John Calipari's Wildcats Double Digit Favorites Over Bruce Pearl's Vols

Sports News - February 13th, 2010 - Written By John Ritter

So maybe the kids have this whole thing figured out after all.

With three weeks left in the season, Kentucky have put their loss to South Carolina firmly in the rearview mirror and John Wall and Co. have rebounded to win four in a row. And although fans will probably have to ignore his jersey's freudian slip for now, the Wildcats can move even closer to a regular-season conference title on Saturday when they host the 12th-ranked Tennessee Volunteers.

Kentucky is favored by 10 points according to College Basketball Betting Lines at DSI sportsbook. The over/under for the contest has been installed at 147 points.

First, the Wildcats appeared destined for the top after winning 19-straight to start the season, and got a special phone call from President Obama for their Haiti relief efforts. Less than 24 hours later, they were walking off the court defeated by the SEC's seventh-place Gamecocks, and unsure if a core of freshman was ready for the big time.

That has since been answered during Kentucky's current win streak, and have plenty momentum after sweeping Tennessee in 2009.

Tennessee's last win against the Wildcats was in March of 2008, and it hasn't won the first game of the season series since 2006.

The Volunteers were blown out by in-state rival Vanderbilt, 90-71, on Tuesday, but a win on Saturday would put the Wildcats in a tie for first-place with the Commodores. Wayne Chism scored 16 points in the loss, but didn't get much help from his teammates. The senior leads the team with 13.1 points and seven rebounds per game, but no other Volunteer starter averages more than 4.7 boards.

That's been a big problem for Tennessee, which has lost three of it's last six conference games, and is 2-2 on the road. Chism has only scored 20 points on the road once since November, and only two other teammates have reached that mark all season.

Meanwhile, Kentucky, which will be favored in next week's Sports Illustrated, continues to grow in John Calipari's first season. It's won it's last four games by an average of 15 points, getting improved play by the big-four, Wall, DeMarcus Cousins, Patrick Patterson and Eric Bledson.

All four score in the double digits, and Cousins averages a double-double. The freshman forward scored 16 points and 13 rebounds in last Wednesday's win over Alabama, and Wall chipped in 22 points and 10 rebounds. It was the second time this season that the pair each had a double-double.

The Wildcats held the Tide to only 33-percent from the floor, the second game in a row their opponent didn't crack 35-percent.

Tennessee is 4-1-1 ATS in their last 6 games as an underdog. Additionally, the under is 10-2 in the Volunteer's last 12 match ups as an underdog.