It took the Kentucky Wildcats time to figure out who they were this season. The roster is filled almost entirely with underclassmen, which caused plenty of growing pains. However, John Calipari’s team has finally clicked offensively, averaging 81.6 points in its last 10 games while shooting at least 50 percent from the floor on six occasions. This has led to the OVER going 9-1 in those games – including both contests in the NCAA Tournament. Can Kentucky continue its torrid pace against Kansas State in the Sweet 16 on Thursday?
- Kentucky is 6-0 SU and ATS in its last 6 games as a favorite of 6.0 or less.
- Kentucky is 1-3 SU in its last 4 games against the Big 12.
- Kansas State G Barry Brown is 15-for-18 from the FT line during the tournament.
The biggest individual reason for Kentucky’s surge has been the rise to prominence of freshman Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Since the beginning of the SEC tournament, Gilgeous-Alexander is averaging 18.2 points, 5.5 assists and 4.8 rebounds while shooting 57.1 percent from the floor. With that being said, Kentucky simply is not much of a deep threat. UK has shot 7-for-21 so far in the NCAA Tournament, which is not an anomaly considering the Wildcats hit just 36 percent of their threes during the regular season.
It has been a tale of two games for Kansas State so far in this tournament. The Wildcats dominated a tough Creighton team in the Round of 64 despite playing without their best player but then played one of the ugliest games of basketball you’ll ever see in a victory over UMBC in the Round of 32. Against Creighton, K-State played amazing perimeter defense while the offense was carried by a platoon of players. Against UMBC, K-State shot 1-for-12 from beyond the arc and had 18 turnovers. Which team will show up Thursday?
Kansas State Wildcats vs Kentucky Wildcats Matchup
Team Betting Records & Power Rankings
The Kentucky Wildcats are 26-10 so far on the season, and 19-17 vs the number. The Kansas State Wildcats, meanwhile, are 24-11 and 15-17 ATS. OVER/UNDER bettors have seen Kentucky go 22-14 and Kansas State go 11-20-1 on betting totals.
Kentucky sits at No. 161 in the current college hoops power poll here at OddsShark, while Kansas State is No. 224 on the same chart.
Statistical Matchup
The game also pits Kentucky's No. 64-ranked offense, averaging 77.28 PPG, against a Kansas State defense that ranks No. 39 at 66.91 PPG. Kentucky's field-goal percentage has averaged 47.37% so far, more than the Kansas State marksmen have achieved on the year, 47.03% per game.
Recent Outings Betting Recap
Kansas State grabbed a 50-43 win over the Retrievers on Sunday, behind an 18-point effort from Barry Brown at Spectrum Center.
The battle between Kentucky and the Bulls didn't turn out to be much of a battle at all as Buffalo was handed a 95-75 defeat on Saturday at Taco Bell Arena.
