College Hoops Betting Preview: Kentucky vs. Connecticut

No. 4 Kentucky doesn’t get much time to enjoy last Saturday’s win over No. 11 North Carolina as they face No. 14 Connecticut on Wednesday in the SEC/Big East Challenge at Madison Square Garden in New York (9:35 p.m. ET, ESPN).

The Wildcats are coming off a 68-66 win over the Tar Heels even though they nearly blew a 19-point lead. Part of the reason they struggled in the second half was because superstar guard John Wall developed leg cramps. He missed some time in the second half and wasn’t 100 percent when he returned.

“We are not the same with John Wall hurt,” said head coach John Calipari. “But we have to be. What if he is in foul trouble or hurt? We have to figure out how to win anyway.”

“When coach splits up the teams in practice and I am not out there, everybody just has to work hard and forget that I am not out there,” Wall said.

“We have so many talented players. I appreciate that my teammates want me out there, but when I am not they have more than enough talent to keep rolling.”

Despite those comments, Kentucky will need Wall at full strength if they expect to beat Connecticut on Wednesday. As of 10:15 a.m. ET, this game was listed as a pick’em at SBG Global.

Connecticut is coming off an unimpressive 79-73 win over Harvard on Sunday. Head coach Jim Calhoun was not pleased with his bench play as the reserves scored a total of just four points and had only three rebounds, and one assist.

“We don’t have a bench, we’re faking the bench by bringing Gavin (Edwards) off it,” UConn coach Jim Calhoun said. “We don’t have a bench right now and it’s causing problems.”

Since the Huskies like to play at a fast pace, no bench can be a huge problem. Three of their starters are averaging at least 34 minutes per game.

Here are the college basketball betting stats for Wednesday’s game:

The Wildcats are 11-3-1 ATS in their last 15 vs. the Big East. The Wildcats are 2-5 ATS in their last seven games overall.

The Huskies are 8-3 ATS in their last 11 vs. the SEC. The Huskies are 1-6 ATS in their last seven games overall.

The under is 9-2 in the Wildcats’ last 11 overall. The over is 8-3 in the Huskies’ last 11 overall.

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