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Indiana vs. Kentucky NCAA Tournament Preview & Free Pick

Bet On NCAA Basketball: Hoosiers (4) vs Wildcats (1)

Kentucky has lost two games all year long and one of them was to the Indiana Hoosiers. The Hoosiers beat the Wildcats 73-72 in Bloomington earlier this year thanks to a Christian Watford three-pointer at the buzzer.  

NCAA Tournament Matchup: Indiana vs. Kentucky
South Region
Location: Atlanta, GA
Time/TV: 9:45 PM EST on CBS
College Basketball Gambling Odds from Bookmaker
NCAA Basketball Betting Favorite: Kentucky -9
Over/Under: 146.5

Matchup | Preview

Kentucky is the top overall seed in this tournament and Coach Cal’s team is playing terrific basketball right now.

They’ll have a strong home court advantage in Atlanta. Can Indiana do the unthinkable twice or will the Cats bounce back with a big win to reach the Elite Eight?

Indiana trailed VCU for most of the game in their Round of 32 matchup, but the Hoosiers came up with some huge plays in the final minutes and squeaked out a 63-61 win. Cody Zeller and Christian Watford led the way with 16 points in that game.

Zeller is one of the best freshmen in the nation, and he will have to be tremendous in this game.

Indiana doesn’t have much depth down low, and they’ll need Zeller to play a lot of minutes in this game. Indiana shoots 44% from beyond the arc as a team. They have to be hot from three-point range in this one, because Kentucky won’t let them get to the rim. [soliloquy id=”82219″]

Kentucky blew Iowa State out of the water with a huge second half run. The Wildcats are led by Player of the Year favorite Anthony Davis. Davis leads the nation in blocked shots with 165. He also leads the team in scoring and rebounds.

Davis averages 14.3 points and 10.1 boards per game. Doron Lamb is a sharp shooter from the outside. He knocks down 47% from three-point range. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and Terrence Jones are both versatile forwards who are extremely difficult to matchup with.

Marquis Teague was considered a liability at the point guard early in the year by many experts, but he has blossomed into a very nice player of late. Teague racked up 24 points and 7 assists in the team’s win over Iowa State.

It is the Kentucky defense that has carried them this far. The Wildcats are first in the nation in field goal percentage defense. Opponents shoot just 37% from the floor against Kentucky.

Indiana may hang around for a while in this one, but I have to think Kentucky will be highly motivated and ready to go this time around.

Free College Basketball Pick: Kentucky -9
Prediction: Kentucky 77 Indiana 66

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By Kyle Hunter

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