Kentucky Wildcats vs Texas A&M Aggies Saturday CBB Preview & Free Pick

College Basketball Preview: Kentucky Wildcats vs Texas A&M Aggies

Written By David Hess (Follow me on Twitter @DavidHess311)

When: 6:30 PM ET, Saturday, February 20, 2016

Where: Reed Arena in College Station, Texas

Lines: PICK

Total: 142

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The Kentucky Wildcats come in rolling as they have won their last four game and all by double digits. Their last game was at home vs Tennessee and they won the game but didn’t cover. The Wildcats didn’t play with a whole lot of energy in the game and you can bet that coach Cal will have them ready here. Kentucky’s is 20-6 overall, but just 5-6 on the road, so they can be beat away from home. Still this has the look of a team that is ready for the stretch run. The Cats are led by freshman Jamal Murray, who averages 19.2 ppg, including 28.3 ppg in his last four games. He has been on a tear, but the defense he faces today will be much tougher than the ones he faced in the last four games. The Cats have scored 80 or more points in four straight games and they average 78.8 ppg on the year, which is 50th in the nation, while hitting 47.3% of their shots, which is 35th in the land. On defense they have allowed just 60.3 ppg in their last four games and just 67 ppg for the year, which is 68th, while letting teams hit just 39.4% of their shots, which is 22nd.

Texas A&M has had a solid season so far as they come in at 19-7 overall and 14-01 at home. Their lone home loss was by just 3 points at home to South Carolina. The Aggies are 8-5 in the SEC and that has them two games behind the Wildcats. The Aggies did start the year strong and were ranked in the top 10 at one point, but they have lost four of their last five games, with that win coming at home vs Ole Miss in their last game. They trailed that game 20-11 early on, but outscored the Rebs 60-36 the rest of the way. That is what this team has done at home for most of the year as they have outscored their foes by 17.9 ppg on this floor. The Aggies have done it this year with a stifling defense that ranks 38th in the nation in points allowed, giving up just 65.4 ppg, while allowing teams to hit just 40.5% of their shots, which is 52nd. On offense they are led by Danuel House, who averages 15.6 ppg. As a team the Aggies are 120th in scoring at 75.9 ppg and 93rd in shooting, at 45.8%.

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[577] Kentucky Pk Over Texas A&M

Going with the Cats in this one. They are playing far better ball right now than the Aggies are and if South Carolina can beat Texas A&M on this floor then so can a Kentucky that crushed the Gamecocks on their own floor. Texas A&M is a solid defensive team, especially at home, but Kentucky’s offense rolling right now and should be able to do damage vs it. The Cats lacked some energy in their last game, but that will not happen here. The Aggies are at home and they will be fired up, but they just won’t have the horses to get the job done vs a much more sound Kentucky team in this one.   

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Kentucky Wildcats vs Kansas Jayhawks College Basketball Betting Preview & Free Pick

College Basketball Preview: Kentucky Wildcats vs Kansas Jayhawks

Written By David Hess (Follow me on Twitter @DavidHess311)

When: 7:00 PM ET, Saturday, January 30, 2016

Where: Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence, Kansas

Lines: Kansas -5

Total:  148

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This is part of the SEC/ Big 12 Challenge and it should be a great game and could be a preview of a Final Four game. The Kentucky Wildcats are not the dominant team they were last year, but they are starting to show signs of putting it all together. The Cats will have a game vs Missouri prior to this game, but in their last two games they topped a very good Arkansas team on the road by 14 and then crushed Vanderbilt at home by 19. Jamal Murray (17.8) and Tyler Ulis (15.3 ppg) are the only two player on the team that average in double figures, while the Cats have seven players overall that average at least 6.2 ppg. Not a terribly deep team. The Cats ar a very solid offensive team as they rank 95th in the nation in scoring, putting up 77.4 ppg, while hitting 46.8% of their shots, which is 52nd. They do struggle from long range (283rd) and from the charity stripe (264th), so they are not perfect on offense. On defense they are a strong team as well, ranking 78th in points allowed (67.1 ppg), 61st in defensive FG% (40.5%) and 73rd in 3-point defense (31.9%).

