Two of college basketball’s blue bloods will meet up with a trip to the Elite Eight on the line when the Kentucky Wildcats square off with the UCLA Bruins late Friday night. Kentucky has been on fire lately, having won the SEC in the regular season, the SEC Conference Tournament, and getting to the Sweet 16, while UCLA has been on a slight downward trajectory after starting the season red hot as a covering machine.
Don't miss this Sweet 16 showdown from FedEx Forum in Memphis at 9:39 p.m. ET on Friday. Catch every moment of the game live on CBS.
Odds Analysis
There is currently no line or total up for this game, but one should be up by Monday morning. Kentucky was an 11-point favorite when these teams faced off earlier in the season, but that was in Rupp Arena and this will be at a more neutral site. Kentucky should be a bit of a favorite, but the total is what will turn people’s heads. This game almost has to be set in the 170s based on what these teams are capable of.
How They Got Here
Kentucky hasn’t lost since losing three of four games in a stretch between the end of January and the start of February. There, the Wildcats lost to Tennessee, Kansas, and Florida, and needed overtime to beat Georgia. Kentucky has run the gamut since then, but it hasn’t been pretty. John Calipari’s squad is just 7-13-1 ATS over their last 21 games and that stretch of failing to cover big numbers has continued in the tournament.
Kentucky only beat Northern Kentucky by nine points in a somewhat surprising result considering that the Norse had only recently moved up to Division I and were in the tournament for the first time ever. However, the Wildcats got an extremely tough battle against Wichita State in order to reach the Sweet 16.
Its defense isn’t typically lauded, but that’s what came up big for the Wildcats against the Shockers down the stretch. Kentucky blocked Wichita State’s final two chances in the game, both from behind the arc. Malik Monk got a hand on the first in a gutsy play, while Edrice Adebayo came out to get a hand on the second and end the game. It was the type of play Calipari had wanted from his team all year and he finally got it at the best moment.
UCLA was once seen as a favorite to win the tournament, but that was before everyone figured out that the Bruins couldn’t play defense. This team can shoot opponents off the court, like they did against numerous non-conference and conference opponents alike in the regular season, but plays porous enough defense that you can stick around if you can limit them somewhat on offense.
The Bruins got past Kent State and Cincinnati in order to reach this point, but needed strong second halves to pull away from both opponents. While the game against Kent State was never really in doubt, against the Bearcats, the Bruins were down at halftime and had to come from behind. They ended up pulling away with room to spare, but can’t let that happen against Kentucky.
Comparable Games of Note
One of the best regular season games this year was when these two sides met in Rupp Arena back in December. Kentucky and UCLA battled back and forth throughout, but at the end of the day the combination of Lonzo Ball and TJ Leaf was just too tough for Kentucky to stop. Malik Monk had a great performance on the afternoon, trying to keep the Wildcats in it both offensively and defensively, but couldn’t do it all by himself and Kentucky made too many mistakes. This time around the rosters will be more seasoned and it could be an even better game.
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