Last Updated on March 20, 2010 5:06 pm by drew
Kentucky-Wake Pick
Saturday’s NCAA Tournament schedule closes out with a matchup between Wake Forest and Kentucky at 8:05PM ET from New Orleans Arena in New Orleans, Louisiana.
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This contest is part of the East Regional with the Wildcats as the No. 1 seed and the Demon Deacons the No. 9 seed.
Oddsmakers from online sports book Sportsbook.com have made Kentucky 9-point favorites over Wake Forest on Saturday night. The over/under has been set at 143.
Kentucky is seeking is 39th Sweet Sixteen appearance in school history and first since 2005. The Wildcats defeated No. 16 East Tennessee State 100-71 on Thursday. The Wildcats dominated the game, shooting 51 percent from the field while holding their opponents to 35.9 percent shooting. Eric Bledsoe had 29 points on 9 of 11 shooting to lead Kentucky. Patrick Patterson added 22 points while John Wall had 17 points and 11 assists.
Wake Forest has appeared in nine Sweet Sixteens in school history and a win over Kentucky would be their first appearance since 2004. Wake Forest advanced to today’s game with an 81-80 overtime win over Texas on Thursday. Wake held the Longhorns to 37.7 percent shooting but committed 20 turnovers as a team. Wake did win the battle on the boards though, by a 56-31 differential. Ishmael Smith scored 19 points with 12 rebounds and seven assists for Wake while Al-Farouq Aminu had 20 points and 15 rebounds. Tony Woods and Ari Stewart each had 11 points for the Deacons.
The pick for this game comes down to Kentucky’s consistency to play at a high level while Wake Forest is very hot and cold. Look for the Wildcats to jump out quickly, as it did on Thursday. We like Kentucky to cover with the over in this one.
Our NCAA Tournament Free Pick for this matchup is: KENTUCKY -9 and OVER 143
March Madness Betting Trends
Wake Forest is 16-8 SU in its last 24 games
Wake Forest is 2-5 SU in its last 7 games
Kentucky is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
March Madness Injury Report
KENTUCKY
No Injuries Reported
WAKE FOREST
[G] 12/12/2009 – Konner Tucker left the team ( Personal )
March Madness Game Odds
Kentucky Wildcats -9 Over 143
Wake Forest Demon Deacons Under 143
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Posted: 3/20/10 5:06PM ET