Tennessee is shooting an SEC best 51.5% on the season. Kentucky is holding SEC opponents to 39% shooting in league play. Which team do you think gets closer to their numbers in that category?

Can I take the coward's way out and say they split the difference? I have a hard time believing Kentucky holds Tennessee under 40-percent from the floor. The Vols have been fantastic offensively and while UK has improved defensively they are still prone to stretches (as in the second half against LSU) when that is not the case. I do think there will be stretches of the game when Kentucky fares well against Tennessee, gets some stops, pushes the ball the other way as a result. But I would be surprised if they hold UT under 75 points.

From the Kentucky side, what is the most concerning match-up? For Tennessee it would seem to be dealing with the ‘Cats on the glass (+7.3 rebounding margin). From the Tennessee side the Vols’ experience in the backcourt against the freshman trio of Hagans, Johnson and Herro probably has to pay off.

I believe the No. 1 concern for Kentucky has to be Tennessee's experience and maturity. This is a team that is obviously very comfortable playing together. Kentucky usually does a good job of disjoining the opposing team's offense. They don't give up many assists as a result. It's tough to see UK breaking down UT's offense like that for the entire game. I think the biggest concern in terms of X's, O'x or personnel has to be at the point guard position. Not because that's where UT is best, but because Ashton Hagans hasn't been playing very well lately. That's a matchup Kentucky probably needs to win tonight. Hagans was a defensive dog early in the season but then his offense started to catch up. In recent games he hasn't had quite the defensive edge he had for most of the season before that and against LSU he played very poorly, John Calipari pointed out.

As it pertains to this game, do you think the kind of ‘back-to-the-wall’ mindset Kentucky is now in after losing to LSU helps them, or does the pressure of trying not to lose two in a row at home hurt a young team?

On the whole I believe it will help them. Had Kentucky beat LSU they would be riding a really long winning streak and while this team is good, they're not so good that you would expect them to win 20-something in a row going into the NCAA tournament. On the other hand, Tennessee was going to have Kentucky's attention regardless as the No. 1 team in the country. I've actually picked Tennessee to win this game 82-80 (and took some heat on our site for it, of course). Rare does Kentucky lose two in a row at Rupp but I could see it going either way. Coin flip game.