The Kansas Jayhawks come in at 16-4 on the year but they have been very mediocre of late as they are just 2-3 in their last five games. They come into this one off a tough 85-72 loss at Iowa State in a game they led for about three quarters of, before the Cyclones finished the game on a tear. The Jayhawks have been very inconsistent in Big 12 play and that was just another instance of that. The Jayhawks have 8 players that average at least 4.0 ppg and are led by Perry Ellis, who puts up 16.6 ppg. Wayne Selden (14.6 ppg) Frank Mason (13.4 ppg) and Devonte Graham (10.4 ppg) round out the double digit scorers on the team. The Jayhawks check in at 13th in the nation in scoring, putting up 83.7 ppg, 21st in shooting (48.6%) and 5th in three-point shooting (43%). The numbers look good overall, but a closer look shows that they have averaged just 69.1 ppg in their last six games in big 12 play. They really built their numbers up on weak non-conference opponents. Defensively, Kansas has been decent as they allow 69.2 ppg (137th), but on just 40.5% shooting, which is 64th.

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[622] Kansas/ Kentucky Under 148

The Kansas offense has been very average of late and both teams can play very good defense. Kentucky is a solid offensive team, but they are not a high tempo squad either. This should also be a close game throughout and that usually means walking the ball up the court during the last eight to 10 minutes or so of the game. This game really has the feel of a 69-66 type final score. I do not see this one hitting the 140’s at all.     

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Kentucky vs. Auburn - 10/15/15 College Football Pick, Odds, and Prediction

Auburn Tigers (3-2) at Kentucky Wildcats (4-1)Thursday, October 15, 2015 at 7:00 pm (Commonwealth Stadium)
The Line: Kentucky Wildcats +2 -- Over/Under: See the Latest Odds

TV: ESPN

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Written by Mike “The Scientist” Singer (Follow me on Twitter @TheScientistSBC) 

(Singer's Rockstar Rating: 2 out of 5 stars)

This should be a fun one to watch... these two teams haven't played since 2010 when Randall Cobb was a jr wideout, and the National Champ Auburn (ranked #8 when they played) team narrowly escaped Lexington with a W, 37-34.

UK is a team that keeps getting better since Mark Stoops took over two years ago, and are looking to improve, record-wise for the third straight season (2-10 in 2013, 5-7 in 2014).  The Wildcats are coming off of a bye week after squeaking past a strong FCS Eastern Kentucky (ranked #17 in FCS) in their last game, getting off to a quick 4-1 start to the season.  Hopefully, this UK team can keep it going unlike their 2014 campaign in which they started off 5-1 before dropping their final 5 SEC games, and then lost their 6th straight to rival Louisville... but on the plus side, everyone got free Papa John's pizza after the game (played at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium).

Experience from 13 returning starters and possibly their best recruiting class EVER, this team is on the up and up. They are averaging 26 points and 365.5 yards per game but tend to give the ball back to opposing teams, ie 7TOs in 5gms.  UK QB Patrick "Don't throw in the"Towles does have an impressive completion percent at 61.5 along with 8 TDs and 6 INTs, plus 3 rushing TDs. 

Towles has gotten better each of his first 3 yrs. and definitely knows his Harry Potter trivia (and my wife says easy on the eyes): http://bit.ly/1RdjQR4

 "Here comes the" BOOM Williams is Kentucky's leading rusher with 343 yards, along with backup Jojo "Don'tcall me Perry" Kemp has 246 yards. Dorian Baker is their #1 wideout who has a unique combo of size and speed, reminding me of a young Sterling Sharpe.  He's caught 24 balls from Towles with 3 TDs... They’re slowly becoming a dynamic duo, um QB to WR that is...

 Kentucky's D has been formidable, and is allowing 21.8 points along with 368.4 ypg w/ 4 INTs, 3 fumble recoveries, and ten sacks. It's been led by Sr. ILB Josh Forrest, with 49 tackles & 2.5 sacks, CJ Johnson , and Sr. LB Khalid Henderson (9 stops vs Florida).

