The South Carolina Gamecocks will try to end a three-game home losing streak and pull off a shocking upset on Wednesday when they host the 10th-ranked Kentucky Wildcats at Colonial Life Arena in Columbia, S.C. The Gamecocks (8-7, 0-2 in SEC) have lost consecutive home games to Houston, Stetson and Florida. In addition, they lost at Tennessee on Saturday, extending their overall losing streak to three.
Meanwhile, the Wildcats (12-3, 3-0 in SEC) have won four straight games, including three straight to open conference play. Kentucky is also 5-2 against the spread in its last seven games as a road favorite. Tip-off is set for 6:30 p.m. ET. The Wildcats are favored by 5.5-points in the latest Kentucky vs. South Carolina odds, while the over-under for total points scored is 136. Before making any South Carolina vs. Kentucky picks, check out the college basketball predictions from the SportsLine Projection Model.
This model, which simulates every game 10,000 times, has crushed its top-rated college basketball picks against the spread the past three years, returning $2,770 to $100 players. Anybody who has followed it has seen huge returns.
Now, the model has set its sights on Kentucky vs. South Carolina. You can visit SportsLine now to see its picks. Here are the college basketball lines and trends for South Carolina vs. Kentucky:
- Kentucky vs. South Carolina spread: Kentucky -5.5
- Kentucky vs. South Carolina over-under: 136 points
- Kentucky vs. South Carolina money line: Wildcats -243, Gamecocks +209
- UK: Ashton Hagans leads the SEC in assists (7.3 per game)
- USC: AJ Lawson leads the team in scoring (14.5 points per game)
Why Kentucky can cover
The model knows that Nick Richards‘ play has surged during the four-game winning streak. Over the last four games, the 6-foot-11 junior has averaged 16.0 points and 10.0 rebounds. His play has been a huge boost to Kentucky’s half-court offense.
The model also has taken into consideration that guard Immanuel Quickley has a hot hand. During Kentucky’s winning streak, the 6-foot-3 sophomore has averaged 18.8 points while shooting 60.9 percent from 3-point range and 95.4 percent from the free throw line. In the team’s last game against Alabama, he hit multiple big shots down the stretch to help the Wildcats earn a 76-67 win.
Why South Carolina can cover
But there’s no guarantee the Wildcats can cover this Kentucky vs. South Carolina spread on Wednesday evening. South Carolina plays suffocating defense from beyond the 3-point arc. The Gamecocks are holding opponents to 37.9 percent shooting on 3-pointers, which ranks third in the SEC and 25th in the country. In Saturday’s loss at Tennessee, South Carolina limited the Volunteers to 19.4 percent shooting from behind the arc.
In addition, senior forward Maik Kotsar is playing arguably the best basketball of his career. On Jan. 7 against Florida, Kotsar had a season-high 18 points with 10 rebounds for his first double-double of the season and just the third of his career. Then on Saturday at Tennessee, he had 17 points, eight rebounds, an assist, steal and block and shot 7-of-11 from the floor.
How to make Kentucky vs. South Carolina picks
We can tell you that the model is leaning under, and it also has generated an against-the-spread pick that cashes in well over 50 percent of simulations. You can only get the pick at SportsLine.
So who wins South Carolina vs. Kentucky? And which side of the spread is hitting well over 50 percent of the time? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the Kentucky vs. South Carolina spread to jump on Wednesday, all from the advanced model that has returned more than $2,700 on its top-rated college basketball picks, and find out.
