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GAME NOTES: The third-ranked Kentucky Wildcats and 12th-ranked Tennessee Volunteers collide in a key SEC East Division showdown this evening in Lexington.

John Calipari's Wildcats are sitting pretty atop the SEC East with a conference-best 8-1 mark. Kentucky has strung together four straight victories since its lone loss of the season at South Carolina on January 26th, including a hard-fought 66-55 victory over Alabama at Rupp Arena on Tuesday, pushing the team's home mark to a sterling 15-0 this season.

Bruce Pearl's Volunteers have proved they belong among the nation's best, as they are the only team to defeat top-ranked Kansas. Since that stunning victory over the Jayhawks back on January 10th, UT has won six of its last nine games. However, the team had a three-game win streak halted this week, with a rather ugly 90-71 loss to instate rival Vanderbilt. With the loss, Tennessee has fallen to 6-3 in league play.

This game marks the 208th all-time meeting between these two longtime rivals, with Kentucky holding a 142-65 record all-time. The Wildcats have dominated series play in Lexington, winning 83 of the 99 meetings at home.

The Volunteers struggled big time against the Commodores in Nashville this week, as the team hit on just 40 percent of its attempts from the floor, turned the ball over 14 times and was outrebounded 40-31. J.P. Prince led four Vols in double figures with 19 points. Wayne Chism added 16 points, while Melvin Goins and Scotty Hopson chipped in with 11 and 10 points, respectively. The loss to Vanderbilt was a bit of an offensive anomaly, as the Volunteers have been much more efficient at that end of the floor on the season. The team is averaging 76.7 ppg, on .461 shooting, with a pair of double-figure scorers in Chism and Hopson at 13.1 ppg apiece. Bobby Maze and Prince provide some support at 8.8 and 8.1 ppg, respectively.

The Vols will have to be at their best offensively, as Kentucky is the top scoring team in the league at 81.6 ppg (eighth nationally). Despite being one of the youngest teams in the country, the Wildcats are shooting an efficient .488 from the floor and lead the nation in rebounding margin at +10.2 rpg. The top two players on the roster are freshmen and they are remarkably two of the top players in the entire nation in John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins. Wall is averaging 16.7 ppg and ranks second in the country in assists (6.6 apg). Cousins is netting 16.4 ppg and ranks 19th nationally in rebounding at 10.1 rpg. The dynamic duo are not alone, as junior forward Patrick Patterson (14.9 ppg, 7.3 rpg) and freshman guard Eric Bledsoe (10.7 ppg, 3.4 apg) provide depth both down low and along the perimeter. It was once again Wall and Cousins who led the way for Kentucky in the win over Alabama. Wall recorded his third double-double of the season with 22 points and 10 boards, while Cousins registered his seventh straight with 16 points and 13 caroms.

The Volunteers are one of the better teams in the SEC this year, but they are playing the league's very best and in Lexington for that matter. Go with the Wildcats here, as Wall and Cousins will probably be the difference once again.