The Kentucky Wildcats are 13-0 straight up over their last 13 games played. The Wildcats hope to extend that winning streak and earn a trip to the NCAA tournament’s Elite Eight with a win over the UCLA Bruins this Friday night.
March Madness odds 2017: UCLA, Florida both small Sweet 16 favorites for Friday
UCLA vs. Kentucky and Wisconsin vs. Florida both have tight betting lines.
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No. 2 seed Kentucky is a 1-point underdog at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com. This will be just the third time since the start of the 2014/15 season that Kentucky has been a betting underdog, with the Wildcats going 0-2 SU and against the spread in the last two instances.
The Wildcats survived a tough test against a No. 10 Wichita State squad that many believe should have been seeded much higher, coming away with a 65-62 win as 3-point favorites. Kentucky is 9-3 SU in its last 12 games against Pac-12 opponents.
The Bruins seemed to have lost a bit of momentum in the Pac-12 tournament with a weak win over USC and a double-digit loss to Arizona, but they’ve looked sharp early in the NCAA tournament.
No. 3 UCLA earned a 97-80 win over Kent State in the first round and beat a tough No. 6 Cincinnati team 79-67 as 4-point favorites on Sunday. Now the Bruins turn their attention to Kentucky, who they own a 5-1 ATS record against in the last six meetings between these two teams with a 3-1 SU record in the last four.
As well, the No. 4 Florida Gators are a 1.5-point favorite against the No. 8 Wisconsin Badgers.
Florida has been dominant as a small favorite in recent seasons with a 7-0 SU and ATS record in its last seven games as a favorite of 1.5 points or less per the OddsShark College Basketball Database. Like UCLA, Florida ended the regular season on a low note before bursting onto the scene in the tournament, following up an 80-65 win over East Tennessee State with a 65-39 blowout over Virginia.
Wisconsin was the only team able to send a No. 1 seed home before the Sweet 16, upsetting Villanova 65-62 as 5.5-point favorites. With that win, the Badgers improved to 5-1 SU and ATS over their last six games. The Badgers are 22-5 SU and 18-9 ATS in their last 27 games played in the month of March.
