UNC Wilmington vs Kentucky Odds, Pick for Saturday

UNC Wilmington vs Kentucky Odds, Pick for Saturday article feature image
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Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images. Pictured: Reed Sheppard (Kentucky)

UNC Wilmington vs Kentucky Odds, Pick

UNC Wilmington Logo
Saturday, Dec. 2
4 p.m. ET
SEC Network
Kentucky Logo
UNC Wilmington Odds
SpreadTotalMoneyline
+17.5
-110
154.5
-110o / -110u
+900
Kentucky Odds
SpreadTotalMoneyline
-17.5
-110
154.5
-110o / -110u
-2000
Odds via BetMGM. Get up-to-the-minute NCAAB odds here.
BetMGM Logo

Below, we have college basketball odds and a pick for UNC Wilmington vs. Kentucky on Saturday, Dec. 2.

Has any team in all of college basketball been more fun to watch than Kentucky so far this season? The young, talented Wildcats play an extremely exciting brand of basketball, and when they play to their ceiling, there simply aren't many teams that can keep up.

However, when they play to their floor, they leave the door open to get upset on any given night.

That was made clear in their overtime victory over Saint Joseph's two weeks ago.

There's hope for UNC Wilmington to follow Saint Joseph's formula and make this game interesting, but it will need to be at its best.

If you like watching clean offensive basketball, you will enjoy this game, as both of these teams are fantastic at taking care of the basketball.

UNC Wilmington ranks 19th in the country at avoiding turnovers, coughing it up on just 13% of its offensive possessions. Kentucky is even better, ranking first overall in the entire sport, turning it over just 10% of the time. That mark is absurdly impressive for a team full of so many freshmen.


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UNC Wilmington Seahawks

This will be by far the toughest test for UNC Wilmington this season. The Seahawks have yet to play a team ranked inside the top 100 in the country on KenPom. Their best win thus far was an overtime victory over Murray State, and they enter this contest 5-2 overall.

One thing that stands out about UNC Wilmington's statistical profile is how little it shares the ball. Made field goals are assisted on just 35% of the time for this team, which ranks all the way down at 356th in the country.

That seems like a recipe for disaster against a Kentucky team that will welcome one-on-one matchups against its supreme collection of talent.

Luckily for UNC Wilmington, this program has a bit of a winning pedigree in recent years. The Seahawks won 27 games two seasons ago and 24 games last season. If Kentucky doesn't jump out to a good start, Wilmington is good enough to keep this interesting.


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Kentucky Wildcats

If last game is any indication, this Kentucky team will roll.

The Wildcats are up to third in the country in Adjusted Offensive Efficiency, and they just have so many different ways they can beat you.

No team in college basketball has a better pair of players off the bench than Rob Dillingham and Reed Sheppard. The freshman duo is averaging 27 points per game and both players are starting to get more and more comfortable every minute they're on the floor.

One concern for John Calipari's group is DJ Wagner's health. Wagner left the win against Miami with an ankle injury, and it remains to be seen if he'll be available for this contest.


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UNC Wilmington vs. Kentucky

Betting Pick & Prediction

Even without Wagner, Kentucky has the talent and the depth to get the win and the cover here.

Kentucky is too good offensively and has all the momentum in the world. It would be surprising if its success against Miami doesn't carry into a decisive victory in this game.

Pick: Kentucky -17.5


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