Tonight, an in-state rivalry match will bring the state of Kentucky to a standstill when the No. 9 Kentucky Wildcats visit the Louisville Cardinals in what may well be a college basketball bloodbath. It’s time for the Battle of the Bluegrass.
Sure, the 5-6 Cardinals aren’t great this year by any stretch. Meanwhile, the 8-2 Wildcats are in the conversation to win the SEC or make it to the Final Four. But it’s a rivalry with the whole state watching. Maybe it’ll be a blowout, but we expect Louisville to bring everything they’ve got.
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Kentucky vs. Louisville Odds and Preview
The game tips off Thursday at 6 p.m. ET at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville. Tune in on ESPN to watch the action unfold. Before we dive into our game preview, let’s take a quick look at the betting odds for this matchup.
Betting Odds for Kentucky vs. Louisville
Oddsmakers are favoring Kentucky in this one, as the Wildcats find themselves as 13.5-point favorites on most sports betting platforms. The Wildcats have moneyline odds of -1100, while Louisville has moneyline odds of +680. The total, or over/under, is listed at 157.5.
Kentucky is rolling
The Wildcats climbed from No. 14 to No. 9 after beating the UNC Tar Heels on Saturday. Other than a glitchy loss to UNC Wilmington in early December, the Wildcats have only one other loss, and that was to Kansas, the No. 1 team in the country at the time.
Kentucky’s high-powered offense is driven by Antonio Reeves and Rob Dillingham. Reeves is averaging 17.1 points per game, TreMitchell is averaging 6.2 boards, and Dillingham and averaging 4.5 assists.
Overall, this John Calipari squad is averaging 90.2 points per game compared to Louisville’s 74.5.
Louisville…is not
This Louisville team looks pretty even on paper so far this season with a 5-6 record. But they have just a 9-34 record over the last season and a half under the coaching direction of Kenny Payne – a former Kentucky assistant.
Payne is on the hot seat, and this matchup doesn’t look good for him or his team. Calipari is 12-1 against his former assistants.
However, there are glimmers of hope. While their record doesn’t necessarily show it, the Cards have shown they can keep up with good teams. They lost in a buzzer-beater to No. 19 Texas and kept games close in their losses against Virginia Tech and Indiana.
Kentucky fans travel well, and with such a short distance between Lexington and Louisville, we fully expect Big Blue Nation to paint the KFC Yum! Center blue on Thursday night.
