Tennessee and Kentucky have lost a total of eight games this season, with six of them happening in the last three weeks.
One of these teams will add a fourth loss during that stretch when No. 8 Tennessee hosts No. 12 Kentucky in Southeastern Conference play on Tuesday night in Knoxville, Tenn.
Tennessee (17-3, 4-3 SEC) started the season strong, winning their first 14 games and being the last team in the country to lose. However, they have since gone 3-3, with their most recent loss being a 53-51 road defeat against top-ranked Auburn.
Kentucky (14-5, 3-3 SEC) started with 12 wins in their first 14 games but has now dropped three of their last five, including back-to-back losses against No. 4 Alabama and at Vanderbilt. The Vanderbilt loss also dropped the Wildcats to 10th place in the 16-team SEC.
Kentucky head coach Mark Pope was frustrated with his team’s turnovers in their 74-69 loss to Vanderbilt on Saturday. Kentucky had 17 turnovers, compared to just five for the Commodores.
“We just kept giving them the ball,” Pope said. “We’re one of the top ball protection teams in the country. There’s some spaces in the game where you feel like you have some confidence, but when you start leaking there, the game gets super hard.”
The Wildcats were without forward Andrew Carr (back) on Saturday and may be without him again on Tuesday. Carr is fourth in scoring (10.9 points per game) and second in rebounds (5.6). Carr hasn’t been able to practice due to his back injury.
“He wants to play so bad, but there’s just so much he can’t do with his back,” said Carr. “Every game, it’s like he gets beat up so bad, it’s back to square one, where it’s hard for him to walk.”
Kentucky’s leading scorer, Otega Oweh (15.9 points per game), has scored 21 points in back-to-back games and has reached that total five times this season.
Tennessee is currently tied for fifth through ninth in the SEC after struggling with their shooting in the loss to Auburn, where they made only 31.5% of their shots and went 4-for-22 from three-point range.
While Tennessee’s defense was strong, holding Auburn to just 31% shooting and 3-for-20 from beyond the arc, they struggled to score.
“We believe in our defense,” said Tennessee coach Rick Barnes. “We struggle at times like every team in the country struggles to score. It’s not just us. It’s everybody.”
Zakai Zeigler scored 14 points but only made 4 of his 15 field-goal attempts. Chaz Lanier, who scored 10 points, was the only other player to reach double digits. Lanier had a strong start to the season but has been struggling recently, averaging 12.5 points in the last six games while shooting just 30.5% from the field.
“Well, he’s going to have to continue to move, cut, get open,” Barnes said about Lanier. “If he doesn’t get some separation, we’re not going to be able to screen for him. It’s up to us as coaches and him to understand the adjustments that he’s got to make to get open.”
The two teams split their meetings last season, with the road team winning each game. Tennessee won 103-92 on Feb. 3, and Kentucky won 85-81 on March 9.
