Kentucky @ Tennessee preview

Last Meeting ( Feb 14, 2017 ) Tennessee 58, Kentucky 83

Kentucky has shown an ability to outlast opponents in the second half early in the SEC schedule. The 14th-ranked Wildcats will look for a more complete effort when they put a three-game winning streak on the line at No. 22 Tennessee on Saturday night.

Kentucky has trailed at halftime in each of its first two SEC contests, including a five-point deficit at LSU on Wednesday when it rallied for a 74-71 triumph behind freshman forward PJ Washington. "He kept telling the guys, 'Would you quit shooting jumpers? Go at this rim,'" Calipari said of Washington, who was very vocal in the locker room at halftime before he scored 14 of his 18 points in the second half. "I'm happy for him. Somebody on this team has got to be able to step up and be able to tell guys more than just me." Washington and his teammates will take aim at a Volunteers unit that has given up an average of 94.5 points in losing the first two SEC games. "I think we're too casual," coach Rick Barnes told reporters after Tuesday's 94-84 home loss to Auburn. "I thought tonight we played like a very casual, immature basketball team."

TV: 9 p.m. ET, SEC Network

ABOUT KENTUCKY (12-2, 2-0 SEC): Shai Gilgeous-Alexander also had 18 points in the most recent win and he is averaging 21 over his last three games after being held to six in the loss to UCLA two days before Christmas. Kevin Knox chipped in 16 and leads the team in scoring at 14.6 points per game, just ahead of Hamidou Diallo (14.4). Wenyen Gabriel, who had nine rebounds and two blocks in the Wildcats' 82-80 loss at Knoxville last season, is 8-for-15 from 3-point range over a five-game span.

ABOUT TENNESSEE (9-4, 0-2): Sophomore Lamonte Turner was the bright spot in the loss to Auburn with a career-high 25 points, going 13-of-13 from the foul line after making 15 total free throws through his first 12 contests. Grant Williams matched a season high with 22 points and leads the team with 15.6 per game. Jordan Bowden made 26-of-42 from 3-point range prior to the team's two-game losing streak, during which he has attempted - and missed - just one long-range shot in 46 minutes.

TIP-INS

1. Gilgeous-Alexander has multiple steals in 11 of 14 games and ranks second in the SEC with 2.3 per game.

2. Volunteers F Admiral Schofield has scored in double figures in all but one game, a win over North Carolina State in which he was scoreless and missed all six of his shot attempts.

3. Tennessee has won three of the last four meetings at home.

PREDICTION: Kentucky 83, Tennessee 79