Kansas State vs. Kentucky Pick
Can No. 9 Kansas State stop the new region favorite, No. 5 Kentucky, when the two meet up tonight in the regional semifinal of the NCAA Tournament?
GAME SNAPSHOT
NCAA Tournament South Region: (813) Kansas State vs. (814) Kentucky
Thursday, March 22, 2018
Location: Philips Arena, Atlanta, Georgia
TV: CBS, 9:37PM ET
CURRENT ODDS
According to oddsmakers at YouWager, Kentucky is favored in this game, as the Wildcats are getting odds of -5.5 points against Kansas State. The over/under total is currently listed at 136.5 points.
LINE MOVEMENT
The spread opened with Kentucky as a 5-point favorite. It never got lower than that as it climbed to 6.5 points during the week before falling back to 5.5. The over/under total opened at 138.5 points and peaked at 139 before falling back to 136.5.
Bet on College Basketball for Thursday, March 22, 2018
PUBLIC BETTING INFORMATION
The public is behind Kentucky tonight. As of Thursday morning, the Wildcats getting 72 percent of the wagers on this game as the favorite against Kansas State.
KEY INJURIES
Both teams have players on the injury report for tonight’s game. Kentucky forward Jarred Vanderbilt is listed as questionable for the game due to an ankle injury. He averages 5.9 points and 7.9 rebounds per game for the Wildcats. Kansas State forward Dean Wade is probable to play tonight despite a foot injury. Wade is averaging 16.5 points and 6.3 rebounds per game for K-State.
BETTING STRATEGIES
Kentucky has defeated Davidson and Buffalo thus far in the tournament, covering the spread in both cases. Kansas State has picked up wins over Creighton and UMBC last week, failing to cover in the 50-43 win over UMBC.
UK comes into tonight’s game on a five-game win streak and winners in nine of its last 10. It also has covered the spread in those nine victories. Kansas State is just 4-3 in its last seven overall and 3-4 against the spread during that stretch.
K-State won the NCAA lottery in that it got to benefit from the first 16 seed upsetting a 1 seed. The Wildcats got to play UMBC after the emotional victory and were able to advance despite not really being a top-16 team. Kentucky has beaten a pair of double-digit seeds as well, but UK clearly has the talent to win. Over their last five, Kentucky is putting up just under 80 points per game and allowing just 66.4 per contest. I don’t see K-State being able to match up athletically with Kentucky.
NCAA TOURNAMENT PREDICTIONS: KENTUCKY -5.5