The Kentucky Wildcats have become the No. 1 team in the country following an impressive start to the season. Kentucky has absolutely dominated its opponents this season, shredding everyone by at least 21 points, including a Michigan State team that was considered to be one of the best in the country. After celebrating Thanksgiving at home, the Wildcats will travel to the beautiful Bahamas in order to take on the Arizona State Sun Devils.
This war on the floor will go down Monday, November 28, 2016, at 7 p.m. ET at the Imperial Arena at Atlantis Resort in the Bahamas. The game will be broadcast on ESPN2.
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Arizona State is 4-2 this season, but the Sun Devils have lost to the best two opponents they’ve faced, Davidson and Northern Iowa. This season the Sun Devils are 1-4-1 ATS and have failed to cover four in a row.
The Wildcats are 5-0 SU and 4-1 ATS and have covered large spreads pretty handily this season. Only once, against Michigan State, have they been held under 87 points.
Player to Watch
Malik Monk came to Kentucky with a lot of promise and he has lived up to it thus far. Monk has been a deadly three-point shooter, hitting 38.7 percent of his trey attempts on the season, and became the first Kentucky player to hit 16 threes in his first 5 games.
Monk may have a reputation as a streaky shooter, but the fact that he is performing well this early shows that he doesn’t feel the moment is too big for him.
What he does need to improve upon though is learning how to contribute in other phases of the game. Monk is averaging just 1 assist per game and doesn’t pick up many rebounds either. If he learns to develop these other skills, he will be one of the top players in the college game.
Key Stat
Arizona State is going to be a double-digit underdog in this one and for big underdogs to pull off the upset, they need to be able to hit the three. On that front, the Sun Devils aren’t in bad shape, with the team averaging 35.2 percent from beyond the arc this season and star Torian Graham knocking down 45.5 percent of his treys.
However, the Sun Devils will be facing a team that is one of the best at perimeter defending in the nation. Kentucky is fourth in adjusted defense according to Ken Pomeroy and is giving up just 62 PPG. Even worse for Arizona State, the Wildcats defense is holding opponents to just 21.2 percent shooting from three-point range. If the Sun Devils hope to pull off the upset, Graham and his teammates need to shoot well.
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The Kentucky teams that Calipari has coached have been filled with one and done talents and it’s hit or miss whether or not they work out early on in the season. Although his team usually has the talent to overcome opponents rather easily, sometimes they lack the teamwork needed to cover big spreads.
This Kentucky team seems to be coming together rather nicely and some of the issues the freshman-laden sides have had in the past have not transpired. As long as they can continue to come together, they will be a favorite in the NCAA Tournament come March.
Arizona State should be better than its record indicates, but the Sun Devils don’t play good defense. Arizona State is giving up almost 80 PPG to opponents and it’s hard to consistently win, much less cover, when allowing points like that.
Don’t be surprised if this game is close for much of the first half, but Kentucky will eventually pull away from Arizona State. The Wildcats have far too much talent to keep them at bay and should roll against the Sun Devils.
College Basketball Odds: Kentucky 87, Arizona State 70
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