Alabama Crimson Tide vs. Kentucky Wildcats NCAAB Preview
Where: Bridgestone Arena – Nashville, Tennessee
When: Saturday, March 11, 2017 – 2:00 PM ET
Line: Alabama Crimson Tide vs. Kentucky Wildcats – total: 137.5 – view all NCAA Basketball lines
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Betting on the Alabama Crimson Tide (19-13, 10-8 SEC)
Alabama moved past South Carolina to advance, 64-53. It wasn’t the most entertaining game in the world, but they’ll take it. Wins are what they need before facing an elite team like Kentucky, and they now have three in their last four (3-1 SU and ATS).
Braxton Key, who paced the team in points during the regular season with 12 PPG, while also recording 5.6 rebounds and 2.5 assists, led the way once again in the previous contest, scoring 18 points, seven rebounds, and three assists. The freshman has been the most reliable option on the team, so we can expect him to keep getting the ball for tomorrow’s tournament semis.
In ‘Bama’s 67-58 loss to the Wildcats on February 11th, Key – to no one’s surprise – was the lone effective player on the Crimson Tide. The rest of his teammates only went 15-for-38 (39.4 percent) from the floor and his 21 points even finished as a game-high.
The Crimson Tide are only putting up 68.6 points on 42.2 percent shooting this year, both of which are among the lowest in the country. They are, however, the ninth-ranked defense overall.
Betting on the Kentucky Wildcats (27-5, 16-2 SEC)
Looking at Kentucky’s 38 percent shooting in the recent 71-60 win over Georgia, it’s easy to think that at the very least, majority of coach John Calipari’s boys had an awful outing.
Malik Monk did have a quiet game (1-for-7 for two points), but his co-starters were productive – Isaiah Briscoe and DeAaron Fox each had 20 points, Bam Adebayo posted a 13-point, 10-rebound double-double, and Derek Willis had seven points, 11 rebounds, and a career-high-tying four blocks.
Monk, SEC’s leader in scoring this season (21.2 PPG), should be able to have a bounce back performance this Saturday. He had a team-high 17 points in their win against Alabama weeks back.
Some redeeming is also for the ‘Cats number two scorer and key playmaker, Fox (15.5 PPG, 4.2 RPG, 5.0 APG), who only made three of his 12 attempts in the said previous matchup versus ‘Bama.
The Wildcats will enter the game as winners of nine straight games (4-4-1 ATS). In that span, they are averaging 76.3 points and have an average winning margin of 10. It’s good and all, except they only shoot 44.4 percent – a type of shooting clip that can cause any high-ranking team to be upset.
Writer’s Prediction
Kentucky (-10.5) will win, but won’t cover the spread.
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