Save for the SEC/Big-12 Challenge in January when the Kentucky Wildcats take on the Kansas Jayhawks, the Wildcats will otherwise close out the non-conference schedule on Saturday against the Louisville Cardinals in the KFC Yum! Center.
The Cardinals already have a big win on their resume with a victory over Michigan State, but another big win headed into ACC play would certainly help the cause for Louisville, but does this team have enough to topple the No.16 ranked Wildcats?
Kentucky has a bad loss to Seton Hall, but aside from that game has played very well, losing a tough one to Duke early in the year and beating UNC on a neutral floor before heading to Louisville. Can this team pull it out on the road and keep the momentum going?
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Kentucky Wildcats at Louisville Cardinals
Date and Time: Saturday, December 29, 2018, 2 p.m. ET
Location: KFC Yum! Center, Louisville, Kentucky
College Basketball Odds: Check Back Later
Wildcats vs. Cardinals TV Coverage: ESPN2
Kentucky just beat UNC in their last game by 8-points. The offense did well, but the real accomplishment was out rebounding the Tar Heels. Kentucky did so by 11.
PJ Washington had a double-double in the contest, scoring 11 and added 10 rebounds while the rest of the boards were spread out with Reid Travis nabbing seven, Nick Richards grabbing g six and a slew of others pitching in, too.
Between Washington and Travis, the Wildcats boast a strong frontcourt. Travis is a grad transfer from Stanford and is just one of a number of more experienced players for John Calipari, a unique situation for a Wildcat program that is favored amongst players looking for a one-and-done season.
The experience has shown through save for the game against Seton Hall. Otherwise, this team has played quite well. Tyler Herro and Keldon Johnson have joined Washington and Travis in averaging north of a dozen points. The two guards help fill out a strong backcourt though Herro hasn’t been a good shooter outside. While Johnson fills that need, the loss of Quade Green is significant as he provided an additional outside threat that teams had to respect.
Back to the Seton Hall loss, the Pirates played strong defense while the Wildcats struggled shooting the ball, particularly outside where the team finished the game 1-for-7 outside in the second half. Washington had a big game, but the rest of the team slumped.
Meanwhile, the Cardinals beat Seton Hall in their game against the Pirates this year, 70-65.
Louisville did score a ton in that game, but played solid defense, out rebounded Seton Hall by a wide margin and shot well enough with the Cardinal defense keeping the Pirates down.
As a whole, Louisville’s been a solid team, particularly at home. All three losses have come away from the KFC Yum! Center which could help swing this one towards the Cardinals. The downside, however, is the superior shooting numbers for Kentucky, a better offensive team.
Jordan Nwora leads the Cardinals in scoring with 17.8 PPG. He’s had a big year, but he’s the only player with double-digit PPG to this point in the year. Dwayne Sutton and Steven Enoch are close as the trio form a good frontcourt.
The backcourt isn’t as strong offensively though Louisville does shooting well, at least percentage wise, from three.
Live Betting
This is the first true road game of the season for Kentucky and it’s against a team that’s been very good at home. In the preseason, this game looked like a given, but now, things could be very interesting.
Watch for the Kentucky perimeter defense early to see if it can at least contain a Louisville team that has nine three-pointers a game on the year and could gain some early momentum against a poor three-point defense in the Wildcats.
Kentucky has the personnel to own the inside in this one and has a strong shooting team to make it a higher scoring game. The Cardinals need the three-pointer to be a big part of them keeping up.
Be sure to take advantage of the excellent real-time updates to spreads and totals at BookMaker.eu along with plenty of live betting opportunities.
Key Player
Johnson is the key to this game for the Wildcats and stopping him is key for the Cardinals. While the physical front court of Travis and Washington cause matchup issues inside the paint, Johnson leads the team on the outside and is a strong shooter from outside.
Louisville showed its grit in a win against Michigan State, another team with a strong inside, but in that game, the Spartans struggled to shoot the ball at times and Johnson shooting well outside is crucial to spread the defense and open things up under the basket for the big men.
Another aspect of the Cardinals’ win over the Spartans was Michigan State’s struggled on free throws. Kentucky has been a great free throw shooting team, sinking 74.8-percent of them, but Johnson’s the biggest question mark there. If he shoots well from the line and helps spread the defense, Kentucky should get the win, but if Johnson has a shaky game, things could get interesting.
Wildcats vs. Cardinals Live Betting
Look for this to ultimately be a close game that the Wildcats end up winning, but the early season results make this a fun one to watch.
In the end, the Seton Hall game appears to be a bit of a fluke for Kentucky as the Wildcats have gotten back on track as shown by last week’s win over UNC.
Count on a strong performance inside by Travis and Washington with Johnson doing his part on the outside to contain the Louisville backcourt and keep things open inside for Kentucky to hand the Cardinals their first loss of the season at home.
Be sure to check out all of the live betting at BookMaker.eu for this weekend’s college basketball action.
NCAA Basketball Score Prediction: Kentucky 81, Louisville 78
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