It looks like the Kentucky Wildcats are back. A perennial college hoops powerhouse, the Wildcats stumbled to a 9-16 record last season, the first time in over three decades they lost more games than they won. They can match their entire win total from a season ago by taking down in-state rival Louisville Cardinals on Wednesday. UK is coming off an impressive 98-69 win over North Carolina, the eighth win in 10 games for the 21st ranked team in the country. The Cards added to the misery of last season beating the Wildcats for the first time in four tries. Still, UK holds a huge 36-16 advantage in the all-time series that dates back over 100 years.
This war on the floor will go down Wednesday, December 22, 2021, at 6 p.m. ET at Rupp Arena in Lexington, KY. 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 Wednesday schedule.
Please note: The game between Kentucky and Louisville was postponed due to COVID and is expected to be rescheduled.
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Odds Analysis
Louisville is coming off a loss to another in-state rival and needs to get straightened out or it could be a long night inside Rupp Arena. The Cards were a slight road favorite for their showdown with Western Kentucky on Saturday and the game wasn’t very close. The Hilltoppers handed UL is third loss in five games, 82-72, with two of the setbacks coming on the road. A big part of the problem is offensive production. The Cards are not a good shooting team and thus average just over 70 points. They are 7-4 SU and 5-6 ATS overall. They haven’t won in Lexington since 2008 going 0-6 SU and 1-5 ATS in six games since.
The Wildcats are one win away from matching last season’s total. It’s been quite a turnaround for Coach Cal’s squad, but would you expect anything less from this storied program? They’ve won seven of their last eight games since opening with a 79-71 loss to Duke and no opponent has scored more than 69 points. The Cats are getting it done on both ends of the floor outscoring teams by an average of 20 points. They bounced back from a loss to Notre Dame with a 98-69 trouncing of UNC over the weekend ending a three-game ATS skid. Overall the Cats are 4-6 ATS.
Louisville Cardinals
Getting Malik Williams back in the lineup will be a plus. We just don’t know his status after he missed the previous game reportedly due to COVID protocols. Whatever the reason, he was missed against WKU. Averaging nearly a double-double with 10.9 points and 9.6 rebounds, Williams would have been a presence in the block against the taller opponent. Kentucky doesn’t have the same size, but they are athletic and will take advantage in the block if the presence of Williams isn’t felt.
That’s not the only reason why Louisville lost the game. Once again their shooting woes proved to be a problem. They shot 42 percent on Saturday and connect on just 41.8 percent of their field goals for the year. The Cards were just 13 of 36 from three-point range and make just 30.5 percent from deep. Defensively the Cards hold opponents to 66 points per game, but there is little room for error with an offense that’s been inconsistent and could be without one of its top players.
Kentucky Wildcats
Reshuffling the schedule due to COVID had the Wildcats facing North Carolina over the weekend. Both teams lost an opponent to virus protocols, so this matchup took over in Vegas on Saturday. And UK’s revenge tour took over with a resounding 98-69 victory. The Cats lost last year’s contest 75-63 in what was one of the worst seasons in program history. You have to go all the way back to the late 1920s to see the last time UK won fewer than 10 games. Another year brings another crop of young players to the hardwood and this group looks ready to get the Cats back on the winning track.
Responding to a tough loss at Notre Dame in the previous game, the Wildcats were strong from the start against the Heels. Coach Cal wanted Sahvir Wheeler to take charge and “lead us,” which he did. Wheeler scored 26 points hitting 12 of 15 shots and the Cats made 54 percent of their field goals in the impressive win. They are one of the top teams in the country in rebound margin and UK had a 41-24 edge on the glass. Opponents don’t get many offensive rebounds which is why they score just 62 points per game.
Free College Basketball ATS Picks
The status of Williams will play a huge role in how this game plays out. With him the Cardinals should be closer on the scoreboard and they could possibly pull off the upset. Without him, they rely too much on perimeter shooting and they just aren’t very good. The Cats have an experienced group, which is weird to say, and all five regular starters average in double figures. They are tough to defend and hard to score on, and they always have an upper hand in their home games.
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