Georgia Bulldogs vs. Kentucky Wildcats Betting Preview
Where: Bridgestone Arena – Nashville, Tennessee
When: Friday, March 10, 2017, 1:00 PM ET
Line: Georgia Bulldogs (+10) vs. Kentucky Wildcats (-10) – view all NCAA Basketball lines
TV Broadcast: SEC Network
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Betting on the Georgia Bulldogs (19-13, 9-9 SEC)
The Georgia Bulldogs booked a ticket to the quarterfinals of the 2017 SEC Tournament with a nerve-wracking 59-57 win over Tennessee on Thursday. J.J. Frazier scored four of his 17 points down the stretch for Georgia who withstood several Vols chances to rally in the final 30 seconds. Frazier has been a revelation for the Bulldogs this season, averaging a team-best 18.7 points and 4.2 assists per game this campaign.
Next up for the Bulldogs is a clash with no. 1 seed Kentucky. The good news for head coach Mark Fox is that Yante Maten is fit and ready to go for this crunch showdown. Maten, who is the team’s co-scoring leader, returned with a bang in that second-round clash against Tennessee, scoring 12 points and grabbing five boards. Playing with a brace on his sprained right knee, Maten ended up getting 26 minutes in his return from injury. Maten’s presence will help boost the Bulldogs’ frontline as they look to thwart Kentucky’s imposing bigs. The Wildcats are eighth in the nation in rebounding, averaging 40.5 boards per game this season.
With Maten back in the lineup, dissecting the Kentucky defense will be much easier for the talented Frazier. He scored a season-high 36 points in Georgia’s 82-77 loss to Kentucky last February 18. That was the game in which Maten injured his right knee. Frazier stepped up big time in the five games that Maten missed, averaging a whopping 29.6 points.
The Bulldogs are 6-4 SU and 5-5 ATS in their last 10 games.
Betting on the Kentucky Wildcats (26-5, 16-2 SEC)
Can anyone stop Kentucky? That’s the question on everybody’s lips after the Wildcats secured yet another Southeastern Conference regular-season title on Saturday with a 71-63 win over Texas A&M. Kentucky, who has now won five SEC regular-season titles under head coach John Calipari, will begin their quest for a third consecutive SEC Tournament crown when it locks horns with Georgia this coming afternoon.
The Wildcats will fancy their chances in that ballgame as they have fared extremely well against the Bulldogs of late. Kentucky has won each of its last eight meetings with Georgia. The Wildcats, who currently possess an eight-game winning streak, will rely on their All-American duo of Malik Monk and De’Aaron Fox to get the job done against the Bulldogs. Kentucky’s backcourt duo made up the top-scoring freshman tandem in the nation at 36.9 points per contest. Monk captured the SEC scoring title at 21.2 points per game, while Fox paced the league in assists with an average of 5.0 dimes per game.
Monk, in particular, will be licking his chops at the prospect of facing Georgia in the quarters. He averaged 26.5 points in two meetings with the Bulldogs this campaign. Monk torched Georgia for 37 points in Kentucky’s 90-81 overtime victory against the Bulldogs earlier this season.
The Wildcats are 9-1 SU and 4-6 ATS in their last 10 games.
Writer’s Prediction
Kentucky (-10) wins and covers.
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