Tennessee-Kentucky Men’s Hoops Play Tonight

The Tennessee Volunteers are in Lexington tonight taking on the Kentucky Wildcats in men’s college hoops action.  Both teams have struggled so far this season.  The Vols have an 8-6 record and are looking for their first win in the SEC while Kentucky is 10-5 and 1-1 in the SEC.  Both teams are coming off losses this past Saturday; Tennessee is coming into Rupp Arena after a close 68-65 defeat to Alabama and Kentucky was worn down 83-71 by Texas A&M.

Tennessee is ranked as one of the worst offensive teams in the nation. They’re 236^th in points per game, 318^th in assists and 207^th in field goal percentage. The Cats however are not nearly as bad, being 30^th in points per game, 36^th in assists and 19^th in shooting. Kentucky is also better at rebounding, ranking 39^th in the nation compared to 97^th for Tennessee.

Kentucky freshman guard Archie Goodwin leads the team in scoring with 15 points per game. He’s shooting 45 percent from the floor and 33 percent from 3 point land. Freshman forward  Alex Poythress is second on the team with 13 points per game while shooting 63 percent from the field and shooting 41% percent from long distance. Leading the Cats in rebounding is freshman forward Nerlens Noel with nine a game, followed by Poythress with six a game.

For the Volunteers, junior guard Jordan McRae averages 13 points per game on 44 percent shooting.  Sophomore forward Jarnell Stokes follows with 11 points per game and shooting 52 percent from the field.  Stokes leads the Vols in rebounds with seven a game and junior guard Trae Golden leads the team in assists with four per contest.

Tipoff is set for tonight at 7 o’clock on ESPN.