College Basketball on Tuesday and we will see the South Carolina Gamecocks travel to Lexington, Kentucky to take on the Kentucky Wildcats. The game is scheduled for a 9:00 pm (Eastern) start time and will be televised on ESPN U. Currently the odds for the game have Kantucky favored by 17.5 points while the total sits at 138.5. Check out Sportsbook Spy to see who the Public is taking on all of today's games.
Analysis: Despite sitting at 12-9 a year after logging a 10-21 record, South Carolina's pace has slowed considerably in SEC play. The Gamecocks have dropped six of eight games since beginning league action, most recently losing a home matchup with Georgia this past Saturday, 67-56. The Gamecocks have struggled shooting the ball against SEC opponents, hitting 39.3 percent from the field, including 31 percent from 3-point range. The Gamecocks are helped by their offensive rebounding average of 12.5 in league play, which ranks second in the conference. Bruce Ellington and Michael Carrera are the only two players scoring in double figures in league play, averaging 10.6 and 10 points, respectively. The Gamecocks' defense, however, has kept them in most games, holding teams to an average of 66 points. First-year coach Frank Martin always has the Gamecocks intense and ready to play, especially for a game against one of the nation's perennial powers. On the season, USC is one of the better scoring team in the SEC, putting up 69.1 ppg, but in its last four losses that number has plummeted to just 52 ppg.
Kentucky's 15-6 record may not seem terribly disappointing, but it definitely hasn't been the type of season a program with its pedigree expects to produce, especially considering its No. 3 preseason ranking and the fact that it is the defending national champion. Things have been looking up of late however, and following a 72-68 overtime win over Texas A&M on Saturday, its 6-2 league ledger has it tied with both Ole Miss and Alabama for second place in the SEC standings. Some of the young Kentucky players seem to be getting used to the college game, especially freshman big man Nerlens Noel, who has upped his scoring average to 11.1 points in SEC play, and sophomore Ryan Harrow, who is averaging 11.5 points in league games. An intimidating freshman big man with a distinctive hair feature for the Wildcats? Sound familiar? No, it's not Anthony Davis, but Noel is quickly becoming just as intimidating on the interior, especially with a 12-block effort in an upset of nationally ranked Mississippi two games ago. Noel is coming off a career-high 19-point effort in Kentucky's 72-68 overtime victory over Texas A&M on Saturday. Having an intimidator in the middle helps the Kentucky defense extend and force turnovers, which lead to easy baskets. League opponents are shooting 38.8 percent against Kentucky, second in the SEC, including a league-best 27.7 percent from 3-point range. Archie Goodwin leads the balanced Wildcats offense with 13 points per game in league play.
Free Pick: The over is 16-5 the last 21 meetings between these teams. but just 3-4 the last 7. South Carolina is having problems scoring right now as they have scored just 92 points in their last 2 games, while on the road this year they have averaged just 60.8 ppg on 38% shooting. Their numbers don't figure to be all that better, as the Cats have allowed just 60 ppg on 37.7% shooting. Kentucky's defense seems to be getting a bit better as they have allowed just 36.4% shooting in their last 5 games. The Cats do average 82 ppg at home, but I feel that South Carolina will be able to slow the pace enough to keep Kentucky under 75 points here, while the Cats defense will hold South Carolina in the 50's. 74-56 sounds about right.
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