Kentucky vs Tennessee score today: UK basketball game updates, highlights from SEC contest

Posted by author February 11, 2025 Basketball

LEXINGTON — Lamont Butler had a game for the ages in Kentucky basketball‘s home win over Louisville in December. The month before that, he tied for the game high in assists, and plus-minus rating, in UK’s neutral-site triumph over Duke in Atlanta.

The Cardinals and Blue Devils are two of the Wildcats‘ biggest rivals. But both are ACC squads. Among in-conference nemesis, no rivalry burns hotter for Kentucky than its neighbor to the south: Tennessee.

A shoulder injury shelved Butler for Round 1 of UK/UT last month in Knoxville, Tennessee. He plans to do everything in his power to ensure he doesn’t miss Round 2 tonight at Rupp Arena.

“It’s still feeling good,” Butler said Monday after playing in Kentucky’s most recent outing, a 23-point rout of South Carolina last week. “Good enough for me to play.”

He can’t wait.

“Last game, we got them at their place,” Butler said, referring to the Wildcats’ 78-73 win Jan. 28 at Thompson-Boling Arena. “So we’ve got to protect home court this time, and my job is to go out there and win.”

Butler is well aware one of the keys to securing another victory over the Vols is frustrating guard Zakai Zeigler, who went just 1 of 11 from 3 in last month’s loss.

“We kind of were able to control him a little bit, but he still got off (with) his game,” Butler said, alluding to Zeigler’s game-high six assists, “because of how good of a player he is.”

Can Kentucky notch a regular-season sweep of Tennessee for the second time in three seasons? Or will the Vols avenge last month’s loss?

Follow along below with live updates from Rupp Arena:

After suffering a wrist injury last week, Kentucky starting guard guard Jaxson Robinson won’t suit up tonight against Tennessee.

Read more here.

The contest between the Wildcats and Volunteers will air on ESPN. Dan Shulman (play-by-play), Jay Bilas (analyst) and Molly McGrath (sideline) will have the call.

Authenticated subscribers can access ESPN via TV-connected devices or by going to WatchESPN.com, the WatchESPN app or ESPN+.

You also can stream ESPN on Fubo, which offers a free trial.

Tom Leach (play-by-play) and Jack Givens (analyst) will have the UK radio network call on 840 AM in Louisville and both 630 AM and 98.1 FM in Lexington.

You can also listen online via UKAthletics.com.

Betting odds: Kentucky is a 2-point home underdog (-112) on DraftKings, which set the over/under at 149 ½ points (-110). The money line odds are Kentucky +110, Tennessee -130.

Oct. 23: exhibition vs. Kentucky Wesleyan ∣ SCORE: Kentucky 123, Kentucky Wesleyan 52
Oct. 29: exhibition vs. Minnesota State Mankato ∣ SCORE: Kentucky 98, Minnesota State Mankato 67
Nov. 4: vs. Wright State (Rupp Arena) ∣ SCORE: Kentucky 103, Wright State 62
Nov. 9: vs. Bucknell (Rupp Arena) ∣ SCORE: Kentucky 100, Bucknell 72
Nov. 12: vs. Duke (Champions Classic; State Farm Arena, Atlanta) ∣ SCORE: Kentucky 77, Duke 72
Nov. 19: vs. Lipscomb, (Rupp Arena) ∣ SCORE: Kentucky 97, Lipscomb 68
Nov. 22: vs. Jackson State (Rupp Arena) ∣ SCORE: Kentucky 108, Jackson State 59
Nov. 26: vs. Western Kentucky (Rupp Arena) ∣ SCORE: Kentucky 87, Western Kentucky 68
Nov. 29: vs. Georgia State (Rupp Arena) ∣ SCORE: Kentucky 105, Georgia State 76
Dec. 3: at Clemson (ACC/SEC Challenge) ∣ SCORE: Clemson 70, Kentucky 66
Dec. 7: vs. Gonzaga (Climate Pledge Arena; Seattle) ∣ SCORE: Kentucky 90, Gonzaga 89 (OT)
Dec. 11: vs. Colgate (Rupp Arena) ∣ SCORE: Kentucky 78, Colgate 67
Dec. 14: vs. Louisville (Rupp Arena) ∣ SCORE: Kentucky 93, Louisville 85
Dec. 21: vs. Ohio State (CBS Sports Classic; Madison Square Garden, New York) | SCORE: Ohio State 85, Kentucky 65
Dec. 31: vs. Brown (Rupp Arena) | SCORE: Kentucky 88, Brown 54
Jan. 4: vs. Florida (Rupp Arena) | SCORE: Kentucky 106, Florida 100
Jan. 7: at Georgia | SCORE: Georgia 82, Kentucky 69
Jan. 11: at Mississippi State | SCORE: Kentucky 95, Mississippi State 90
Jan. 14: vs. Texas A&M (Rupp Arena) | SCORE: Kentucky 81, Texas A&M 69
Jan. 18: vs. Alabama (Rupp Arena) | SCORE: Alabama 102, Kentucky 97
Jan. 25: at Vanderbilt | SCORE: Vanderbilt 74, Kentucky 69
Jan. 28: at Tennessee | SCORE: Kentucky 78, Tennessee 73
Feb. 1: vs. Arkansas | SCORE: Arkansas 89, Kentucky 79
Feb. 4: at Ole Miss | SCORE: Ole Miss 98, Kentucky 84
Feb. 8: vs. South Carolina | SCORE: Kentucky 80, South Carolina 57
Feb. 11: vs. Tennessee (Rupp Arena), 7 p.m., ESPN
Feb. 15: at Texas, 8 p.m., ESPN
Feb. 19: vs. Vanderbilt (Rupp Arena), 7 p.m., SEC Network
Feb. 22: at Alabama, 6 p.m., ESPN
Feb. 26: at Oklahoma, 9 p.m., SEC Network
March 1: vs. Auburn (Rupp Arena), 1/4 p.m., ABC/ESPN
March 4: vs. LSU (Rupp Arena), 7/9 p.m., ESPN/ESPN2/ESPNU
March 8: at Missouri, noon, ESPN/SEC Network

Record: 16-7 (5-5 SEC)

Ansley Almonor (forward, senior)
Koby Brea (guard, graduate)
Lamont Butler (guard, graduate)
Andrew Carr (forward, graduate)
Collin Chandler (guard, freshman)
Grant Darbyshire (guard, junior)
Brandon Garrison (forward, sophomore)
Walker Horn (guard, junior)
Kerr Kriisa (guard, senior)
Trent Noah (forward, freshman)
Otega Oweh (guard, junior)
Travis Perry (guard, freshman)
Jaxson Robinson (guard, graduate)
Amari Williams (center, graduate)

The Volunteers are 20-4 this season, with a 7-4 mark in SEC play.

UK is 162-78 all time versus Tennessee.

Rick Barnes is 11-11 against Kentucky since he became Tennessee’s coach ahead of the 2015-16 season.

Click here to see the Volunteers’ full 2024-25 schedule.

Want to learn the Volunteers’ roster?

Click here for player bios and more.

We occasionally recommend interesting products and services. If you make a purchase by clicking one of the links, we may earn an affiliate fee. USA TODAY Network newsrooms operate independently, and this doesn’t influence our coverage.

Reach Kentucky men’s basketball and football reporter Ryan Black at rblack@gannett.com and follow him on X at @RyanABlack.