Kentucky March Madness Odds: Should You Be Backing the Wildcats To Win the East?
Kentucky March Madness Odds: Should You Be Backing the Wildcats To Win the East?
The Kentucky Wildcats are the number two seed in the East in the region where the defending champions, the Baylor Bears, are sitting comfortably with the one seed. Kentucky is currently one of the best offenses in the nation but defensively, is Kentucky good enough to win the East region and make a run at the NCAA Tournament? Below are some of the odds on Kentucky, if you're looking to bet them.
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First Round Game
Spread: Kentucky (-110) (Bet $110 to Win $100) Moneyline (-4000) vs. 15. St Peter's
The Kentucky Wildcats shouldn't have any problems with St. Peter's. The Peacocks aren't an overwhelming offense, shooting just a 47.8% effective field goal percentage on the year. Kentucky defends the three well, allowing just 30.3% from deep and inside, the Wildcats are allowing just 47.2%. Kentucky also dominates the offensive glass and while turnovers on the defense aren't very high, St. Peter's will make mistakes on the offensive end against a powerhouse like Kentucky. However, the Peacocks can defend very well and that could stun Kentucky a little bit. Teams shot just 29.4% from deep and 44% from inside the arc against St. Peter's. So that's something to think about. Maybe the spread isn't the way to go with Kentucky in this one.
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Final Four
Kentucky +240 (Bet $100 to Win $240)
For Kentucky, it's not going to be easy to win the East Region. Kentucky will have to face a very good mid-major team in the second round between the Murray State Racers or the San Francisco Dons. After that, there are teams like Purdue, Virginia Tech, and Texas that could be a threat to Kentucky as well. Kentucky's defense might not be good enough to win the whole tournament but until Kentucky faces Baylor, things should still work out in its favor. Right now, Baylor and Kentucky have the same odds at winning the East Region so, therefore, Kentucky has some value as the two-seed to make it to the Final Four. The Wildcats wouldn't be +240 against Baylor in the Elite Eight.
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National Championship
Kentucky +850 (Bet $100 to Win $850)
Oddsmakers like Kentucky's road to the National Championship game. Kentucky has the third-highest odds to win the National Championship despite being a two-seed in the East Region. I'm not so sure Kentucky can dominate Baylor if it gets to that point. Again, the Wildcats don't earn many turnovers. Therefore if a team gets hot from the field, Kentucky could be upset and thrown out of the tournament.
Jason grew up an avid sports fan. His passion for sports writing grew in high school and he developed a blog that was strictly for New York Sports. From his work, you will quickly realize that he loves looking at games from an analytical and numbers perspective and hopes to provide you with that same perspective in his articles.