• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Tennessee looks to rebound, hosts Kentucky in key SEC contest

Mar 2, 2008 - 1:42 PM Kentucky (16-10) at No. 1 Tennessee (25-3) 12:00 pm EST

KNOXVILLE, Tennessee (Ticker) -- Coming off a loss in its first game as the No. 1 team in the country, Tennessee looks to bounce back in a crucial Southeastern Conference matchup against Kentucky on Sunday.

The Volunteers (25-3, 11-2 SEC East) were defeated at No. 14 Vanderbilt, 72-69, on Tuesday while playing as the top-ranked team for the first time in school history. Chris Lofton scored 25 points in the loss.

Although Tennessee likely will not be atop the polls on Monday, a win against Kentucky would go a long way in clinching the SEC regular-season title.

The Wildcats (16-10, 10-3 East) are just one game behind the Volunteers - with three left to play - in the East Division and won the first meeting between the teams at home, 72-66, on January 22.

Kentucky has won four games in a row, including a 58-54 victory over Mississippi on Wednesday. Joe Crawford, who scored 15 points in that one, leads the team in scoring at 16.8 points per game.

Kentucky was dealt a huge blow on Friday, when they learned freshman Patrick Patterson would miss the rest of the season with a stress fracture in his left ankle. Patterson was averaging 16.4 points and a team-leading 7.7 rebounds per game.