The Kentucky Wildcats are showing why they’re the team to beat heading into this year’s national tournament. They made quick work of Florida and Auburn to make it back-to-back appearances in the SEC tournament championship game.
But the Wildcats could have their work cut out for them this time around. They face the SEC’s top offense in the Arkansas Razorbacks. Tune in as these two explosive teams attempt to capture the SEC tournament crown.
There’s plenty more conference championship games in store. Check out our complete previews for Big Ten’s Michigan State vs. Wisconsin and AAC’s Connecticut vs. SMU.
[sc:MarchMadness ]Arkansas Razorbacks vs. Kentucky Wildcats Preview
Where: Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, Tennessee
When: Sunday, March 15, 1:00 PM ET
Line: Arkansas Razorbacks (+13) vs. Kentucky Wildcats (-13) – view all NCAA Basketball lines
Betting on the Arkansas Razorbacks
Second-seeded Arkansas stumbled toward the end of the regular season, dropping two of its last three. But the Razorbacks have been money in the SEC tournament with two dominant wins over Tennessee and Georgia, covering the spread in both games.
[sc:NCAAB240banner ]Junior guard Michael Qualls has been excellent in the tournament so far. He’s averaging 17.5 points per game on 44 percent shooting. Keeping his play up-to-speed is crucial for the Razorbacks. He led the team with 17 points and nine rebounds against Kentucky on February 28, an 84-67 blowout loss.
Leading scorer Bobby Portis struggled in the semifinal win over Georgia, though. He made just 1-of-14 shots for a season-low four points. It was only his second game this season to score in single digits. Considering he had 15 points on 6-of-11 shooting in the first game against Kentucky, expect him to bounce back with a better effort from the floor.
Portis is also the Razorbacks’ go-to big man on the boards averaging 8.8 rebounds per game (fourth in the SEC). He stands at 6’11” tall, so he doesn’t give up too much size against Kentucky’s Willie Cauley-Stein or Karl-Anthony Towns. As a team, Arkansas was outrebounded 38-32 in the loss against Kentucky.
The Razorbacks need more from their bench for them to have the chance of an upset. The Arkansas bench was outscored 24-7 by Kentucky in their earlier matchup. But Arkansas’ backups have done better leading up to this game, averaging 17.3 points in four games since.
Arkansas is 4-2 ATS in its last six games against Kentucky.
Betting on the Kentucky Wildcats
Pressure doesn’t seem to get in No. 1 seed Kentucky’s way. The Wildcats are an undefeated 33-0 (20-0 in conference play) and are 7-1-1 ATS in their last nine games.
Kentucky was extremely efficient in its semifinal win over Auburn. Willie Cauley-Stein led the team with 18 points and Andrew Harrison chipped in 14 of his own. Aaron Harrison added 12 points, while Trey Lyles and Devin Booker also scored 12 each off the bench. These five Wildcats scored 62 of Kentucky’s 84 points in their regular season win over Arkansas.
Cauley-Stein finished with just seven points on 3-of-6 shooting against the Razorbacks. But he did his best work on defense with four blocks and two steals. One of the Harrison twins, Aaron, also had a big day on defense. He had a season-high five steals against the Razorbacks.
Kentucky should be pretty confident heading into this game. It has a suffocating defense (third in the nation with 53.7 points allowed per game) that could shut down Arkansas’ fast-paced attack. The Wildcats held Arkansas to 38 percent shooting, including 28 percent from downtown.
The Wildcats should be up for another sound defensive effort. Towns and Cauley-Stein are both strong defenders in the paint. They both rank in the SEC’s top five in blocks per game with 2.3 and 1.6 respectively.
The Wildcats are 7-0-1 ATS in their last eight games as double-digit favorites.
Writer’s Prediction
Kentucky crushes Arkansas for a sparkling 34-0 record. Take the Wildcats to cover -13. Create a betting account now and cash in on college basketball’s hottest team.
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