Stephen F. Austin vs. Kentucky Basketball Betting Preview
Where: Rupp Arena, Lexington, KY
When: Friday, November 11, 7:00 PM ET
Line: Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks at Kentucky Wildcats – view all NCAA Basketball odds and lines
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Betting on the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks (TBA)
Don’t ever underestimate the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks. If you missed out on their appearance in last year’s Big Dance, the Lumberjacks provided one of the early upsets of the tournament by convincingly defeating eighth-seeded West Virginia, 70-56, before being eliminated by Notre Dame by a single point in the round of 32.
Stephen F. Austin has been an immovable force within its own mid-major realm for quite some time already. The team has opened up a can of whoop-ass on the entire Southland by winning four-straight conference titles and going a spectacular 53-1 in conference play over the past three seasons.
However, the Lumberjacks will tip-off their regular season against a formidable Kentucky team with slim hopes of winning given their major overhaul during the offseason. They lost their head coach in Brad Underwood to Oklahoma State and will be under the tutelage of Kyle Keller moving forward.
Furthermore, Keller will take control of a team that lost five seniors, with the current roster having no player beyond 6’7″ in height. SFA’s lack of big men will certainly be a bane to the team in Friday night’s opener in Lexington, which leads us to the Wildcats’ intimidating side of things…
Betting on the Kentucky Wildcats (TBA)
Even with a new set of weapons on board, we simply cannot dismiss the John Calipari-led Kentucky Wildcats from tearing the NCAA field apart. Did you see what happened in their 91-point exhibition-game win earlier this week? That was frightening…
Not only do the Wildcats benefit from one of the most successful college basketball minds in Calipari, they also recruit well in the process, having the second-best rated freshman class in the nation during the offseason.
Kentucky’s backcourt is as good as it gets; it has three McDonald’s All-Americans in Isaiah Briscoe, Malik Monk and DeAaron Fox ready to run the floor. And if that wasn’t enough, the team has a supply of five 6’9″ players ready to tower over the competition, including highly-touted freshman Bam Adebayo. With that, the size advantage alone is clearly in the Wildcats’ favor looking ahead to Friday’s showdown with the Lumberjacks.
Adding even more intrigue to the team is the debut of Calipari’s own son, Brad. But perhaps the most telling story that the Wildcats’ opening game this season will result in a win is that they never lost a game at home last regular season. They went a perfect 17-0 in Rupp Arena (10-7 ATS) in the previous campaign, with all of their losses only coming from road games and contests played on neutral sites.
Writer’s Prediction
The Wildcats maul the Lumberjacks, 89-71.
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