(3) Kentucky vs. (14) Oakland: Betting Tips, Prediction, and Betting Odds

Kentucky has some of the top talent in the tournament but also has been very inconsistent at times this year against lesser opponents. In this first round matchup they will play Oakland who won their conference tournament but has 11 losses on the season.

Kentucky should easily win this game but some severe inconsistencies could have this spread and total looking a bit scary. Early in the season Kentucky beat St Joseph’s by just eight points and then a few games later lost to UNC Willmington by seven. Those two games stick out but later in the season Kentucky was extremely good and scored the ball at ease.

Oakland has played some talented teams early in the year but a lot has changed since then. They lost by just 11 to Illinois who was ranked 25th at the time. They also beat Xavier and have won eight of their last nine games. Let’s look at some of the top bets in this high projected total game.

Kentucky +13.5 is available at time of publishing. Playable at that number.

Against the spread this year Oakland is pretty good covering it 62% of the time. Most of those games were in their conference though when they were not pinned yet as one of the top teams. They also have some glaring losses to much worse teams than Kentucky including losing to Wright State by 19, Dayton by 24, and Purdue FW by 21 points. Kentucky may be able to score at will against Oakland who could struggle to keep up.

The Kentucky Wildcats have two head scratching games early in the season that make them covering this spread questionable. They also have won by 13.5 points in 34% of their games this year and have beaten much better teams by way more than 14 points. Kentucky has been great lately and I think they take care of business in this one by more than 14 to cover the spread.

Over 162.5 Total Points is available at the time of publishing. Playable at that number.

This is a very high total for most teams such as Oakland but not so high for Kentucky. Kentucky has hit this over in 72% of their games this year and in all six of their last games. Oakland has only covered this total in 21% of games but they haven’t played as many teams that can score at the pace that Kentucky can.

Kentucky is averaging 89.4 points per game this season. In their last six games they have scored 85 or more. Oakland can score too as they are averaging 76.4 points on the season and just scored 83 points in their conference championship game. Kentucky gives up nearly 80 points per game as well. This over could easily hit if Oakland can match Kentucky’s energy just a little bit.

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