Kentucky Wildcats vs Tennessee Volunteers Prediction, 1/17/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Kentucky Wildcats vs Tennessee Volunteers

Date: Saturday, January 17, 2026

Location: Food City Center in Knoxville, TN

TV: ESPN

The Kentucky Wildcats (11-6) are headed to Food City Center on Saturday where they will meet the Tennessee Volunteers (12-5).

The Kentucky Wildcats faced off with LSU and walked away with a win by a score of 75-74 in their last contest. Kentucky wrapped up the contest with a 44.6% field goal percentage (25 of 56) and buried 10 of their 23 shots from 3-point land. From the charity stripe, the Wildcats converted 15 of 22 attempts for a percentage of 68.2%. In reference to grabbing rebounds, they collected a total of 27 with 6 of them being offensive. They also dished out 14 assists for this contest in addition to forcing the other team into 12 turnovers and getting 7 steals. In the matter of defense, Kentucky allowed the other team to go 48.9% from the floor on 23 of 47 shooting. LSU distributed 12 dimes and had 4 steals for the game. Furthermore, LSU collected 30 rebounds (7 offensive, 23 defensive), but wasn't able to record a block. LSU finished 67.9% from the free throw line by making 19 of 28 shots. They also made 9 of 19 tries from downtown. When talking about fouls, the Wildcats walked away with 19 and LSU accumulated 17 fouls.

Otega Oweh is a player who played a role in this matchup. He ended up going 58.8% from the field and distributed 5 assists. He saw the court for 32 minutes played and also collected 3 boards. He totaled 22 points on 10 out of 17 shooting.

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Kentucky comes into this game with a mark of 11-6 so far this year. They lose possession via turnover 10.4 times per game and as a group they are committing 16.9 fouls every game. As a unit, Kentucky is grabbing 38.6 rebounds per game and is sitting with 298 dimes for the year, which has them ranked 52nd in D-1 in terms of passing. The Wildcats are connecting on 34.3% on shots from distance (144 of 420) and 73.3% from the charity stripe. They are averaging 83.1 points per outing (75th in Division 1) while hitting 48.1% from the field.

On the defensive end, the Wildcats are forcing their opponents into 11.9 turnovers on a nightly basis and they draw 17.2 personal fouls. They are relinquishing 30.3% on shots from distance and they are 85th in college in PPG allowed (69.7). The Wildcats are allowing an opponent FG percentage of 41.3% (408 of 987) and they surrender 32.6 rebounds per game as a group. They are 240th in D-1 in giving up assists to the opposition with 246 surrendered on the year.

The last time they took the court, the Tennessee Volunteers got the win with a final of 87-82 when they played Texas A&M. Concerning cleaning up the glass, Tennessee permitted Texas A&M to snag 30 overall (8 offensive). They finished 30.2% from 3-point land by connecting on 13 of 43 and ended up shooting 21 of 32 from the charity stripe (65.6%). The Volunteers permitted Texas A&M to make 24 out of their 66 attempts from the field which had them at 36.4% in this matchup. When the final whistle was blown, the Volunteers ended up going 25 for 67 from the floor which gave them a percentage of 37.3%. When talking about shots from downtown, Tennessee converted 6 of 24 tries (25.0%). They were able to convert 31 of them for a percentage of 73.8%. Texas A&M earned 30 personal fouls in the matchup which got the Volunteers to the free throw line for 42 attempts. They gave up possession 16 times, while earning 10 steals for this contest. The Volunteers were able to collect 35 defensive rebounds and 20 offensive rebounds for a total of 55 for the contest.

Nate Ament pitched in for the Volunteers in this matchup. He tallied 23 points in his 43 mins on the court and accumulated 2 dimes in this contest. He made 7 of 16 for the contest for a field goal percentage of 43.8%, and had 7 rebounds.

Tennessee has a win-loss mark of 12-5 for the year. On the offensive side of the court, the Volunteers are connecting on 48.2% from the floor, which is ranked 52nd in the nation. Tennessee has totaled 1,405 pts on the campaign (82.6 per game) and they pull in 42.9 rebounds per game. Their rate of dishing out assists is at 17.9 times per contest (29th in Division 1) and they lose possession via turnover 13.3 times per game. The Volunteers are committing 18.1 fouls per game and they shoot 69.2% from the free throw line.

The Tennessee defense gives up 29.2% on 3-pointers (136 of 465) and their opponents are converting on 69.5% of their free throw attempts. They allow 10.6 dimes and 30.5 boards on a nightly basis, which is 19th and 22nd in college hoops. The Volunteers defensively are ranked 55th in college hoops in PPG given up with 68.1. They are able to force 12.7 TO's per game and have let teams shoot 38.7% from the floor (15th in the country).

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Kentucky

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