Despite a late rally from the Davidson Wildcats, the Kentucky Wildcats emerged victorious with a 78-73 victory in the Round of 64 on Thursday, March 15. This was a game where you benefited greatly if you maximized line value. Oddsmakers opened Kentucky as a six-point favorite in this one, but the line moved down to Kentucky -4.5 by tipoff. A shrewd bettor could have played both sides and ended up winning both bets. The game went over the total of 141 despite a first half with just 58 points. The under looked great the whole way, but a whopping 26 points were scored in the final 1:03 to push this over the total.
Kentucky might be facing another set of Wildcats in the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament as it awaits the winner of the Arizona Wildcats and the Buffalo Bulls. The betting odds for that showdown will be released soon by BetDSI Sportsbook. If Arizona wins, expect Kentucky to be a slight underdog in a potential Second Round meeting. If Buffalo pulls off the upset, Kentucky should be a double-digit favorite.
It was impressive to see Kentucky hold on to win this one despite not making a three-point basket the entire game. The Wildcats went 0-6 from downtown as they decided to use their size to get quality baskets inside the arc. They ended up shooting 51 percent from the floor and went to the line often down the stretch as Davidson tried desperately to keep its NCAA Tournament hopes alive. Kevin Knox and Sacha Killeya-Jones salted the game away at the line though by combining to go 18-21 from the stripe.
At the start of the NCAA Tournament, Kentucky was a trendy pick at +2300 to hoist another banner according to the oddsmakers at BetDSI. Arizona was an even more popular pick at +1300, while Buffalo was seen as a massive longshot at 1000-1.
