At this point, a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament is virtually in the bag for the Kentucky Wildcats, who remained unscathed through 29 regular season games. Now gunning for their 30th-straight win this season, the Wildcats will take on the Georgia Bulldogs, who can impress the Selection Committee, not to mention the nation, if they can upset Top 1 RPI Kentucky this coming Tuesday.
[sc:MarchMadness ]Kentucky Wildcats vs. Georgia Bulldogs Betting Preview
Where: Stegeman Coliseum, Athens
When: Tuesday, March 3, 9:00 PM ET
Line: Kentucky Wildcats vs. Georgia Bulldogs – view all NCAA Basketball lines
Betting on the Kentucky Wildcats
Another win. Another senseless beating. Another proof why the Wildcats are the No. 1 team in the nation. All those happened on Saturday, when Kentucky took the Arkansas Razorbacks to the woodshed and came out with an 84-67 victory, their 29th-straight to open the season.
[sc:NCAAB240banner ]Kentucky made a mockery of the Razorbacks’ much talked about pressure defense as the Wildcats committed just nine turnovers and had a 48.3 percent field goal shooting. On the flipside, Kentucky’s defense created a never-ending ordeal for the Razorbacks, who committed 12 turnovers and went just 37.5% from the field. That could’ve been worse for Arkansas had the Wildcats not eased on defense in the second half, when it’s clear that they already have the game stashed.
The Wildcats will have to sustain that kind of defensive tenacity against a Georgia team that has averaged 70.0 PPG over its last three outings.
With the shot-blocking tandem of Karl-Anthony Towns (2.3 BPG) and Willie Cauley-Stein (1.6 BPG) guarding the paint, Kentucky’s opponents have a poor 49.8 FG% at the rim. In addition, the team’s mix of length and mobility has made the Wildcats the nation’s best defenders against two-point jumpers.
Andrew Harrison (8.7 PPG), meanwhile, will be one of the players to watch on offense for Kentucky against the Bulldogs. In the first leg of this regular season series, Harrison dropped a season-high 23 points and added seven assists in Kentucky’s 69-58 win on February 3.
Kentucky is 4-2 ATS in its last six games against the Bulldogs.
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Betting on the Georgia Bulldogs
Behind Nemanja Djurisic’s 14 points and a stout bench, the Bulldogs were able to come up with 68-44 blowout win over Missouri on Saturday. It was Georgia’s third-straight victory and one that strengthens its chances of entering the Big Dance. If the Bulldogs are a half-glass full type of team, then they can look at their 11-point loss to Kentucky back in February as an encouraging sign heading into the two teams’ rematch this coming Tuesday.
Kentucky has beaten teams this season by an average of 21.8 points, and its win over Georgia is among the few close ones it had so far this season. Furthermore, the Bulldogs managed to hang tough in that game—even outrebounding Kentucky, 36-24— despite playing without their leading scorer and rebounder in Marcus Thornton, who had to deal with a concussion.
With Thornton (12.3 PPG, 7.2 RPG) now back in the fold, the Bulldogs will have their strongest lineup out in full force against the nation’s best team. Thornton scored eight points and pulled down seven rebounds in Georgia’s win over Missouri.
The Missouri game could’ve also offered a glimpse of what kind of tactic Georgia might use versus Kentucky. Against Kentucky’s vaunted depth, don’t be surprised if Bulldogs coach Mark Fox run the gamut of his roster once again just like he did in the Missouri contest, where he played 14 players with nine combining for 27 points off the bench.
Georgia is 3-0 ATS in its last three games overall.
Writer’s Prediction
Kentucky wins, 75-62.
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