Kentucky vs South Carolina Prediction 2/8/25 College Basketball Picks Today

The South Carolina Gamecocks and the Kentucky Wildcats meet Saturday in college basketball action from Rupp Arena. Here’s a Kentucky vs South Carolina prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best Kentucky vs South Carolina pick.

South Carolina Gamecocks Betting Preview

The Gamecocks were looking pretty good over their first 13 games of the season (despite a choppy start). Since New Year’s Day however, South Carolina hasn’t been able to find another victory. The Gamecocks opened on a 3-3 stretch with losses to North Florida, Indiana and Xavier. A win streak came next as South Carolina took out Virginia Tech, Boston College, East Carolina, USC Upstate, Clemson, Radford and Presbyterian. Since then it’s been a long string of losses. Those have come courtesy of Mississippi State, Alabama, Auburn, Vanderbilt, Oklahoma, Florida, Mississippi State, Georgia and Texas A&M. The result in the record column so far has been a 10-12 overall record through the first 22 games of the season.

In the Texas A&M matchup over the weekend, the Gamecocks hit a 44-36 deficit in the first half. South Carolina got better from there on a 36-32 stretch but ended up taking the loss in the end 76-72. Leading the team in scoring was Collin Murray-Boyles with 22 points, seven boards, six assists and two steals. Jamarii Thomas added 15 points with five assists and five rebounds with a pair of steals, while Morris Ugusuk led the contributions off the bench with his 12 points, one assist and one steal in 18 minutes of action on the floor.

Kentucky Wildcats Betting Preview

Over on the Wildcats’ side, they came out of the gate on a pretty nice clip themselves. Kentucky has had their own issues since mid-January, however. The Wildcats’ first 14 outings were a 12-2 run with losses to only Clemson and Ohio State. Otherwise it was wins over Wright State, Bucknell, Duke, Lipscomb, Jackson State, Western Kentucky, Georgia State, Gonzaga, Colgate, Louisville, Brown and Florida. A 2-3 stretch came next with wins over Mississippi State and Texas A&M among losses to Georgia, Alabama and Vanderbilt. Following another win over Tennessee, Kentucky has since lost to Arkansas and Ole Miss in their last pair, giving the Wildcats a 15-7 record through 22 outings of the year.

Matched up against Ole Miss on Tuesday, the Wildcats exited the locker room with a 54-31 deficit. Kentucky got better in the second half on a 53-44 advantage but still took a sizable loss 98-84 in the end. Otega Oweh was the team’s leading scorer with 24 points and six rebounds. Jaxson Robinson added 18 points with two boards and two assists, and Amari Williams launched a triple-double on 12 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists. Andrew Carr finished with 10 points, four rebounds and three assists as the team’s leading bench contributor.

Why the Kentucky Wildcats will win

• South Carolina has lost each of its last 10 games against the Southeastern Conference.
• Kentucky has won 32 of its last 34 day games against the Southeastern Conference at Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center.
• Kentucky has won the first half in 12 of its last 13 games at Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center against non-AP-ranked opponents.

Why the South Carolina Gamecocks will win

• South Carolina has won seven of its last eight games when playing with a rest advantage.
• Kentucky has lost four of its last five games.
• Kentucky has lost the first half in each of its last five games against the Southeastern Conference.

Total Points Facts

• Each of South Carolina’s last eight day games have produced a total of 144 or fewer points.
• Seven of Kentucky’s last eight day games at Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center have produced a total of 153+ points.

Kentucky vs South Carolina Prediction

I’ll lean toward Kentucky here. Both teams could use a good performance, but Kentucky seems to be in a better position. The Wildcats ended up showing well versus Ole Miss (50 percent) and had a 37-29 rebounding advantage with just eight turnovers. The major issue in the loss however, was 54.7 percent surrendered shooting on the other side. Kentucky has given up 73 or more points in five straight games now—a 1-4 run.

As for South Carolina, their major blemish in the Texas A&M loss was the 12 turnovers for 19 Aggies points. The Gamecocks have been giving up points at a pretty good clip too: 7 or more in three of the last four (an 0-4 run). I like this one to be a high-scoring finish and a pretty competitive game, but I like Kentucky a little better at home. You could probably make a case either way, though. South Carolina should be able to notch a nice total.