The defending-champion Kentucky Wildcats are off to an 0-4 ATS start to the 2012-13 season and will be looking for their first cover of the year when they host the Baylor Bears Saturday.
Kentucky Wildcats vs Baylor Bears odds: college basketball betting preview
Kentucky is the defending champion in college basketball, but they have not defended the point spread very well so far this season. They face Baylor Saturday aiming to bounce back from a loss to Notre Dame.
Andy Lyons
Kentucky and Baylor are both 4-2 SU through the first six games of the season, but it has been the point guard play - or lack thereof - that has been most worrisome for KU fans and bettors.
Baylor Bears at Kentucky Wildcats (Saturday, 12:30 PM ET) | Matchup Report |
SBNation NCB Odds
Despite losing six players to the 2012 NBA Draft (including the first two players taken, Anthony Davis and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist), Kentucky entered the season at No. 3 in both the AP and Coaches’ Polls with a slew of new star freshmen coming in.
Kentucky fell to No. 8 in the rankings after losing to Duke back on November 13, and will likely drop again next week after Thursday night’s 64-50 loss at Notre Dame.
The Wildcats aren’t the only team coming into this Saturday’s game off a disappointing loss. Baylor was a 17-point favorite over the Charleston Cougars and managed to lose outright at home to them last Saturday. Baylor (1-3 ATS) has had a full week to prepare for Kentucky.
Before Kentucky’s power outage against Notre Dame, the Wildcats ranked ninth in the nation in offensive production with 85.2 points per game. Archie Goodwin (who was averaging 19 PPG) and Alex Poythress (who was averaging 18.4 PPG) combined for just six points against Notre Dame; an ice-cold performance that you likely won’t see repeated any time soon.
Despite its early struggles against strong teams, Kentucky is still one of the favorites to win the NCAA Tournament this season at +500 at most sportsbooks. Baylor, which also entered the season as a Top 25 team in both polls, is currently going off at +3000 to win it all.
Both teams are 4-2 SU, according to the college basketball database and both teams have trended slightly towards the OVER at 2-1 in games which featured a posted total.
Kentucky is 7-0 SU all-time against Baylor, but its last meeting against the Bears before last year’s Elite Eight matchup came in 1979. In last year’s game, Kentucky topped Baylor 82-70 and covered as a 7.5-point favorite. That game went OVER the posted total of 148.
