Kentucky Wildcats vs South Carolina Gamecocks Prediction, 2/8/2022 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Kentucky Wildcats vs South Carolina Gamecocks

Date: Tuesday, February 8, 2022

Location: Colonial Life Arena in Columbia, SC

TV: ESPN

The South Carolina Gamecocks (13-9) will play the Kentucky Wildcats (19-4) at Colonial Life Arena on Tuesday.

The Kentucky Wildcats faced off with Alabama and notched a win by a score of 66-55 in their last game. Kentucky finished having earned a 40.0% field goal percentage (24 of 60) and made 4 of 11 shots from beyond the perimeter. At the free throw line, the Wildcats made 14 of their 19 tries for a rate of 73.7%. In terms of hauling in boards, they compiled a total of 41 with 9 of them being of the offensive variety. They also recorded 13 assists in the game while forcing the opposition into 15 turnovers and earning 12 steals. When discussing defense, Kentucky allowed their opponent to shoot 28.1% from the field on 18 out of 64 shooting. Alabama doled out 10 assists and had 5 steals for this game. Additionally, Alabama totaled 42 rebounds (12 offensive, 30 defensive), but couldn't earn a rejection. Alabama finished shooting 66.7% at the charity stripe by making 16 of 24 attempts. They also knocked down 3 of 30 attempts from beyond the arc. With respect to fouls, the Wildcats ended up walking away with 16 and Alabama recorded 17 fouls.

Kellan Grady is a player who was a factor in this game. He left the arena with 10 points on 3 out of 5 shooting. He was on the court for 35 mins and also totaled 4 rebounds. He finished the game at 60.0% from the field and recorded 1 assist.

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Kentucky heads into this game with a win-loss record of 19-4 this year. They have an average of 81.2 points per contest (11th in the nation) on 48.9% from the floor. The Wildcats are shooting 35.3% on 3-pointers (148 of 419) and 73.1% from the free throw line. As a team, Kentucky is pulling down 41.3 rebounds per contest and has accumulated 386 dimes this year, which is 17th in D-1 in terms of passing the rock. They are losing possession via turnover 12.0 times per contest and as a team they commit 14.3 fouls on a nightly basis.

Defensively, the Wildcats are forcing their opponents into 13.1 turnovers per game and they draw 15.3 personal fouls. They concede 29.4% on 3-point attempts and they are ranked 50th in college hoops in PPG allowed (64.0). The Wildcats defensively are allowing an opponent FG percentage of 40.3% (546 of 1,355) and they surrender 30.0 boards per game as a unit. They currently rank 89th in Division 1 in allowing assists with 250 surrendered this year.

The last time they took the hardwood, the South Carolina Gamecocks took a loss by a final score of 81-57 against Tennessee. The Gamecocks collected 20 defensive rebounds and 8 offensive boards for a total of 28 in the game. They also turned it over 13 times, while getting 6 steals in the game. Tennessee committed 20 fouls in this matchup which got the Gamecocks to the free throw line for a total of 21 attempts. They were able to bury 18 of the free throw tries for a rate of 85.7%. Pertaining to shots from beyond the perimeter, South Carolina made 5 of 19 attempts (26.3%). At the conclusion of this game, the Gamecocks walked away from this one shooting 17 for 54 from the floor which gave them a percentage of 31.5%. The Gamecocks permitted Tennessee to make 27 of 63 attempts from the field which had them sitting at 42.9% for the matchup. They wrapped up this game 51.9% from three-point range by hitting 14 out of 27 and finished the game at 13 out of 14 from the charity stripe (92.9%). In relation to how they attacked the glass, South Carolina allowed Tennessee to grab 33 overall (7 on the offensive side).

Erik Stevenson ended up being a factor for the Gamecocks in the matchup. He earned 13 points in his 25 minutes on the court and added 4 dimes in this contest. He buried 3 out of 7 for the matchup for a rate of 42.9%, and had 4 rebounds.

South Carolina has a win-loss record of 13-9 this season. As an offensive team, the Gamecocks are hitting on 42.5% from the field, which ranks them 266th in college basketball. South Carolina has tallied 1,558 pts for the year (70.8 per game) and they pull in 38.6 boards per contest. They are getting an assist 13.4 times per game (163rd in college basketball) and they are turning it over 15.0 times per game. The Gamecocks are committing 19.7 fouls every game and they hit 65.1% from the free throw line.

The South Carolina defense gives up 32.3% on shots from beyond the perimeter (148 of 458) and their opponents are making 69.2% of their free throw shots. They have relinquished 12.3 dimes and 35.9 total rebounds per game, which is 158th and 253rd in those defensive categories. The Gamecocks are ranked 167th in college basketball in points per game surrendered with 68.4. They are forcing their opponents into 15.6 TO's per game and have let teams shoot 40.3% from the floor (48th in D-1).

Who will win tonight's NCAA basketball game against the spread?

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Kentucky

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