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Carrie Stroup with another great game on tap for Tuesday night January 17, 2012 with the Arkansas vs. Kentucky line coming in at Wildcats -17.5 but keep in mind this is a Razorbacks team that has only lost 4 games this season. You can bet this game at Sportsbook.com and claim up to $250 in FREE CASH (based on initial signup deposit).
Sportsbook.com Line & Total: Kentucky -17.5 & 147
Opening Line & Total: Wildcats -17 & 147
After gutting out a pair of tough road wins, No. 2 Kentucky returns home Tuesday to take on an Arkansas team that hasn’t won outside of Fayetteville this year. The Wildcats are 44-0 at home under John Calipari, and they are currently riding a nine-game SU win streak.
The Razorbacks are 0-4 (SU and ATS) in non-home games this year, losing by an average score of 78-67 in the four contests. And they have dropped six straight meetings in Lexington, going 1-5 ATS in this stretch. But only one of the Hogs’ past eight losses in this series has been by more than 17 points, and Arkansas won the lone meeting last year at home, 77-76 in overtime. The Wildcats have been horrible against the spread this year, going 1-13 ATS in their past 14 games.
Many of the key players in Arkansas’ OT win over Kentucky last year are gone, including Razorbacks star Marshawn Powell, who had 22 points and 10 boards in that win. Powell suffered a season-ending knee injury earlier this season. The fast-paced Arkansas offense is led by guard B.J. Young (15.0 PPG, 52% FG, 44% 3-pt FG) who came off the bench to score a team-high 19 points in Saturday’s 69-60 win over LSU. He also scored 24 in the team’s most impressive win of the season, beating Mississippi State 98-88 on Jan. 7. Since 2012 began, Young is averaging 18.5 PPG on 60% FG (7-of-13 on threes) in four games.
But this is far from a one-man show, as all nine Razorbacks played at least 18 minutes in the win over LSU. Julysses Nobles (9.4 PPG, 4.0 RPG) had 15 points and six boards, Mardracus Wade (11.0 PPG, 49% 3-pt FG) added 14 points and five steals and 6-foot-8 freshman Devonta Abram (5.9 PPG, 5.2 RPG) ripped down 13 rebounds in 22 minutes of action before fouling out against the Tigers. Arkansas loves to pressure the ball all over the court, averaging 9.3 steals per game (13th in nation) and the in-your-face defense has held nine opponents to under 35% FG this season.
The Wildcats have been extremely efficient on offense this year, ranking 20th in the nation in points (79.3 PPG) and 23rd in field-goal percentage (48.3% FG). But they have scored just 66.5 PPG on 41.5% FG in the past two games. Five Kentucky players average 10+ points, led by Doron Lamb (14.0 PPG). He had scored at least eight points in every game this year before tallying just four on 1-of-7 shooting at Tennessee on Saturday. Freshman Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (13.4 PPG, 7.7 RPG) had a huge game against the Vols (17 points, 12 rebounds) and has really been attacking the glass lately, with 50 rebounds in his past five games. However, Kidd-Gilchrist was just 6-of-21 (29%) from the floor during the two-game road trip. Fellow frosh Anthony Davis (13.1 PPG, 10.2 RPG) has been the team’s most consistent performer on both ends of the court. He has averaged 15.6 PPG during a seven-game streak of double-figure scoring and leads the NCAA with 4.6 blocks per game.
UK star forward Terrence Jones has seen a statistical drop in his sophomore season (11.7 PPG, 6.1 RPG) as compared to his outstanding freshman campaign (15.7 PPG, 8.8 RPG). This dip is partly due to a dislocated finger, but Jones has actually shot better this season (48% FG, 40% 3-pt FG) than last year (44% FG, 33% 3-pt FG). Freshman Marquis Teague (10.7 PPG, 4.2 APG) is the other Wildcats player averaging double-figures, but he had a rough game at Tennessee, scoring just seven points (3-of-8 FG) with one assist and five turnovers.
- Carrie Stroup, Gambling911.com Senior Reporter
