Gonzaga Bulldogs (17-6) vs. Kentucky Wildcats (16-6)
February 10, 2024 4:00 pm EDT
The Line: Kentucky Wildcats -3.5; Over/Under: 168.5
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The Gonzaga Bulldogs and the Kentucky Wildcats meet Saturday in college basketball action from Rupp Arena. Gonzaga beat Portland in their last game, improving the Bulldogs to 17-6 so far. As for Kentucky, they’re 16-6 following a blowout win over Vanderbilt on Tuesday. Let’s get into our Gonzaga vs. Kentucky prediction. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.
Gonzaga Bulldogs
The Bulldogs’ season began on an 11-5 run. The losses in that time were to Purdue, Washington, UConn, San Diego State and Santa Clara. Gonzaga is 6-1 since then with wins over Pepperdine, San Diego, San Francisco, Pacific, Loyola Marymount and Portland along the way.
In the Portland game on Wednesday, Gonzaga didn’t have too many issues. The Bulldogs stormed out to a 50-23 halftime edge and cruised from there on 46 more points in a 96-64 blowout victory. Braden Huff came off the bench to lead the team on 25 points and seven boards.
Kentucky Wildcats
Over on the Wildcats’ side, they only lost to Kansas and UNC Wilmington in their first 14 games. Kentucky is on a 4-4 run since then though, losing to Texas A&M, South Carolina, Florida and Tennessee with wins over Mississippi State, Georgia, Arkansas and Vanderbilt otherwise.
Matched up against Vanderbilt in their Tuesday outing, the Wildcats posted a blowout win as well. Kentucky was up 54-38 going into the second half, then scored 55 more in a 109-77 result. Antonio Reeves was the lead scorer on 24 points, six rebounds and two assists.
ANDREW’S FREE GONZAGA VS KENTUCKY PREDICTION
I’ll take a stab on Gonzaga. This should be a pretty interesting matchup regardless, though. The Bulldogs had few troubles versus Portland in their last game, shooting 55.9 percent from the field with 43 rebounds and 21 team assists. It’s been a great scoring run for Gonzaga; they’ve hit 74 or more points in 11 of their last 12 games (the outlier being 62 versus Saint Mary’s in a two-point loss).
As for Kentucky, they should be ready for this one—even with the sketchy 2-3 record over the last five. The Wildcats have been at 91 or more points in three straight, but they’re also giving up quite a bit on defense against quality squads. I like this one to be a high-scoring shootout, with Gonzaga pulling off the late cover. Should be a fun one to watch.
