After several entertaining days of action at the 2018 SEC Tournament in St. Louis, we’ve reached the championship round.
Of course, the matchup isn’t much of a surprise when you consider how Tennessee and Kentucky have played over the last several weeks, and that should make for a fun game on Sunday.
As always, my predictions are based on team analysis and who I think will win. Score projections are for my own amusement.
Let’s get to the picks.
Season Predictions Record (straight up): 244-72
No. 2 Tennessee vs. No. 4 Kentucky – 1 PM EST, ESPN
Tennessee has been the most trustworthy team in the SEC all season, and that’s why I felt good about its chances to make a run to the title game.
The Vols’ balance is so hard to match up against, because even when Grant Williams doesn’t dominate scoring-wise, there’s still enough talent around him to beat a lot of teams.
But there’s no doubt that Williams will need to play well in this one for Tennessee to win. I know what Rick Barnes’ team has accomplished against Kentucky this season, but the Wildcats are playing like a different team right now.
Wenyen Gabriel has played huge in this tournament, and his 3-point shooting performance on Saturday was one to remember. If the Wildcats shoot like that on a regular basis, good luck to anyone that tries to beat them. Combining that size with consistent outside shooting makes Kentucky a very dangerous team moving forward.
However, Tennessee has been excellent at defending the perimeter this season, so it won’t be as easy for John Calipari’s squad to make that type of impact from beyond the arc.
Of course, Kentucky probably won’t need to. The Wildcats have a significant size advantage inside, and a big key to victory will be attacking the lane to try and get second chance buckets.
I still think Tennessee is the team I trust most in the SEC, but there’s just something about Kentucky in the conference tournament.
I’ll go with the Wildcats to keep things rolling.
Prediction: Kentucky 69, Tennessee 64
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