kentucky | +4 -105 | 144 -115 | +162 |  |
| Tennessee | -4 -115 | 144 -105 | -182 | |
| ||||
Kentucky Wildcats Team Overview
Late on, Kentucky has covered four of its previous six games and has gone under the online betting total in three of its last four outings. First among Kentucky scorers is Otega Oweh, with 16.3 points per game.
Overall, the Kentucky Wildcats are 22-11 straight up, 16-14-1 against the spread, and 17-13-1 over/under the total. Kentucky has national metrics of 5th for scoring offense, 29th for field goal percentage, 31st for 3-point field goal percentage, 121st for free throw percentage, and 51st for offensive rebounding. Defensively, Kentucky is 325th for scoring defense, 176th for field goal percentage permitted, 32nd for 3-point field goal percentage allowed, and 223rd for defensive rebounding.
Tennessee Volunteers Team Overview
Late on, Tennessee has covered three of its previous five games and has gone over the NCAA Tournament odds total in five of its last seven outings. Chaz Lanier is first among Tennessee scorers with 18.1 points per game.
Overall, the Tennessee Volunteers are 28-7 straight up, 15-15-1 against the spread, and 13-18 over/under the total. Tennessee has national metrics of 149th for scoring offense, 140th for field goal percentage, 183rd for 3-point field goal percentage, 101st for free throw percentage, and 99th for offensive rebounding. Defensively, Tennessee is 11th for scoring defense, 3rd for field goal percentage permitted, 1st for 3-point field goal percentage allowed, and 18th for defensive rebounding.
Chaz Lanier scored a game-high 20 points. At the same time, Zakai Zeigler added 15 points and six assists to lead No. 2 Tennessee past No. 7 UCLA 67-58 in a second-round Midwest Region game on Saturday night.
With the support of a large and loud partisan crowd inside, the Volunteers shot 55 percent in the second half. Overall, they made 7-of-11 from beyond the arc to pull away from the Bruins.
Tennessee finished the game shooting 11-for-22 from 3-point range, while UCLA was just 7-of-23. Jordan Gainey added 13 points for Tennessee, advancing to its third straight Sweet 16 appearance next Friday in Indianapolis, where they will face Kentucky. Meanwhile, Skyy Clark scored 18 points, and Tyler Bilodeau added 15 points to lead UCLA. The Bruins failed to reach the Sweet 16 for a fourth time in five seasons.
Tennessee, which overcame 18 turnovers, used an 18-5 run that bridged the first and second halves to take the lead for good. Correlate the Volunteers built their lead to as many as 19 and were never threatened the rest of the game.
Kentucky vs. Tennessee SBG Free Picks
Accordingly, Kentucky has not been as consistent as Tennessee this season.
Kentucky vs. Tennessee SBG Best Bet: Tennessee Volunteers.