The No.1 Kentucky Wildcats might be getting bored as winning becomes more and more habitual for the team. That’s no reason for them to relax, though, when they return home to Lexington to face fellow SEC top dogs No. 18 Arkansas Razorbacks. Will the Hogs be the first team to take down Kentucky this season? Or will the Wildcats extend their win streak to 29 games?
For more college game previews, you can click here for Duke vs. Syracuse and here for Virginia vs. Virginia Tech.
[sc:MarchMadness ]Arkansas Razorbacks vs. Kentucky Wildcats Betting Preview
Where: Rupp Arena, Lexington
When: Saturday, February 28, 4:00 PM ET
Line: Arkansas Razorbacks vs. Kentucky Wildcats – view all NCAA Basketball lines
Betting on the Arkansas Razorbacks
[sc:NCAAB240banner ]Are the Razorbacks ready for their toughest challenge yet this season? Based on their seven-game win streak in the SEC, it looks like they are all set to face Kentucky this coming Saturday. Arkansas finalized its preparation for the Wildcats, when it defeated the pesky Texas A&M Aggies on Tuesday, 81-75.
To beat the ‘Cats, Arkansas will have to establish its outside scoring early to loosen up the Wildcats’ top rated rim protection. The Razorbacks seem to be up to the task as they sunk 23 triples on 56 attempts (41.1%) over their last three games. Anthlon Bell is the team’s leader in threes with 50 on the season, while freshman Anton Beard is another guy who can light it up from the outside. Beard is shooting 40.8% from downtown thus far this season.
Kentucky’s defense will surely adjust if the Hogs’ outside shooters begin to click, and if that happens, Arkansas needs its excellent playmaking that made it the fourth-best team in the nation in terms of assists (17.1 APG) to show up.
Bobby Portis remains as Arkansas’ alpha dog on offense. Portis paces the team with 17.6 PPG. The sophomore forward scored a team-high 22 points against the Aggies.
The Razorbacks are 3-0 SU and ATS in their last three games against Kentucky dating back to 2013.
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Betting on the Kentucky Wildcats
The Wildcats took a step closer to achieving a perfect season after beating the Mississippi State Bulldogs on Wednesday, 74-56. Up ahead for Kentucky is a showdown with the Razorbacks, the last ranked team on its regular season schedule.
Despite having won 28-straight games, the Wildcats shouldn’t feel overly confident against the Razorbacks, who may give Kentucky a dose of its own medicine on Saturday. Like the Wildcats, Arkansas also knows how to disrupt its opponents’ offensive sets. The Razorbacks rely on their intense defensive pressure that causes opponents to turn the ball over 16.6 times per game, 10th most in the nation.
Kentucky’s depth, however, should make it hard for the Razorbacks to keep up such a frenetic pace on defense for an entire ball game. With the likes of Devin Booker, Tyler Ulis, and Dakari Johnson coming off the bench, the Wildcats are sure to have a high level of talent on the floor at all times.
Booker and Ulis combine for 16.4 PPG, while the starting backcourt of Aaron Harrison and Andrew Harrison make 19.6 PPG together.
In the frontcourt, Willie Cauley-Stein and Karl Anthony Towns will have to work together to contain Portis. Cauley-Stein is averaging 9.3 PPG, 6.3 RPG and 1.5 BPG. Towns, on the other hand, is putting up 9.2 PPG to go along with 6.4 RPG and a team-leading 2.4 BPG.
The Wildcats are 4-0 ATS in their last four games overall.
Writer’s Prediction
Kentucky wins, 78-65.
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