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Sometimes you want to make a quick pit stop, empty the bladder, grab a bag of salty snacks and limber up the limbs before hitting the open road again. For the fast-minded who enjoy simple $2 scratchers hoping to uncover the jackpot-winning image, here are quick thoughts and the lean on Kentucky vs. Tennessee.
No. 12 Kentucky (14-5, 3-3) at No. 8 Tennessee (17-3, 4-3)
Date: Tuesday, January 28
Time: 7 p.m. ET
TV: ESPN
When it comes to basketball, the SEC is the real-life hazardous Yellow Brick Road from “The Wizard of Oz” — minus steep cliffs, deadly poppies, untamed beasts and flying monkeys. Beware of those dastardly flying monkeys.
With all 16 of the conference’s teams ranked in KenPom’s overall top 80 — 13 in the top 50 — difficult challenges are levied every night whether a school is home or away. Some squads conquer fears and rise to the occasion. Others flounder and fold under pressure.
[ Bracket Big Board: Brad Evans' latest NCAA Tournament projections ]
Despite the SEC’s cannibalization, 13 members are currently projected to make the NCAA Tournament, according to the Bracket Big Board. The record for conference representation in the Big Dance? The Big East sent 11 schools in 2011.
That record is bound to fall.
On Tuesday in Knoxville, two SEC titans will square off. Both are traveling down a southward path. One will abruptly reverse course, while the other will continue its midseason unraveling.
The pick — Tennessee -9.5 (-105, BetMGM)
As usual under Rick Barnes, the Volunteers are methodical in their execution. Dogged on defense, they’re No. 21 this month in effective field-goal percentage, allowing only 43.5% shooting on 2-pointers and 31.8% on 3-pointers. They’ve also only surrendered just 0.879 points per possession in their last seven games, wearing down opponents with repeated jabs to the midsection.
On offense, Rocky Top isn’t exactly peak efficient. Chaz Lanier is typically sopping wet from the field, usually from 3-point range (42.3 3PT%), but other contributors are often wildly erratic. In conference action, Tennessee ranks No. 13 in eFG offense, netting a league-worst 43.5% inside the arc.
As for Kentucky, the honeymoon phase has officially ended for head coach Mark Pope. Starting point guard LaMont Butler is out with a shoulder setback, and Andrew Carr is again on the wrong side of questionable with an undisclosed injury.
Though inside the top 25 in eFG% offense over its last six games, UK, already thin in the frontcourt, is hurting — and badly. Dropping its third-straight game is entirely likely.
Most concerning is the Wildcats’ lackluster defense. This month, they check in at No. 294 nationally in eFG% D, conceding 58.2% on 2s and 32.5% on 3s. Unless Big Blue legends Anthony Davis, Rajon Rondo and Nerlens Noel suddenly earn an extra game of eligibility, Kentucky could get throttled from buzzer to buzzer.
At first blush, laying 9.5 points seems unreasonable, but with the Wildcats presumably missing two indispensable players while dealing with defensive shortcomings, the enlarged number mentally shrinks.
As Dorothy would tell you, there’s no place like home. Back Tennessee.
Season record: 17-14, +2.77 units