Coach John Calipari feels his top-ranked Kentucky Wildcats probably need to suffer a loss to keep them motivated, but are the Georgia Bulldogs the team to do it?
Kentucky visits Georgia as 12.5-point road chalk Tuesday and they own a 5-2 SU and ATS mark in seven recent trips tp face the Bulldogs, who are 10-9 so far on the season, and 7-8 ATS vs. the number.
The Wildcats, meanwhile, are 19-1 but just 5-14 ATS as they have struggled against the spread. OVER/UNDER bettors have seen Georgia go 6-9 and the Wildcats go 7-10-1 on the totals.
View Kentucky vs Georgia Odds and Stats.
Betting Line:
The visitors opened as 12.5-point favorites in this one at most sportsbooks tracked at Odds Shark including Sportsbook. The total sat at 130.5 at Sportsbook earlier.
Power Rankings / Prediction:
The Bulldogs sit at No. 185 in the current college hoops power poll here at Odds Shark, while the Wildcats sit at No. 8 on the same chart. The computers running our scores simulations have concluded that the Wildcats will win this game 86-65.
How They Match Up:
Rating these schools in several key categories is important for handicappers and Georgia has the nation's No. 295-rated offensive output, at 61.9 PPG. The visiting Wildcats defense ranks No. 27 allowing on average 59.7 PPG. The Bulldogs FG% has averaged 39.9% so far, less than the Wildcats marksmen have achieved on the year, 48.5% per game.
Comparing how these foes stack up statistically, Kentucky owns the country's No. 12-rated mark, allowing 58.8 points per game on the highway. Georgia, on the other hand, rates No. 318 in scoring at home.
Last time out for Kentucky, they were a 77-71 Sportsbook as they battled Alabama at home. They failed to cover in the match as a 10-point favorite. Kentucky got 15 points from Terrence Jones en route to a 77-71 victory over Alabama on Saturday at Rupp Arena.
Georgia was a 66-63 loser in its last match at home against Mississippi. They failed to cover the 2.5-point spread as favorites. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored 25 points for Georgia on Saturday, but the Rebels managed a 66-63 victory over the Bulldogs at Stegeman Coliseum.
Kentucky Wildcats Trends:
When playing on Tuesday are 8-2
Before playing LSU are 7-3
After playing Alabama are 6-4
After a win are 10-0
Georgia Bulldogs Trends:
When playing on Tuesday are 5-5
Before playing Auburn are 5-5
After playing Mississippi are 4-6
After a loss are 4-6
A few Wildcats at Bulldogs trends to consider:
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Kentucky's last 5 games on the road
Kentucky is 8-2 SU in its last 10 games on the road
Kentucky is 12-4 SU in its last 16 games when playing on the road against Georgia
Kentucky is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Georgia's last 5 games when playing Kentucky
Georgia is 5-2 SU in its last 7 games at home
Georgia is 2-5 ATS in its last 7 games when playing at home against Kentucky
Georgia is 4-12 SU in its last 16 games when playing Kentucky
Next up:
Kentucky at LSU, Saturday, January 28
Georgia at Auburn, Wednesday, February 1
