Tennessee men's basketball coach Rick Barnes expresses to an official his disagreement with a foul called against Grant Williams during the Vols' home win against West Virginia in January.KNOXVILLE - Heading into one of the top regular-season matchups in program history, Tennessee's basketball Volunteers are approaching Saturday night's game just as they would any other.
The top-ranked Vols look to build a three-game Southeastern Conference lead on fifth-ranked Kentucky (20-4, 9-2) when they face off at Rupp Arena in Lexington, with tipoff set for 8:05.
The Wildcats had a 10-game winning streak end Tuesday night in a last-second home loss against LSU, which moved into second place with one loss against SEC competition, with the Vols currently 11-0 against league opponents and 23-1 overall.
Having an experienced team, Tennessee coach Rick Barnes said Friday that he didn't expect the environment to have too much of an effect on the Vols, who won at Kentucky last season after losing the two prior years.
"A year ago at this time, we were pretty much locked into what we had to do," Barnes said. "Last year is when we started playing really good basketball together, and everybody seemed to find their niche. I think our guys are locked in, and we would not be where we are if they were not locked in. I have no reason to say they aren't locked in."
Of course, in Kentucky fashion, the Wildcats are a completely different team. Only two who played in the game last season - forwards Nick Richards and P.J. Washington - are back, with the 6-foot-8, 228-pound Washington having turned into the team's primary offensive threat. Having averaged 14.4 points and 8.1 rebounds per game for the season, he has averaged 20.7 points and 8.6 rebounds in his past seven.
Meanwhile, Tennessee has nine players who appeared in games against Kentucky last season.
"We have been in some big basketball games over the last few years with these guys, and they have grown," Barnes said of the hype. "They will be ready for it. There is no reason to think of why they will not be. They have handled some tough situations, even this year. Experience is a good thing, but this Kentucky is a totally different team. I hope that we are, too, and I know both of us have a chance to get better."
It will be the Vols' first meeting with a Top 25 opponent at the time of the game since they downed then-top-ranked Gonzaga 75-72 on Dec. 9 in Phoenix. It will be the first game for the Vols as a top-five team against a top-five foe since they topped Memphis 66-62 on Feb. 23, 2008.
Saturday night's game also will be the first time an SEC team ranked in the top five has hosted the top-ranked team since Feb. 2, 1966, when No. 3 Vanderbilt hosted No. 1 Kentucky. The Wildcats won that game 105-90.
"It's another game," Tennessee senior Admiral Schofield said Wednesday. "It just means a little more because of the rivalry built over the last 40 years. The biggest thing for us is focusing on what we've got to do.
"We've been in a lot of hostile environments. It's just another one, but at the same time it's not another one. We can't focus on the crowd, the outside noise. We've just got to compete."
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenley3 or at Facebook.com/VolsUpdate.