Kentucky vs Tennessee prediction, pick for March Madness Sweet 16

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Rick Pitino and John Calipari address media after round of 32 showdown

Rick Pitino and John Calipari address media after Arkansas beat St. John’s in round of 32 of the NCAA men’s tournament — VIDEO: NCAA

Sports Pulse

MILWAUKEE — After six long years — which likely felt more like a lifetime for the fan base — Kentucky basketball is back in the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet 16. Illinois, the 6-seed in the Midwest Region, proved no match Sunday, as 3-seed UK notched a second-round win at Fiserv Forum.

It marks the Wildcats’ first time advancing out of the opening weekend of March Madness since 2019. The results the next five years:

A canceled tournament in 2020, a casualty of the coronavirus pandemic;Arguably the most forgettable UK season in modern history in 2021, going 9-16 overall, its worst record since a 3-13 campaign in 1926-27;A stunning loss in the first round of the 2022 NCAA Tournament, when 15-seed Saint Peter’s upended the heavily favored 2-seed Kentucky, which boasted the unanimous national Player of the Year in Oscar Tshiebwe;Another opening-weekend exit in 2023, this time in the second round at the hands of Kansas State;And last year, yet another first-round shocker, as sharpshooter Jack Gohlke knocked down 10 3-pointers for 14th-seeded Oakland in a four-point win over UK in Pittsburgh — in what wound up being John Calipari’s final game guiding the program after 15 seasons in Lexington.

All of that is in the past now, as the Wildcats and coach Mark Pope can look forward to a short trek to Indianapolis for the Sweet 16.

Kentucky’s next foe is one it knows better than any in its history: Tennessee, the 2-seed in the region. UT is 29-7 this season. The Volunteers finished fourth in the SEC during the regular season with a 12-6 record. Tennessee brought home runner-up honors at the SEC Tournament in Nashville, advancing to the championship game after downing Texas in the quarterfinals and top-seeded Auburn in the semifinals; UT couldn’t topple Florida in the final,…

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Source link : https://www.courier-journal.com/story/sports/college/kentucky/2025/03/23/kentucky-prediction-tennessee-picks-odds-march-madness-2025/82494902007/

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Publish date : 2025-03-23 23:49:00

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