South Carolina Gamecocks vs Kentucky Wildcats Prediction, 2/8/2025 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: South Carolina Gamecocks vs Kentucky Wildcats

Date: Saturday, February 8, 2025

Location: Rupp Arena in Lexington, KY

TV: ESPN+

The South Carolina Gamecocks (10-12) are hitting the road to Rupp Arena on Saturday where they will meet the Kentucky Wildcats (15-7).

The South Carolina Gamecocks took the court against Texas A&M and walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 76-72 in their last game. South Carolina finished having earned a 44.6% FG percentage (25 out of 56) and converted 12 of their 31 3-point attempts. At the charity stripe, the Gamecocks converted 10 of 12 attempts for a percentage of 83.3%. In relation to rebounding, they earned 27 with 7 of them being on the offensive end. They also distributed 19 assists for this contest as well as forcing the other team into 10 turnovers and having 7 steals. With regard to defending, South Carolina allowed the other team to go 44.9% from the floor on 22 of 49 shooting. Texas A&M doled out 9 dimes and had 6 steals in the game. Additionally, Texas A&M pulled down 31 boards (8 offensive, 23 defensive), but couldn't earn a rejection. Texas A&M walked away from this one shooting 70.0% from the free throw line by knocking down 21 of 30 shots. They knocked down 11 of their 23 attempts from downtown. With respect to personal fouls, the Gamecocks ended up walking away with 20 and Texas A&M accounted for 11 personal fouls.

Collin Murray-Boyles is one guy who had an impact for this game. He ended up going 68.8% from the floor and distributed 6 assists. He was on the hardwood for 36 minutes and also totaled 7 rebounds. He left the arena with 22 points on 11 out of 16 shooting.

Get all of our NCAA Expert Picks

South Carolina will enter this contest with a win-loss record of 10-12 so far this year. They turn it over 13.1 times per game and as a squad they are committing 16.2 fouls on a nightly basis. As a team, South Carolina is snagging 35.6 boards per contest and is sitting with 298 assists this season, which ranks 234th in Division 1 in terms of passing the rock. The Gamecocks are connecting on 33.0% on shots from 3-point land (156 of 473) and 69.6% from the charity stripe. They currently have an average of 70.5 points per game (278th in college hoops) while hitting 43.4% from the floor.

When they are on defense, the Gamecocks are forcing 10.8 turnovers on a nightly basis while drawing 19.0 personal fouls. They are conceding 33.3% on 3-pointers while they are 106th in college in opponents points per game (69.2). The Gamecocks are giving up a shooting percentage of 44.0% (557 of 1,266) and they concede 32.4 rebounds per contest as a group. They are ranked 65th in college in giving up assists to their opponents with 262 relinquished for the season.

The last time they took the court, the Kentucky Wildcats took a loss by a score of 98-84 when they played Ole Miss. The Wildcats snagged 29 defensive boards and 3 offensive rebounds totaling 32 in this contest. They also coughed up the ball 5 times, while getting 1 steal for this contest. Ole Miss earned 14 personal fouls in the game which took the Wildcats to the free throw line for a total of 22 attempts. They were able to convert 16 of the free throw attempts for a rate of 72.7%. When it comes to shooting from beyond the arc, Kentucky made 10 of 21 tries (47.6%). At the conclusion of this game, the Wildcats ended up going 29 out of 58 from the floor which had them sitting at 50.0%. The Wildcats allowed Ole Miss to convert 35 of their 64 tries from the field which had them shooting 54.7% for the contest. They finished 43.3% from beyond the perimeter by shooting 13 out of 30 and finished the contest at 15 out of 21 at the free throw line (71.4%). When it comes to team rebounding, Kentucky permitted Ole Miss to grab 24 in all (2 offensive).

Otega Oweh was important for the Wildcats for this game. He converted 8 out of 17 in the game giving him a rate of 47.1%, and tallied 6 rebounds. He tallied 24 points in his 33 mins on the hardwood and accounted for 1 assist for this game.

Kentucky has a win-loss record of 15-7 so far this season. The Wildcats commit 17.0 fouls per contest and they go 72.5% from the charity stripe. They are dishing out assists 17.9 times per contest (9th in college) and they turn it over 10.5 times per contest. Kentucky has totaled 1,915 pts on the campaign (87.0 per contest) and they collect 40.2 rebounds per contest. On the offensive side of the ball, the Wildcats are connecting on 48.5% from the field, which ranks 29th in D-1.

The Wildcats on the defensive end are ranked 322nd in Division 1 in points allowed per game with 77.5. They have forced 9.7 turnovers on a nightly basis and allow teams to shoot 42.7% from the floor (135th in the nation). The Kentucky defense surrenders 30.4% on shots from distance (193 of 634) and opponents are connecting on 70.8% of their foul shots. They have surrendered 13.3 dimes and 35.6 boards per game, which is 197th and 253rd in college hoops.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take South Carolina

Get $60 worth of FREE premium member picks. No Obligation. No Salesman. No Credit Card. Fast Sign up with Instant Access Click Here