Kentucky Wildcats NCAA Basketball Betting
Mark Pope took over the Kentucky Wildcats on the fly after John Calipari bolted for the Arkansas Razorbacks in a shocking surprise. Pope is a Kentucky alum and former Wildcat player who was granted a honeymoon and a year of grace in 2024-25. He delivered a Sweet Sixteen appearance in his first year on the job to earn a satisfactory first-year grade. But going forward, the expectations and demands of Big Blue Nation will be much higher. Thus, the offseason will be a critical one for Pope, who can sell the success of his first season and his Kentucky connections.
NCAA Basketball Betting Lines
2025 Kentucky Wildcats Season Recap
Overall, the Kentucky Wildcats are 24-11 straight up, 16-14-1 against the spread, and 17-13-1 over/under the total. Kentucky has national metrics of 5th for scoring offense, 29th for field goal percentage, 32nd for 3-point field goal percentage, 121st for free throw percentage, and 51st for offensive rebounding. While defensively, Kentucky is 325th for scoring defense, 175th for field goal percentage permitted, 33rd for 3-point field goal percentage allowed, and 222nd for defensive rebounding.
Late on, Kentucky has covered two of its previous five games and gone under the total in four of its last five outings. First among Kentucky scorers is Otega Oweh with 16.2 points per game.
Those previous two regular-season losses to Kentucky don't mean anything to Tennessee now. The Volunteers avenged them in convincing fashion on the big stage of the NCAA Tournament, posting a no-doubt 78-65 victory that sent them to a second consecutive Elite Eight.
Zakai Zeigler had 18 points and 10 assists, and Tennessee outhustled and outplayed Kentucky on both ends of the court. The second-seeded Vols beat their border rival in the first all-Southeastern Conference Sweet 16 matchup since 1986.
Lamont Butler scored 18 points to lead first-year coach Mark Pope's third-seeded Wildcats, who were held 20 points under their season scoring average. Their 65 points matched their fewest in a game this season.
“It’s hard to talk about basketball right now,” Pope said. “Congratulations to Tennessee. They played really hard and really well. I have a ton of respect for coach (Rick) Barnes. Mostly, we’re just sad that this is over.”
The Vols did what they failed to do in their first two meetings with Kentucky, losing 78-73 at home and 75-64 in Lexington. They've been one of the best in the nation at defending the 3-pointer, yet the Wildcats shot 12 of 24 on 3s in each of those games. It was apparent early that the Vols weren’t going to let the Wildcats put up 3s at will again. Kentucky finished 6 of 15 from distance.
By the middle of the first half, the Vols were in full control, using relentless defense and attacking the glass to generate offense and build a 19-point lead.
They scored 13 second-chance points off nine offensive rebounds on their way to a 43-28 lead at the half, only the second time Kentucky has been held under 30 points in a first half this season. Barnes is now 15-0 in the NCAA Tournament when up by 10 or more at halftime.
The Vols picked up where they left off at the start of the second half, forcing a shot-clock violation and an airball three by Koby Brea on Kentucky's first two possessions. Their effort on the boards continued, too. They finished with 19 points on 14 offensive rebounds.
The Vols all but finished off the victory with under nine minutes to play after Butler cut the lead to 12. Felix Okpara chased down his missed shot and dunked it, and Lanier made a steal and passed to Ziegler. The 5-foot-9 Zeigler hit a three from the wing and then looked up and held a stare at the 6-10 Brandon Garrison, who was the nearest defender.
The Wildcats maxed out - some would say overachieved - in Pope's first season. They returned no production from a year ago. Pope brought in nine transfers, and they led Kentucky to the second weekend of the tournament for the first time since 2019.
Latest NCAA Tournament Results
| YEAR |
RESULT |
| 2025 |
Lost Sweet Sixteen vs. (2) Tennessee 65–78 |
| 2024 |
Lost First Round vs. (14) Oakland 76–80 |
| 2023 |
Lost Second Round vs. (15) Kansas State 69–75 |
| 2022 |
Lost First Round vs. (15) St. Peter's, 79–85 (OT) |
| 2019 |
Lost Elite Eight vs. (5) Auburn, 71–77 (OT) |
| 2018 |
Lost Sweet Sixteen vs. (9) Kansas State, 58–61 |
| 2017 |
Lost Elite Eight vs. (1) North Carolina, 73–75 |
| 2016 |
Lost Second Round vs. (5) Indiana, 67–73 |
2024-2025 NCAA Basketball Top Teams
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