The Georgia Bulldogs take on the Kentucky Wildcats. Our college basketball odds series has our Georgia Kentucky prediction and pick. Find out how to watch Georgia Kentucky.
The Kentucky Wildcats have had a roller-coaster season, but on Saturday against Tennessee, the roller-coaster ride felt more like an exciting thrill than a stomach-churning journey of fear and panic. Kentucky lost at home to South Carolina a few days earlier, a disastrous loss which clearly marked the Wildcats as an NIT-bound team. Kentucky had not won very many high-end games earlier in the season. The Wildcats lost nearly every big and challenging game they played, Michigan being one notable exception. They lost to Michigan State, Gonzaga, UCLA, and Alabama, and they generally failed to rise to the occasion whenever they played ranked opponents. John Calipari has struggled to beat ranked teams in recent seasons. In his last 20 games against ranked teams, he has won less than one-third of the time. Kentucky fans had every right to be mad at Calipari given the crumbling state of the program after the South Carolina debacle.
Cal and the Cats answered the bell against Tennessee. The Wildcats held the Vols to 56 points. They played with the toughness and passion which had been missing for several weeks. Calipari made specific lineup adjustments to shake things up and see if players would respond when placed in new situations. The moves worked. Kentucky walked away with a convincing victory. Now the Wildcats can once again realistically think about the NCAA Tournament, though they still have work to do.
Here are the Georgia-Kentucky college basketball odds, courtesy of FanDuel:
College Basketball Odds: Georgia-Kentucky Odds
Georgia Bulldogs: +11.5 (-118)
Kentucky Wildcats: -11.5 (-104)
Over: 135.5 (-110)
Under: 135.5 (-110)
How To Watch Georgia vs. Kentucky
TV: ESPN
Stream: ESPN+
Time: 9:00 p.m. ET, 6:00 p.m. PT
*Watch Georgia-Kentucky LIVE with fuboTV (Click for free trial)*
Why Georgia Could Cover The Spread
The Kentucky Wildcats have been exposed as a very frail and flawed team this season. One of the central weaknesses of Kentucky is that it doesn't shoot well from the perimeter. Teams can pack defenses in the paint and make life a lot harder for Oscar Tshiebwe, the returning National Player of the Year. Tshiebwe finally did get help from his teammates this past Saturday against Tennessee, but that was one game. It's not a pattern or trend. Kentucky — which lost at home to South Carolina a week ago — can certainly lose to Georgia if it doesn't get significantly better perimeter play. Yet, Georgia doesn't have to win outright to cover the spread. It merely has to lose by no more than 11 points. Given that Georgia is 3-1 in the SEC through four games, including a high-quality win over a good Auburn team which is definitely going to make the NCAA Tournament, Georgia seems to be getting a very generous spread here. The Bulldogs are being sold short. They probably should be 7.5-point underdogs instead of 11.5. That's a lot of points to be giving Georgia.
Why Kentucky Could Cover The Spread
Kentucky woke up. Kentucky found its formula. John Calipari made lineup and rotation adjustments. He got his team to play hard-nosed, tough, relentless basketball against Tennessee. This team finally played with an urgency and hunger which had been missing far too long, nearly the entire season. Now that Kentucky has finally roared to life, these Cats should be able to claw past Georgia rather decisively. Georgia has not yet won a big-time road game in the SEC — its only road win is at Ole Miss — and the Bulldogs could easily crumble if they take Kentucky's best punch. The odds of UK throwing its best stuff at Georgia are now much higher after the Tennessee win, when the light seemed to go on for a lot of Kentucky role players. The Wildcats are going to get on a roll now.
Final Georgia-Kentucky Prediction & Pick
It is tempting to buy into Kentucky now that the Wildcats beat Tennessee on the road, but let's see the Cats do the job one more time before trusting them. Stay away from this game.
Final Georgia-Kentucky Prediction & Pick: Georgia +11.5
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