South Carolina reached the top of the SEC standings by knocking off leader LSU on Wednesday night, creating a three-way tie with Kentucky. The Gamecocks will look to continue their magical season with a win over the Wildcats and take over sole possession of the top spot.
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HOW THE KENTUCKY WILDCATS CAN COVER THE SPREAD
Kentucky is becoming the team many envisioned they’d be when the Wildcats were ranked at the top of most preseason polls. Though they have six losses, the Cats have been dominating good teams in recent weeks.
UK beat Duke, Georgia, Florida and Vanderbilt by an average over 20 points per game, edged Louisville by a pair and nearly upset Kansas in Lawrence before falling in overtime. This shows us how much the Cats have improved, and they’re more than capable of ending the regular season on a high note.
Coach John Calipari would still like to have more of a post presence and that could be tough with Alex Poythress out for “a few weeks.” But when his guards are locked in, it’s not that much of a priority. Tyler Ulis is a magician. And Jamal Murray is on fire, making 14 of 20 three-point shots over his last two games.
Now we get to see if Ulis, Murray and the Cats can take their show on the road. UK went six minutes without scoring and still ran away from Georgia on Tuesday, playing lockdown defense in an 82-48 romp.
HOW THE SOUTH CAROLINA GAMECOCKS CAN COVER THE SPREAD
South Carolina could end up atop the SEC standings, if the Gamecocks can defend their homecourt this week. South Carolina knocked off league-leader LSU on Wednesday and now hosts No. 22 Kentucky on Saturday.
The Gamecocks have already won 20 games for the first time since the 2008-09 season after grinding out a win at Texas AM last week, handing the Aggies their first home loss. Overcoming inconsistency is a key. USC’s league losses have come against Georgia, Tennessee, and Alabama, who are a combined 15-17 in SEC play.
The Gamecocks have used a blend of veterans and youth to win the most games in coach Frank Martin’s four seasons. Senior Michael Carrera leads them with 14.1 point and 7.2 rebounds per game. Junior Sindarius Thornwell leads the team in assists and steals.
Freshmen P.J. Dozier and Chris Silva have also formed a formidable pair. Silva has started the past three games because of his athleticism and willingness to battle underneath. Silva will be tested by Kentucky’s bigs, but he catches a break with Poythress sidelined with a knee injury, which opens up space down low.
ANALYSIS AND ODDS PREDICTION
A trip to South Carolina is always troubling, even when the Gamecocks weren’t very good. This year, the Gamecocks are good. They proved that last weekend, shaking off a recent slump to become the first team this NCAAB season to win at Texas AM. But they’ve been plagued by inconsistent play with troubling losses to teams languishing in the bottom of half of the SEC standings. The Gamecocks have created a buzz and the home fans have supplied plenty of support. That should help against the Wildcats, but UK appears to be hitting its stride after Coach Cal made several tweaks. One area left untouched is the backcourt. Ulis and Murray are the best duo in the SEC and perhaps the country. Their play has allowed the Cats to overcome some suspect play by the bigs. The loss of Poythress hurts the inside game, but could give freshman phenom Skal Labissiere a chance to finally shine.
Kentucky 77, South Carolina 72
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