The No. 15 Kentucky Wildcats will look to continue their domination over the visiting North Florida Ospreys when they meet in a non-conference matchup on Wednesday afternoon. The Wildcats (3-2) beat the Ospreys (1-4) 86-52 in their only other meeting, which was last season. Kentucky has struggled a bit this year, losing to Michigan State 86-77 on Nov. 15, and at Gonzaga 88-72 on Sunday. North Florida dropped an 83-82 decision at Duquesne on Monday night after picking up a 72-66 win over South Carolina State on Saturday.
Tipoff from Rupp Arena in Lexington, Ky., is set for 4 p.m. ET. Kentucky leads the all-time series 1-0, defeating North Florida 86-52 last season. The Wildcats are a 26.5-point favorite in the latest North Florida vs. Kentucky odds from Caesars Sportsbook, while the over/under for total points scored is set at 152. Before making any Kentucky vs. North Florida picks, be sure to see the college basketball predictions and betting advice from SportsLine's proven computer model.
The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every Division I college basketball game 10,000 times. Over the past six years, the proprietary computer model has generated an impressive profit of more than $1,400 for $100 players on its top-rated college basketball picks against the spread.
Now, the model has set its sights on Kentucky vs. North Florida and just locked in its picks and CBB predictions. You can visit SportsLine now to see the picks. Here are the college basketball odds and betting lines for North Florida vs. Kentucky:
- North Florida vs. Kentucky spread: Kentucky -26.5
- North Florida vs. Kentucky over/under: 152 points
- UNF: The Ospreys are 8-1 against the spread in their last nine games following a straight-up loss
- UK: The Wildcats are 6-2-1 ATS in their last nine games following an ATS loss
- North Florida vs. Kentucky picks: See picks at SportsLine
Why Kentucky can cover
Guard Cason Wallace is already making an impact for Kentucky. The freshman has scored in double figures in four of five games this season, including 14-point performances in the losses to Michigan State and Gonzaga. He narrowly missed a triple-double in his first game at Kentucky, scoring 15 points, dishing out nine assists and grabbing eight rebounds in the opening win over Howard. He had eight steals against Michigan State, and is averaging 3.4 per game. For the year, he is averaging 12.6 points, 4.6 assists and four rebounds per game.
Senior guard CJ Fredrick is one of six Wildcats scoring in double figures. He is averaging 11.8 points, 2.4 assists and 1.8 rebounds in 30 minutes per game. He has reached double figures in three games, including 20 in the win over Howard. He also scored 17 points on Thursday against South Carolina State. The transfer from Iowa missed all of last season due to a number of injuries, after averaging 7.5 points and 1.9 assists in 27 starts for the Hawkeyes in 2020-21.
Why North Florida can cover
The Ospreys are led in scoring by Jarius Hicklen, who is averaging 15.3 points, 3.5 assists and three rebounds per game. He has scored in double figures in three of North Florida's four games, including a season-high 24 in the loss at Duquesne. He also had 19 points in a 75-67 loss at Washington. Last season, Hicklen averaged 12 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game, and was one of the Osprey's top 3-point threats, connecting on 87 3-pointers in 30 games.
Senior forward Carter Hendricksen is also off to a fast start to the season, and has scored in double digits in all four games. He scored 17 points in a 72-66 win at South Carolina State, and had 16 points and eight rebounds in a 104-63 loss at then-No. 2 Gonzaga on Nov. 7. In that game, he became just the eighth Osprey to reach 200 career 3-pointers. For the season, he is averaging 14.5 points, 6.3 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game.
How to make North Florida vs. Kentucky picks
SportsLine's model is leaning Under on the total, projecting 1147 combined points. The model also says one side of the spread hits almost 60% of the time. You can see the picks here.
So who wins Kentucky vs. North Florida? And which side of the spread hits nearly 60% of the time? Visit SportsLine now to find out which side of the spread you need to jump on, all from the model that has crushed its college basketball picks, and find out.
