College Basketball Odds: Kentucky Wildcats Are Heavy Favorites Tuesday Night

The Kentucky Wildcats will begin their second consecutive week atop the AP Top 25 college basketball rankings Tuesday night, as they welcome the Tennessee Volunteers inside Rupp Arena in a Southeastern Conference affair.

Las Vegas oddsmakers have established the Wildcats as 16.5-point home favorites, while the total has settled in at 132.

Let's take a closer look at three games from a betting perspective.

Tennessee Volunteers at Kentucky Wildcats

The Kentucky Wildcats will enter Tuesday night's game against the Tennessee Volunteers with the nation's longest home winning streak, which reached 47 straight in capturing a 77-71 victory over the Alabama Crimson Tide as 10-point favorites on Jan. 21.

Current Wildcats head coach John Calipari hasn't lost inside Rupp Arena since taking over the program before the 2009-10 campaign.

From a betting perspective, the program has covered three of its past four games, which is far better than its 3-13-1 against-the-spread (ATS) record in its first 17 lined contests. 

Tennessee has demonstrated the ability to hang with top-ranked teams recently, capturing wins in four of its last six opportunities. 

The Volunteers will also be seeking revenge from suffering a 65-62 setback to the Wildcats as 9.5-point home underdogs in the first meeting this year on Jan. 14.

Total bettors will find that the last seven meetings have fallen "under" the posted total.

Tennessee has missed covering the number in six straight meetings in Lexington.

Recommendation: Over 132

Clemson Tigers at Virginia Cavaliers

The Virginia Cavaliers look to push their recent win streak to three games in hosting the Clemson Tigers inside John Paul Jones Arena.

Recent series trends are certainly in the Cavaliers favor, with the home team capturing the last four meetings.

Virginia registered a 49-47 victory as six-point underdogs on this court on Feb. 2, 2011, while Clemson tallied a convincing 72-49 win as 10-point favorites the previous year.

The Cavaliers are 0-2 ATS as home favorites of 6.5 to nine points, while the Tigers are 2-4 ATS versus Atlantic Coast Conference rivals.

I'll take the points with the underdog being 11-5 ATS in the last 16 meetings in this series.

Recommendation: Clemson Tigers +8.5

Michigan State Spartans at Illinois Fighting Illini

The Michigan State Spartans know they will be in for a challenge against the Illinois Fighting Illini Tuesday night, as the last 13 meetings have been decided by 10 points or less.

Senior forward Draymond Green is the team's unquestionable leader, averaging 15.3 points and 10.4 rebounds per game.

Spartans head coach Tom Izzo will stress defense in the locker room before taking the floor inside Assembly Hall, as the squad has held opponents to just 34.8 percent shooting in its four true road wins this season.

Illinois is certainly not an offensive juggernaut, scoring just 67.9 points a contest through 21 games of the 2011-12 campaign.

The program has demonstrated the ability to upset top-10 opponents at home under Bruce Weber, tallying a 4-5 record in such affairs.

The Spartans are 0-6 ATS in their last six opportunities as a road favorite of 6.5 points or less, while the Fighting Illini are just 2-13 ATS as a home underdog within the same range.

Michigan State could get caught looking ahead to Sunday's revenge game against Michigan in East Lansing.

Recommendation: Illinois Fighting Illini +3.5