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The Buffalo Bulls weren’t acting like underdogs in their first round matchup, telling everyone who would listen that they could knock off the No. 4 seed Arizona Wildcats. The No. 13 seed Bulls did just that, dominating in the second half to pull the upset. Buffalo hopes to knock off another one of college basketball’s best programs when they meet the Kentucky Wildcats in the second round of March Madness.
Kentucky will be the favorite, but Buffalo could be a popular pick to pull the upset with the way it played in the first round. The Wildcats have a lot of talent but have been inconsistent this season. They will aim to hold court and come away with the victory to punch their ticket to the Sweet Sixteen.
Don't miss the hardwood action from Taco Bell Arena at 5:15 p.m. ET on Saturday, March 17, 2018. Catch every moment of the game live on CBS.
We'll have NCAA odds at BookMaker.eu available for this and every game on the NCAA Saturday schedule.
Odds Analysis
Kentucky should be the favorite. Buffalo was a 9-point underdog in the first round but had no problem running Arizona off the court. The scoring total is going to be high as both of these teams are happy to push the pace.
Buffalo is 28-8 straight up and 17-12-3 against the spread. The Bulls have done a really nice job on a neutral court, covering in six of their seven matchups there. Buffalo has covered in four of their five games as the underdog this season, including the emphatic upset last time out.
Kentucky is 24-10 straight up and 17-17 against the spread. The Wildcats have also done well at neutral sites, covering in five of six attempts. Kentucky is 13-12 against the spread as the favorite on the year.
Key Stat
84.8. That’s the number of points Buffalo averaged during the regular season, which was seventh in the country. The Bulls did even better in the first round when they routed Arizona by a score of 89-68. Buffalo shot a scinitllating 54.8 percent from the field and hit 15-of-30 shots from three-point range.
Wes Clark led the way with 25 points, while Jeremy Harris added 23. A lot of mid-major programs prefer to slow the game down against traditional powers in order to shorten the amount of possessions and have a better chance at pulling the upset.
But Buffalo had its foot on the gas from the get-go against the Wildcats and ended up running away with the victory. The Bulls will be feeling confident and will no doubt welcome a track meet against Kentucky even though it has the inferior athletes. If Buffalo shoots that well from downtown again, it will have a shot at pulling off another upset.
Player To Watch
Kevin Knox -- Kentucky has plenty of talented players but the go-to guy is the freshman guard. Knox is averaging 15.6 points per game this season as well as 5.4 rebounds and nearly a steal per game.
Knox is shooting 44.3 percent from the field and 35.4 percent from three point range. Buffalo will aim to keep him out of the lane and make him beat it from downtown. Knox was very impressive in Kentucky’s first round win over Davidson, scoring 25 points on 8-of-16 from the field while adding six rebounds.
Buffalo will likely sag in deep and make Kentucky shoot it well from the outside to win. If Knox gets hot from the outside, it will make the Wildcats hard to guard.
Free NCAA ATS Picks
This figures to be one of the most intriguing games of the second round, especially because so many people watched Buffalo absolutely dominate against Arizona. The Bulls are a Cinderella through and through, and would love to pull off another upset.
This is a good matchup for Buffalo. If the Wildcats don’t shoot well from the outside they may not be able to keep up against the hot-shooting Bulls. Take Buffalo to pull yet another upset and advance to the Sweet Sixteen, capturing the nation’s attention in the process.
NCAA Odds: Buffalo 86, Kentucky 83
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