It’s basically the same story for the Kentucky Wildcats this season – a team that is more or less dominated by freshmen, hoping that their “one and done” year doesn’t end with disappointment. On Friday the Wildcats will begin their quest for a national championship in the NCAA Tournament South regional, taking on the Northern Kentucky Norse in a game that will begin at 9:40 PM ET at the Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. CBS televises the game, and while VietBet customers are watching it, they can take part in real-time wagering as they access all that is available through Live Betting Ultra.
March Madness Betting – Kentucky vs Northern Kentucky
In the March Madness betting odds posted on this game by the folks at VietBet, Kentucky is laying a lot of points:
Kentucky Wildcats -20
Northern Kentucky Norse +20
Over 152.5 points -110
Under 152.5 points -110
Join Vietbet NOW for online March Madness Betting! Enter promo code VIET35 good for a 35% Welcome Bonus up to $1,000.
Northern Kentucky comes into this game with a record of 24-10, and they won the Horizon League championship by beating Milwaukee in the final. Of course, Milwaukee had only 11 wins on the season, so that is not necessarily a “statement” game. NKU did move up in class earlier in the season at West Virginia, and lost by a 91-62 count. Needless to say, they’ve got a challenge in facing off against this talent-laden Kentucky squad.
John Calipari did another great job in recruiting, and he has a freshman backcourt that ranks with anything in the country. Malik Monk averaged 21.2 points per game and hit 41% from pre-point range. He is joined by D’Aaron Fox, who tally 15.5 points per contest, but is more of a facilitator back there. Kentucky had a 29-5 record and emerged victorious in the SEC tournament. They are currently fifth in the nation in both major polls.
Northern Kentucky doesn’t necessarily do a whole lot that is outstanding, but they are particularly weak at the free-throw line, shooting a little below 68% on the season. They’re going to have to rely on Drew McDonald, a 6-7 forward who generally supplies a post presence. Of course, Kentucky is going to have a big size advantage here, because they can bring a few reinforcements off the bench.
One guy who accounts for some effective size is Bam Adebayo, 6-10 freshman who got off to a slow start this season but has really come on strong. Adebayo has had the ability to be dominant at times, and you have to wonder how much difficulty Northern Kentucky, which allowed 50.1% shooting from two-point range, is going to have in dealing with him. Remember that the Wildcats are not necessarily a team that relies on its three-point marksmanship, as they’ve taken only 31.6% of their total field-goal attempts from downtown, so expect the likes of Monk and Fox, along with Isaiah Briscoe, to attack the basket on drives.
Kentucky is not accident-prone either; they were among the top 35 teams in the nation in turnover percentage on offense, which is impressive with such a young lineup. And they have the ability to stop the opponent’s three-point attack, allowing just 30.7% from long-range. Kentucky will run, for certain; we doubt that Northern Kentucky can keep pace for very long.
VietBet has a great deal for you, with a generous free play bonus just for signing up, along with reduced juice, which gives you a lot of value when you are doing your March Madness betting…… Deposits can be made a number of different ways, including your Visa card, person-to-person transfers (like Western Union) and the virtual currency of Bitcoin, which offers a lot of privacy and never incurs a transaction fee!