CJ Johnson who broke Kentucky DL tackling record with 19 vs EKU

Overall, despite an impressive record thus far, the jury has yet to come back with a verdict on this Kentucky team.  Let's face it, they've had problems moving the ball at times, as in their matchup with South Carolina.  They only have 93 first downs on the season – ranked 114th in the nation.  Yes, Throw in the Towles has been decent, but that’s mainly because it's been forced to throw (down 10-7 to Mizz in 3rd and down 27-13 to EKU in 4th), and 8 TD runs in 5wks is solid, but the offense doesn’t really move.  Auburn is playing very similar ball, with someone its own size offensively with just 100 first downs of its own.

For Gus Malzahn's Auburn squad, that comes squeaking in with a 3-2 record, it seems like a distant memory from their 2013 12-2 SEC Championship, in which they lost the BCS Championship to #1 Florida 31-34.

Last year, Auburn suffered a similar collapse to Kentucky in the 2nd half of their season, losing 5 of their final 8 games, finishing 8-5.  It's going to take a miracle for this team without an identity (or clear starting QB) to finish at or above '14 win total.

The Auburn offense is turning the ball over at an alarming rate of 2pg (although many of those were Jr QBs 6 INTs thru the 1st 3 gms), with 24.6 ppg & 343.8 ypg. 

Malzahn made the switch to Fr.QB Sean White from Jr. Jeremy Johnson, after week 3's loss at Baton Rouge, 45-21.  Everyone knows how solid LSU is this year with probably the Heisman POY in Leonard "Part 6" Fournette.  So, was this an over-reaction by Malzahn? Yes, probably.  Sean White is 1-1 as a starter in the last two weeks (close loss to MSU 9-17 and a WEAK SJSU squad who they allowed to hang around the entire game, 34-21).  White's impressive 68.4% completion I believe is a bit skewed, as he's only thrown the ball 38 times, 0TDs and 1 INT (on his first collegiate drive).  

SO, Malzahn refuses to say who's going to start at QB.  Johnson has reportedly worked harder in practice and the players want him back, but White hasn't done anything to really lose the job, either.  It's MOST likely that both QBs get in this game at some point no matter what happens, which always works out so nicely when switching QBs mid-game... I'm looking at you ECU Pirates!  Geez, pick a QB for crying out loud, it's not like picking your mate, for life, under the eyes of the almighty, creator of heaven and earth.  Then again, it is Auburn football, be all, end all to a lot of fans for an entire year, so forgive me Tigers fans for denigrating your coaches indecisiveness.

Here's a good article for Coach Malzahn: http://elitedai.ly/1taaLO7 9 ways to overcome indecisiveness. My personal favorite is #9: Flip a Coin.

The Tiger's better get their running game in full gear for this one because I really think Kentucky's D is on par with MSU (only scored 9pts, 296 combined yards passing in last 2gms).  rFr. RB Peyton "don't call me KiKi, or Manning" Barber leads the Tigers ground attack with 558 yards and 6 TDs.  Their D is allowing 25.4ppg & 412ypg w/ 4INTs, 2 fumble recoveries, & 7 sacks.  FS "Rudy" Ford leads the Tigers D w/ 49 tcks, and Sr. LB Cassanova “Loverboy” McKinzy.

Cassanova “Loverboy” McKinzy has 36 tcks w/ 3 sacks... Wife's assessment: "He's no Denzel"

Overall, for the Tigers, they haven't lived up to their hype, and need to turn a corner fast.  There’s no fear whatsoever of Auburn throwing the ball down the field as the passing attack stunk before, but now without D’haquille "Punchy" Williams around, there really aren’t any deep threats for the solid UK secondary to worry about.   Auburn will try, and it’ll have used the time off to prepare to do more to get the offense going, but the Wildcats have had time off, too. This might not be a consistent or a brick wall of a defense, but it’s been effectively stronger than the stats show and did a nice job of slowing down a slew of bad offenses.

OVER-OVERALL

Auburn's offense straight up stinks. There's not going to be a lot of points in this game as both teams will struggle for the first down marker and move the ball.  I think Coach Malzahn needs to take another look at that list, "9 ways..." and come face to face with #1 after this game: Learn About Yourself.  The Auburn Tigers will be reeling after tonight and will be desperate to learn more about themselves after taking it on the chin from Kentucky... 13-6.  Yes, maybe that's a little low but Kentucky wins SU, take the +110 ML and also...i.e. I'm comfortable taking the under 52.

Singer’s Rock(2)star pick: Kentucky ML

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