Providence vs. Kentucky Bracket Prediction: March Madness Odds
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Jeremy Perry
The Providence Friars made the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament last season. They will try to make another deep run in March Madness this year under head coach Ed Cooley, who has been rumored as a possible target for the Georgetown Hoyas’ open head coaching position. The Kentucky Wildcats were a bubble team in mid-February, but they closed the season strong. They were awarded with a No. 6 seed in the NCAA Tournament and now hope to make a dark-horse run through the bracket in the East Region.
NCAA Tournament Point Spread and Betting
Providence lost both straight up and against the spread (ATS) all three of their neutral site games this season. They’re 4-10 ATS in their last 14 in that spot. On the year, they were just 7-11 against teams with a winning record and 4-8 as a dog.
Kentucky enters the tournament having covered five of its last seven games. However, this team is not a good bet in neutral site contests. They failed to cover in all five neutral site contests this season and have covered just two of their last 14.
Providence Friars (11)
The Providence Friars were having a really good season until the last two weeks before the NCAA Tournament. They were likely heading for a No. 7 or No. 8 seed until the wheels fell off. It was an odd turn as they hadn’t lost a home game all season until they lost their last two at home. And both results were blowout losses to Xavier and Seton Hall. Providence then fell behind Connecticut by 26 points in the quarterfinals of the Big East Tournament last week before uncorking a 28-5 run which reduced UConn’s lead to three. They did make the game competitive but wound up losing by seven points to the Huskies.
Overall, the general feel is that they seem to have hit a wall. Players were putting forth a lot of effort over the season and the fuel tank suddenly hit empty. With the early loss in the Big East Tournament, however, Providence has gained a full week of rest heading into this game. Maybe that week of rest is exactly what this team needed to reset the dial and come back with a strong performance, which would create a very close game against Kentucky. Ed Cooley is a highly respected coach, but he has a challenge in terms of making sure his players are confident despite their horrid play in recent games.
Kentucky Wildcats (6)
Kentucky was worried in mid-February that it wouldn’t even make the NCAA Tournament after suffering terrible losses to South Carolina and Georgia. The Wildcats simply couldn’t find the right lineup combinations and rotations. Players were not being put in the best possible positions to succeed.
However, in recent weeks, John Calipari made relevant tweaks in his lineup to get the most out of his personnel. The adjustments have worked as Kentucky’s revised lineups as they scored a decisive home-court win over Tennessee, won a big home game against Auburn, and scored a huge road win at Arkansas. They went from a bubble team to being comfortably in the NCAA Tournament. Now we get to see if Kentucky can make the deep run last year’s team failed to make.
PROV
UK