North Carolina Tar Heels at Kentucky Wildcats Betting Preview

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— Saturday, December 18th North Carolina Tar Heels @ Kentucky Wildcats

It has been a wild last 24 hours in the sport of college basketball as a number of teams have been forced to shut down due to COVID-19. The Kentucky Wildcats and North Carolina Tar Heels were not supposed to play Saturday, but they will now after a slew of schedule changes.

North Carolina comes into this game with an overall record of 8-2, and they have won five straight games. The Tar Heels have not played a difficult schedule up to this point, and they still aren’t in the latest AP Top 25 despite the great start.

Kentucky is 7-2 on the year, and the Wildcats are coming into this game with something to prove. Kentucky suffered an upset loss to Notre Dame in their most recent game, and they will have to deal with a blue blood program on Saturday.

The Kentucky Wildcats are slim two-point betting favorites over the North Carolina Tar Heels on Saturday.

Tar Heels Must Defend

If North Carolina is going to find a way to pull off this upset on Saturday, then they have to get some stops on defense. The Tar Heels are giving up nearly 71 points per game, and that might turn into a problem against an explosive Kentucky team.

Caleb Love has been the offensive star for the Wildcats this season as he leads the team with 16.2 points and 3.9 assists per game. Love can make shots for the Tar Heels, but he doesn’t always get a ton of help in that department.

UNC wants to do a ton of scoring in the paint, but they are facing a team with a ton of size and athleticism.

Wildcats Winning With Defense

Coach Calipari finally has some real experience on his roster at Kentucky, and that has helped the Wildcats be a pretty strong defensive team. Kentucky is giving up just 61 points per game this season, and they are also averaging nearly seven steals per game.

The offense has once again been extremely explosive at times, but Kentucky is always better when they are making shots. Sahvir Wheeler has taken over the point guard spot for Kentucky as he is dishing out nearly eight assists per game.

Oscar Tshiebwe has been the biggest star for Kentucky as he is averaging 16.3 points and 14.4 rebounds per game.

Kentucky Cruises Past UNC

Kentucky was all set to take on Ohio State this weekend, and the Wildcats have to feel like they are catching a bit of a break. Even though North Carolina is a solid opponent, Kentucky has some clear advantages in this matchup.

North Carolina wants to score inside, but Kentucky has even better big men than the Tar Heels. Neither team has been shooting the ball well from deep, and that is going to keep the point total down in this matchup.

This should be a pretty close game throughout, but Kentucky just has too many offensive weapons. The Wildcats pick up a win over the Tar Heels to get back on track in front of a national audience.

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