LEXINGTON — To say emotions have runneth over in Kentucky basketball’s last two games is to understate it. Officials assessed four technicals to UK in its win over Arkansas last week. And just before the final buzzer of Wednesday’s victory against Oklahoma, junior forward Brandon Garrison earned another.

Coach Mark Pope is conflicted. Somewhat.

“I don’t love it; I love where it’s coming from,” Pope said Friday. “I would rather for us to play outside the lines a little bit in this rush to, like, embrace the competitiveness of these games. And I’d rather have our emotions spill over than spill under. And so we have to be better at managing it, keeping it focused. But if we’re gonna be wrong, let’s be wrong this way.”

Stream Kentucky vs. Tennessee

Ahead of tonight’s game versus Tennessee, one is reminded its players said they didn’t want to win as badly as UK did when it rallied from a 17-point deficit to net an 80-78 victory last month at Thompson-Boling Arena.

If Kentucky (16-7, 7-3 SEC) emerges victorious in tonight’s SEC rumble at Rupp Arena, it not only will be the Wildcats’ eighth win in their past nine games, but it will mark a regular-season sweep of Tennessee (16-6, 6-3) for the second time in as many years.

Courier Journal sports reporter Ryan Black and columnist C.L. Brown are at Rupp Arena and will have live updates throughout the game — here and on X, formerly known as Twitter — and complete coverage after. You can follow them on X at @RyanABlack and @clbrownhoops.

Follow along with live updates from today’s game between the Wildcats and Volunteers below:

Kentucky is sticking with the same starting five it’s trotted out recently.

Here’s the lineup:

And here’s Tennessee’s lineup:

• TV channel: ESPN
• Livestream: Fubo (free trial)

The game between the Wildcats and Volunteers will air nationally on ESPN.

Authenticated subscribers can access ESPN via TV-connected devices or by going to WatchESPN.com or the WatchESPN app.

Those without cable can access ESPN via streaming services, with Fubo offering a free trial.

Stream Kentucky vs. Tennessee on ESPN

Betting odds: Kentucky is a 1½-point favorite (-108) on DraftKings, which set the over/under at 145½ points (-108 / -112). The money line odds are Kentucky -120, Tennessee +100.  

Tom Leach (play-by-play) and Jack Givens (analyst) will have the UK radio network call on 840 AM in Louisville and both 630 AM and 98.1 FM in Lexington.

You can also listen online via UKAthletics.com.

• Oct. 17: Blue-White game (Click here to read takeaways from the intrasquad scrimmage.)
• Oct. 24: exhibition vs. Purdue (Rupp Arena) ∣ SCORE: Kentucky 78, Purdue 65
• Oct. 30: exhibition vs. Georgetown University (Rupp Arena) ∣ SCORE: Georgetown 84, Kentucky 70
• Nov. 4: Nicholls (Rupp Arena) ∣ SCORE: Kentucky 77, Nicholls 51
• Nov. 7: Valparaiso (Rupp Arena) | SCORE: Kentucky 107, Valparaiso 59
• Nov. 11: at Louisville (KFC Yum! Center) | SCORE: Louisville 96, Kentucky 88
• Nov. 14: Eastern Illinois (Rupp Arena) | SCORE: Kentucky 99, Eastern Illinois 53
• Nov. 18: vs. Michigan State (Champions Classic; Madison Square Garden, New York) | SCORE: Michigan State 83, Kentucky 66
• Nov. 21: Loyola University Maryland (Rupp Arena) | SCORE: Kentucky 88, Loyola Maryland 46
• Nov. 26: Tennessee Tech (Rupp Arena) | SCORE: Kentucky 104, Tennessee Tech 54
• Dec. 2: North Carolina (Rupp Arena; ACC/SEC Challenge) | SCORE: North Carolina 67, Kentucky 64
• Dec. 5: vs. Gonzaga (Bridgestone Arena; Nashville) | SCORE: Gonzaga 94, Kentucky 59
• Dec. 9: North Carolina Central (Rupp Arena) | SCORE: Kentucky 103, North Carolina Central 67
• Dec. 13: Indiana (Rupp Arena) | SCORE: Kentucky 72, Indiana 60
• Dec. 20: vs. St. John’s (CBS Sports Classic; State Farm Arena, Atlanta) | SCORE: Kentucky 78, St. John’s 66
• Dec. 23: Bellarmine (Rupp Arena) | SCORE: Kentucky 99, Bellarmine 85
• Jan. 3: at Alabama | SCORE: Alabama 89, Kentucky 74
• Jan. 7: Missouri (Rupp Arena) | SCORE: Missouri 73, Kentucky 68
• Jan. 10: Mississippi State (Rupp Arena) | SCORE: Kentucky 92, Mississippi State 68
• Jan. 14: at LSU | SCORE: Kentucky 75, LSU 74
• Jan. 17: at Tennessee | SCORE: Kentucky 80, Tennessee 78
• Jan. 21: Texas (Rupp Arena) | SCORE: Kentucky 85, Texas 80
• Jan. 24: Ole Miss (Rupp Arena) | SCORE: Kentucky 72, Ole Miss 63
• Jan. 27: at Vanderbilt | SCORE: Vanderbilt 80, Kentucky 55
• Jan. 31: at Arkansas | SCORE: Kentucky 85, Arkansas 77
• Feb. 4: Oklahoma (Rupp Arena) | SCORE: Kentucky 94, Oklahoma 78
• Feb. 7: Tennessee (Rupp Arena), 8:30 p.m.
• Feb. 14: at Florida, 3 p.m.
• Feb. 17: Georgia (Rupp Arena), 9 p.m.
• Feb. 21: at Auburn, 8:30 p.m.
• Feb. 24: at South Carolina, 7 p.m.
• Feb. 28: Vanderbilt (Rupp Arena), 2 p.m.
• March 3: at Texas A&M, 7 p.m.
• March 7: Florida (Rupp Arena), 4 p.m.

Record: 16-7 (7-3 SEC)

• Denzel Aberdeen (guard, senior)
• Collin Chandler (guard, sophomore)
• Mouhamed Dioubate (forward, junior)
• Brandon Garrison (forward, junior)
• Braydon Hawthorne (forward, freshman)
• Walker Horn (guard, senior)
• Andrija Jelavić (forward, sophomore)
• Jasper Johnson (guard, freshman)
• Jaland Lowe (guard, junior)
• Malachi Moreno (center, freshman)
• Trent Noah (forward, sophomore)
• Otega Oweh (guard, senior)
• Reece Potter (forward, junior)
• Jayden Quaintance (forward, sophomore)
• Zach Tow (forward, senior)
• Kam Williams (guard, sophomore)

Click here to view the Volunteers’ complete schedule.

Want to learn the Volunteers’ roster?

Click here for player bios and more.

Reach Kentucky men’s basketball and football reporter Ryan Black at rblack@gannett.com and follow him on X at @RyanABlack.