#8 Miami vs #12 Kentucky College Basketball Betting Odds & Game Trend

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New this year to college basketball via ESPN is the inaugural ACC/SEC Men’s Basketball Challenge, a multi-night event that matches men’s teams from two of the top conferences. 2023 NCAA Basketball Betting & Expert Analysis #8 Miami vs. #12 Kentucky | MyBookie Sportsbook College Basketball Regular Season: November 6, 2023 – March 17, 2024 | Week 4 NCAAB

It takes place both Tuesday and Wednesday at campus sites. No doubt the marquee matchup on Tuesday is No. 8 Miami at No. 12 Kentucky, which is a solid favorite on the NCAAB odds.

How to Bet Miami at Kentucky NCAA Basketball Odds & TV Info

When: Tuesday, 7:30 PM ET
Where: Rupp Arena
TV: ESPN
Stream: ESPN+
Radio: Tunein.com
Opening NCAAB Lines: Kentucky -6 (total 165.5)

Series History

Miami and Kentucky have met just four times before in program history and thrice since the program rebirth in 1985. Kentucky holds the 3-1 edge in the all-time series (2-1 since rebirth), with Miami’s lone victory coming the last time the Hurricanes played at Rupp Arena on Dec. 6, 2008.

Why Bet on Miami Hurricanes?

The Hurricanes (5-0) have been off since a 91-83 win over Kansas State on Nov. 19. Tournament MVP Nijel Pack scored 20 of his 28 points in the first half against his former school to lead the Canes to the Baha Mar Hoops Bahamas championship. Norchad Omier scored 23 for the Hurricanes. Wooga Poplar and Matthew Cleveland each scored 15 for Miami. The difference was 3-point shooting — Miami was 12 of 24 from beyond the arc, Kansas State just 4 of 28. Pack’s seven 3’s tied his best in a Miami uniform; he had eight on two occasions while playing for the Wildcats.

“I think everybody knows that Nijel was probably extremely well motivated because he had been a player for the Kansas State Wildcats,” Miami coach Jim Larranaga said. Pack spent his first two college seasons at Kansas State, averaging 15.3 points and 2.9 assists in 53 games there.

Miami, one of the more experienced teams in the nation, is right there with the Wildcats as one of the fastest, most efficient offenses in the nation ranking No. 13 in points per game, No. 9 in field goal percentage, and No. 1 in three-point percentage. The U is 346th nationally in bench minutes (20.6%) as Coach Jim Larranaga plays only about seven players a game. That’s a short bench.

UM is one of 24 Division I teams (one of two ACC) who have yet to suffer a loss this season. Two Hurricanes have scored in double figures in every game in Cleveland and Poplar. Miami ranks 11th in the nation in adjusted offensive efficiency and are averaging just 15.2 seconds per possession.

Tuesday will be the 39th time in program history that both Miami and its opponent are ranked in the AP Top 25. UM is 44-65 all-time against SEC opponents (in the SEC at the time of the game) and 9-40 when playing on the road. Since the program rebirth (1985-86), the Hurricanes have posted a 14-22 record against SEC teams and a 4-11 mark in away games. Until this season, Miami competed in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, boasting a 9-6 all-time record and an 8-3 mark under Coach L.

Miami is 67-186 all-time against Associated Press ranked teams and 19-82 when playing those teams on the road. Under Coach L, the Hurricanes sit at 29-61 against ranked opponents with a 9-25 mark in away games. Miami’s last victory over a ranked opponent came in the Elite Eight of the 2023 NCAA Tournament, an 88-81 defeat of No. 5 Texas on March 26.

Coach Larranaga and Kentucky’s John Calipari are two of the winningest coaches in Division I men’s basketball combining for 1,525 career victories. Coach L (730) and Coach Calipari (795) are two of seven active DI coaches with at least 725 victories, joining Cliff Ellis (829), Rick Barnes (783), Bill Self (777), Kelvin Sampson (739) and Dana Altman (735). Both Coach L and Coach Calipari have totaled 150-plus wins at three DI schools, making up half of the legendary group of four coaches (three active) who have done so, alongside Lefty Driesell and Cliff Ellis.

Bet Miami to Win
MyBookie Betting Lines for NCAAB

Why Bet on Kentucky Wildcats?

Kentucky (5-1) last played Friday and won 118-82 over Marshall. D.J. Wagner had a season-high 28 points, most by a Wildcat this season and his second straight 20-point game. He added five assists and three steals. Wagner was named SEC Freshman of the Week. The award is the first weekly SEC honor for a Wildcat this season. Kentucky has dominated the weekly SEC awards with John Calipari at the helm. UK has won more weekly SEC honors (126) than any other school during the Calipari era, including 95 SEC Freshman of the Week awards and 31 SEC Player of the Week honors.

For the season, Wagner is averaging 14.5 points, 3.7 assists and 1.7 steals per game. Antonio Reeves had 23 points, including five 3-pointers, and has scored double figures in every game this season. It is his fourth 20-point game of the campaign.

The 118 points were the most scored at UK under John Calipari, topping the 115 scored against Arizona State on Nov. 28, 2016. It was UK’s second 100-point game of the season and 21st century score of the Calipari era. The 45 field goals and 16 3-pointers are the second-most of the Calipari era.

UK has scored at least 81 points in all six games this season, the first time that has happened to open a season since 1970-71. Kentucky had six players score in double figures, the first time that has happened since Nov. 12, 2021 against Robert Morris. It was the fourth game this season that at least five players tallied double figures. Kentucky shot 60.8% from the field (45 of 74). It is UK’s third straight game over 50% and second this season of at least 60%.

Kentucky made 16 of 27 from 3-point land, the Wildcats’ fourth straight game of double-figure threes. The last time UK made at least 10 threes in four straight games was February 2016, when the Wildcats had a five-game streak of 10+ threes. UK has made at least 12 3-pointers in four straight games, the first time that has happened since December 1989.

Six games into the season, Kentucky has excelled on the offensive end of the floor. UK ranks fourth in the country, averaging 94.3 points per game, is shooting 42.5 percent from three, which also ranks fourth best in America and has six players averaging over 10.0 points per game. However, on the defensive end, with the 6-foot-9 Tre Mitchell, the team’s tallest healthy player, UK, is allowing 72.2 points per game, which ranks 205th in America, and have just a +1.8 rebound differential, ranking 179th in the country.

The Wildcats expect to be immediately improved defensively while still playing at a fast pace once 7-foot-1 freshman Aaron Bradshaw is ready. The five-star freshman and 2023 McDonald’s All-American Aaron Bradshaw is close to making his Wildcat debut but it will not be in this game. Bradshaw broke his foot and underwent surgery in June.

“Aaron’s been practicing but just not live,” Calipari confirmed after UK’s win over Marshall. “He’s been with us for 5 on 0, drill work, all of that kind of stuff. He is just not the competitive man-on-man, body-to-body. We just haven’t started with him on that.”

Bet Kentucky to Win
MyBookie Betting Lines for NCAAB

College Basketball Game Trends #8 Miami vs #12 Kentucky

Kentucky 82, Miami 80

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