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It’s another year of one-and-done freshmen for the Kentucky Wildcats. Although you might hate John Calipari for it, there’s no doubt that his strategy of acquiring the best talent and getting them to come together pretty quickly has paid dividends during his time at Kentucky. Only one minor contributor from last year is back, Wenyen Gabriel, but this team has a ton of talented incomers ready to make an impact. The Vermont Catamounts will be their first real test of the year as they should have no problem taking care of Utah Valley in their opener.
This war on the floor will go down Sunday, November 12, 2017, at 3:30 p.m. ET at Rupp Arena in Lexington, Kentucky. The game will be televised live on ESPN. We'll have NCAA basketball odds at BookMaker.eu available for this and every game on the college basketball Sunday schedule.
Opening College Basketball Odds at BookMaker.eu
There’s a ton of buzz about Vermont heading into the year. In 2016-17, the Catamounts won 21 straight games and posted the first 16-0 conference record in the history of the American East. Four starters are back from that team and the Catamounts are considered heavy favorites to win the conference.
Kentucky has four five-star recruits that are looking to make a splash in Lexington this season. Unfortunately for the Wildcats, they are all big men, and Coach Calipari will have to rely on slightly less heralded four-star guards to run the offense.
Player to Watch
While it’s easy to highlight someone like Kevin Knox here, the real center of attention should be Quade Green. Green is a true freshman and the only real point guard on the roster. We all know how important point guard is in this offense too. From Derrick Rose to De’Aaron Fox, this has been a pivotal role in the Wildcats offense as the point guard is counted upon to drive and kick in order to find openings for his talented teammates.
It’s rarely easy for a point guard to have success in his first few games at the collegiate level because of all the responsibility inherent in the position. Whereas a big man can just stay near the basket and use his athleticism to create one-on-one mismatches, the point guard has to be the general of the team.
There’s really nobody behind Green either. For better or worse this will be his team.
Key Stats
Vermont allowed just 62.1 points per game last season, but this number was greatly helped by playing in the American East and facing a relatively weak non-conference schedule. Ken Pomeroy had the Catamounts ranked as the 73rd best defense in the country because the offenses they faced were so bad.
The two ranked teams that they did face, Butler and Purdue, had no problems scoring on this team. Those two teams, as well as Providence, all dropped 80 on the Catamounts.
Having a well-balanced offense helps a lot in situations like this, and Vermont can boast one of those. The four returning starters all averaged between 12.4 PPG and 8.7 PPG last season and helped the Catamounts rank ninth in field-goal percentage.
Free College Basketball ATS Picks
Even though Vermont went 29-6 last season, it’s safe to say the Catamounts will be a heavy underdog in this game. Even though Kentucky is young, this team is immensely talented and the Wildcats typically dominate in these early games.
However, there is something to be said about having a group of guys that have been there before. Vermont won’t fold because of the presence of last year’s starters and the Catamounts will battle Kentucky throughout.
I’m going to call for the Wildcats to win this one by around 20. Vermont will be somewhat respectable, but it will still be a convincing win for the Wildcats.
College Basketball Odds: Kentucky 82, Vermont 61
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