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March Madness Basketball Odds – Can No. 1 Kentucky Cover Big Spread Against East Tennessee?

Bookmark and Share by Eric Williams

March Madness basketball betting will be in full effect tonight when the 16th-seeded East Tennessee State Buccaneers try to stop the steamrolling top-seeded Kentucky Wildcats when they take to the court for their first round NCAA Basketball Championship Tournament battle at New Orleans Arena which gets underway tonight at 7 PM ET.

Thursday, March 18, 7:15 PM ET
: Kentucky -20

East Tennessee (20-14 SU, 2-1 ATS, 2-1 O/U)
Kentucky (32-2 SU, 17-15 ATS, 16-15 O/U)

East Tennessee 411

  • Buccaneers are 5-1 ATS in their last 6 games overall.
  • Buccaneers are 8-2 ATS in their last 10 games as an underdog.
  • Buccaneers are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 neutral site games.
  • Buccaneers are 8-2 ATS in their last 10 neutral site games as an underdog.

East Tennessee has won six straight games and beat the Mercer Bears 72-66 in the Atlantic Suns Conference title game on Saturday to cash in as 2-point road favorites.

The Buccaneers average 69.0 points per game while allowing 66.4 points per contest defensively.

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Kentucky 411

  • Wildcats are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 Thursday games.
  • Wildcats are 5-2 ATS in their last 7 non-conference games.
  • Wildcats are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games vs. a team with a winning S.U. record.

Kentucky has won five straight games including a 75-74 overtime win over Mississippi State on Sunday in the SEC Tournament Championship.

Gifted point guard John Wall scored 17 points and added seven rebounds and eight assists to lead Kentucky to victory while Eric Bledsoe chipped in a team-high 18 points in the win.

Kentucky failed to cover the college basketball betting odds as a 7-point favorite to fall to a disappointing 1-3 ATS over its last four games. The Wildcats average 79.2 points per contest and allow 65.3 per game.

Analysis: I‘ll keep this pick short and to the point by simply saying that the only matter concerning this matchup is whether or not the Kentucky Wildcats will cover the college basketball betting line or not against an overmatched East Tennessee team.

All I’m going to say is that the Kentucky Wildcats went a bankroll-boosting 4-2 ATS in games in which they were favored by 17.5 points or more.

I generally don’t like games with points spreads of 20-points or higher but the Kentucky Wildcats are so superior to East Tennessee and can score buckets in so many ways, that I genuinely believe they are going to cover the high March Madness betting line with an emphatic victory.