MLB News – 12/20

One of the best college basketball rivalries gets another chapter on Wednesday night, as the Louisville Cardinals visit the Kentucky Wildcats on ESPN. The Cardinals come into this game at 7-4 and unranked, while the Wildcats are 8-2 and ranked in the Top 20. Louisville is coming off a loss to Western Kentucky on Saturday, while Kentucky is coming off a big win against North Carolina. Kentucky has dominated the all-time series with Louisville, leading 37-17, but the Cardinals pulled out a 62-59 home win last season. It was a rare loss for Kentucky head coach John Calipari against Louisville, as his Wildcats are 11-3 in his tenure against the Cardinals. Let’s look at Wednesday’s game and Louisville vs. Kentucky picks.

Louisville Cardinals vs. Kentucky Wildcats

Date and Time: Please note: The game between Kentucky and Louisville was postponed due to COVID and is expected to be rescheduled.

Location: Rupp Arena – Lexington, Kentucky

Louisville at Kentucky TV Coverage: ESPN

The Cardinals are 7-4 SU and 5-6 ATS with five games going over the total and five going under. Louisville is averaging just 70.8 points per game, while they are giving up 65.9 points per contest. Noah Locke leads the team at just 10.5 points per game. Jarrod West leads the team in assists at 3.7 per game, while Malik Williams leads the team with 8.7 rebounds per game.

The Wildcats are 8-2 SU and 4-6 ATS with four games going over the total with six going under. The Wildcats are averaging 82.1 points per game, which is 17^th-best in the country. They are giving up just 62.2 points per game. Oscar Tshiebwe leads the team at 16.3 points per game and 14.2 rebounds per contest, while Sahvir Wheeler leads the team at 7.7 points per game.

Game Notes

Make sure to check on the status of Malik Williams for this game on Wednesday. He missed Saturday’s game against Western Kentucky due to COVID-19 protocols. The Cardinals are simply not the same team without him, as he is one of the top scorers on the team and he leads them in rebounding.

Louisville has struggled mightily at Kentucky in recent seasons, as they have not won at Rupp since 2008. Not only has Louisville struggled straight up at Kentucky, they have also struggled against the spread. The Cardinals are 0-6 SU and 1-5 ATS in their last six games at Kentucky. The games had been low scoring until recently, as six of seven had gone under the total until the last three which have gone over the total. The teams last met at Rupp in 2019 when Kentucky won by a score of 78-70.

Louisville vs. Kentucky Picks

The Cardinals are coming off a bad effort against Western Kentucky, while the Wildcats are coming off their best performance of the season in a win against North Carolina. The public always remember what they saw last so there is going to be a lot of value on Louisville in this game. The Cardinals plus the points would seem to be the right side but make sure to check the status of Malik Williams for Louisville. The Cardinals didn’t look like they could do much without Williams against Western Kentucky and if Williams is out on Wednesday it is going to be really difficult for the Cardinals to be competitive.

Kentucky has been a very good team through the years with Calipari as their head coach but you may noticed that they are not a great favorite. Kentucky has won 8 of their last 10 straight up as favorites, but they are just 4-6 ATS. They have won 9 of their last 10 at home as favorites, but they are just 4-6 ATS. The Wildcats are going to be heavily favored in this game against their bitter rival, but they could struggle to cover the big number. We’ll go with Louisville plus the points but only if Williams is in the lineup.

Make sure to check out the latest college basketball odds at SugarHouse and make your college basketball bets.