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The third round of this season's Kentucky-Tennessee rivalry heats up as both teams seek to claim a ticket to the Elite Eight. Both SEC teams rolled to convincing wins in the first two rounds of the 2025 March Madness to make it to the Sweet 16.
No. 3 seed Kentucky (24-11) demolished No. 14 Troy 76-57 in the first round of the 2025 NCAA Tournament before beating No. 6 Illinois 84-75 in the second round. On the other hand, No. 2-seed Tennessee (29-7) opened the tournament with a 77-62 beatdown of No. 15-seed Wofford before outplaying second-round opponent No. 7 UCLA 67-58.
The Mark Pope-coached Wildcats had the regular season mastery of Rick Barnes and the Volunteers, going 2-0 with an average win margin of 8.0 points per contest. Kentucky beat Tennessee 78-73 on Jan. 28 in Knoxville before having an encore in Lexington 75-64 on Feb. 11.
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The Wildcats and the Volunteers have met 241 times since both teams began their duel in Lexington in 1910. But this is the first time the rivals face each other in the NCAA Tournament. Kentucky leads their all-time clash 162-79.
How to buy Kentucky vs Tennessee Sweet 16 tickets?
Tickets for the Kentucky-Tennessee Sweet 16 showdown on Friday are already on sale. Tickets could be bought through Vivid Seats or on-site at the Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
How to watch the Kentucky vs Tennessee Sweet 16 game?
The Kentucky vs Tennessee Sweet 16 game will be live at the Lucas Oil Stadium on Friday night. Tip-off is set at 7:39 ET with TBS and TruTV covering the showdown on live television.
It's also available on live stream through the NCAA March Madness Live and the NCAA March Madness Live app.
Kentucky vs Tennessee Sweet 16 cheapest ticket prices
According to Vivid Seats, the cheapest ticket price for the Kentucky-Tennessee game is pegged at $190 at Terrace Levels 631 (Row 5) and 633 (Row 11). The next cheapest is at Terrace Level 632 (Row 6), worth $192.
There is also an All-Sessions ticket to watch the Kentucky-Tennessee and Purdue-Houston Sweet 16 games. The cheapest All-Session ticket costs $548 at the Loge Level 416 (Row 7). The next cheapest All-Session ticket is $608 at the Loge Level 422 (Row 8).
Potential NCAA championship paths for Tennessee and Kentucky
The winner of the Tennessee-Kentucky Sweet 16 clash will have a chance to meet the winner of the Houston-Purdue showdown in the Elite Eight. If either of the two teams gets past the winner of the Midwest Regional, they will play the champion of the East Regional in the Final Four.
Only four teams are left standing in the East. They are No. 1-seed Duke, No. 2-seed Alabama, No. 4-seed Arizona, and No. 6-seed BYU. The Blue Devils face the Wildcats at 9:39 p.m. ET right after the Crimson Tide-Cougars matchup at 7:09 p.m. ET on Thursday, March 27th.
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