College Basketball Picks

Kentucky vs Alabama Prediction 1/18/25 College Basketball Picks Today

Alabama (14-3) vs. Kentucky (14-3)
January 18, 2025 12:00 pm EDT
The Line: Kentucky -2; Over/Under: 179.5
(Get latest betting odds)

The Alabama Crimson Tide and the Kentucky Wildcats meet Saturday in college basketball action from Rupp Arena. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best bets for this game. Here’s an Kentucky vs Alabama Prediction.

Alabama Recap

The Alabama Crimson Tide come into this game looking to bounce back from a 74-64 loss to Ole Miss last time out to fall to 14-3 on the year. After this game, Alabama will head home for a matchup with Vanderbilt.


Crimson Tide Looking To Rebound

Mark Sears leads Alabama in scoring and assists with 18.6 PPG and 4.5 APG along with 3.1 RPG while Grant Nelson has 12 PPG with 8.6 RPG to lead the Crimson Tide in rebounding so far this season. Labaron Philon has 11.4 PPG with 3.7 RPG and 3.8 APG and Aden Holloway has chipped in 11.1 PPG to cap off the scoring in double figures for Alabama so far this season. As a team, Alabama is averaging 89.5 PPG on 47.1% shooting from the field, 32% from three and 69.7% from the foul line this season.

Why the Alabama Crimson Tide will win

  • Alabama has won each of its last seven day games.

Kentucky Recap

The Kentucky Wildcats enter this game looking to build on an 81-69 win over Texas A&M last time out to improve to 14-3 on the year. After this game, Kentucky will continue on the road to take on Vanderbilt.

Wildcats Win Back-To-Back Games

Otega Oweh leads the Wildcats in scoring with 15.4 PPG along with 4 RPG while Koby Brea has 11.3 PPG with 3.1 RPG. Lamont Butler’s added 13.4 PPG with a team-high 4.7 APG to lead Kentucky in assists and Jaxson Robinson has added 13.1 PPG with 3.9 RPG as well this season. Andrew Carr has 11.4 PPG with 5.8 RPG to cap off the group of double-digit scorers for Kentucky up to this point in the season, while Amari Williams has added 9.8 PPG with a team-leading 8.6 RPG to lead the Wildcats in rebounding so far this season. As a team, Kentucky is averaging 88.7 PPG on 48.4% shooting from the field, 36.5% from three and 73.9% from the foul line this season.

Why the Kentucky Wildcats will win

  • Kentucky has won each of its last 15 games at Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center.

Total Points Facts

  • Fourteen of Kentucky’s last 15 day games against Top 10 AP-ranked opponents have produced a total of 166 or fewer points.
  • Twenty-seven of Alabama’s last 31 day games against Conference opponents have produced a total of 178 or fewer points.

Kentucky vs Alabama Prediction

I’m on Alabama in this one. I think this game is genuinely a toss-up and despite not showing it in some of their recent outings, this Alabama offense can cook when they’re called upon. Kentucky’s shown a lot more on that end of the floor, so I don’t blame anyone for wanting to take Kentucky at Rupp Arena which is one of the toughest road environments in all of college basketball, but Kentucky’s defense has also been susceptible and can be had by high-octane offenses like Alabama’s. The Tide have gone 3-0 after a loss this season and Kentucky’s heads might be a bit inflated after wins over Texas A&M, Mississippi State and Florida in 2025 so far. Give me the free bucket with Alabama here.

Chris Ruffolo's Free Pick: Alabama +2

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Chris Ruffolo

Chris joined the Sports Chat Place team in August 2016 and has a proven system that combines multiple analytical and situational statistics and trends to give out thousands of winning picks over the last three years with winning records across all of the top leagues, Follow Chris Ruffolo on Twitter @ruffthepickdawg

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