The craziest time of the sporting year is almost underway! The 14-seed Oakland Golden Grizzlies will look to play the role of spoiler when they go up against the three-seeded Kentucky Wildcats in the South Region! Let's take a glimpse at our College Basketball odds series where our Oakland-Kentucky prediction and pick will be made.

Champions of the Horizon League after edging out the Milwaukee Panthers 83-76 last weekend as the top-seeded team, Oakland would want nothing more to spoil Kentucky's season as a possible Cinderella team. Led by longtime head coach Greg Kampe who has been the man at the helm for a whopping 39 seasons including helping the program win their first ever NCAA Tournament game back in 2005. With a record of 23-11 overall, can the Grizzlies pull off the unimaginable?

Meanwhile, there is no doubt that all of the pressure is on the shoulders of Kentucky heading into this year's tournament. Although head coach John Calipari has already established himself as one of the nation's elite head coaches, he has failed to advance to at least the Sweet Sixteen round in four consecutive seasons and has not made a Final Four appearance since 2014-2015. After the Wildcats amassed a 23-9 regular season record including a fourth-place finish in a competitive SEC Conference, Kentucky is chomping at the bit to go on a deep run in this tournament.

Here are the college basketball odds, courtesy of FanDuel. 

March Madness Odds: Oakland-Kentucky Odds

Oakland: +13.5 (-104)

Moneyline: +720

Kentucky: -13.5 (-118)

Moneyline: -1200

Over: 162.5 (-115)

Under: 162.5 (-105)

How to Watch March Madness 

Time: 7:10 ET/4:10 PT

TV: CBS

Stream: fuboTV (Click for free trial)

Why Oakland Will Cover The Spread/Win

Although they are entering this first-round contest as +13.5 point underdogs, it is safe to say that this Grizzlies squad is more than battle-tested. Already battling it out with respectable opponents earlier in the season such as Ohio State, Drake, and Illinois, don't plan on expecting Oakland to be shell-shocked by the sheer talent that Kentucky boasts prior to tip-off.

In order to make this a ballgame and give the Wildcats everything they can handle, it is without question that Oakland will need its top players to be at their very best. All in all, this includes forward Trey Townsend who is a dynamic playmaker on the floor. A jack-of-all-trades if you will, Townsend is hands down the one name on this Oakland roster to watch out for. He is the Grizzlies leading scorer with 16.9 points per game and saved his best game for last when he erupted for a colossal 38 points in the championship win over Milwaukee. As long as Townsend can continue this hot streak, then Oakland will have a chance to do something special.

Why Kentucky Will Cover The Spread/Win

At this point in time, Kentucky's bread and butter is obviously on the offensive end of the floor. For those old enough to remember, John Calipari's early days in Lexington saw him churn out defensive-oriented squads that wreaked havoc in creating turnovers thus translating to points. However, that identity has completely shifted all these years later. Now, these Wildcats will run you out of the gym offensively if you're not careful.

At first glance, Kentucky averages a stupendous 89.4 points per game which is the third-most in all of college basketball. On the season, Kentucky has scored at least 100 points in five separate games and are backed by firecracker Antonio Reeves who is dropping 20 points per contest on average. A senior out of Chicago, Illinois, Reeves has been a bucket-getter for two straight years now in a Kentucky uniform and was an explosive playmaker at Illinois State for a trio of years before transferring to Lexington. Impressively enough, he has shot at least 50% from three in back-to-back games and could prove to be a thorn in Oakland's side by the time this game hits triple zeroes.

In one way or another, Calipari just needs his troops to buy in defensively. To say this unit is horrendous is an understatement, as the three-seed in the South Region of this tournament gives up close to 80 points per game. They don't need to be perfect, but if they gain some confidence in this facet of the game, then they'll be even more dangerous.

Final Oakland-Kentucky Prediction & Pick

March is finally here! Can you feel it? While many bettors and bracket selectors may be tempted to take Oakland here, it is hard to imagine that they will be able to keep up with the firepower of Kentucky's offense.

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Final Oakland-Kentucky Prediction & Pick: Kentucky -13.5 (-118)