March Madness Sweet 16 bracket: Kentucky-Tennessee round 3 different

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Kentucky basketball: Wildcats react to earning No. 3 seed in NCAA Tournament

The Kentucky Wildcats basketball team reacted to their No. 3 seed selection for the 2025 NCAA Tournament.

The Wildcats are healthier than they were in the regular-season wins over the Volunteers.UK’s Ansley Almonor scored double figures in making two starts against the Vols but is not likely to play a big role Friday.

Between now and when Kentucky basketball tips off against Tennessee in an NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 game on Friday, the old adage that it’s hard to beat a team three times will be unnecessarily and erroneously repeated into oblivion.

It’s easy to do so when the better team is clear-cut. Here’s a hint, it’s not so clear despite the Wildcats sweeping the regular-season meetings. This game will look nothing like those two.

It would behoove UK not to bring those wins into Lucas Oil Stadium because — aside from their uniform colors —nothing in this matchup in Indianapolis will be like the Cats’ victories over the Vols.

The rotation that will determine the outcome for the Cats is very different than those that decided the first two games. UK will start its third different lineup against the Volunteers.

Guard Lamont Butler missed the 78-73 win in Knoxville on Jan. 28 — the first game he was forced to sit out with a left shoulder injury. Andrew Carr played one minute that game due to recurring back issues. And guard Jaxson Robinson, who is out for the season with a wrist injury, started and had 17 points.

In that first meeting, UK’s starters accounted for 71 points or 91% of the scoring. By the second game, the bench chipped in 26 points led by 11 from freshman Trent Noah and eight from freshman Travis Perry.

Butler was back in the lineup for the Cats’ 75-64 win at home on Feb. 11. But Robinson was out, and while Carr played 19 minutes, he still wasn’t back in the starting lineup.

Reserve Ansley Almonor started both games against the Vols in the regular season for UK. (He scored…

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Source link : https://www.courier-journal.com/story/sports/columnists/c-l-brown/2025/03/26/kentucky-tennessee-march-madness-sweet-16-bracket-predictions/82621978007/

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Publish date : 2025-03-26 09:16:00

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