College Basketball Picks: Louisville Cardinals vs. Kentucky Wildcats

The Louisville Cardinals are 49-8 straight up in NCAA tournament play when playing as a higher seed, which is important to consider when making your college basketball picks Friday, as they prepare to take on the Kentucky Wildcats at Lucas Oil Stadium.

Sports bettors will find that the Cardinals are four-point favorites in the NCAA basketball odds, with the betting total sitting at 138.5 in the market.

Let's take a closer look at this Sweet 16 matchup from a betting perspective, while offering up a prediction along the way.

Gambling stats courtesy of SBR Forum 

Louisville Cardinals

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Rick Pitino's teams have put together a perfect 11-0 straight-up record when playing in the Sweet 16, with the Louisville Cardinals reaching this stage by picking up wins over the Manhattan Jaspers and Saint Louis Billikens.

College basketball handicappers will find that the Cardinals are 22-7 against the spread in their last 29 games on a neutral floor. 

Kentucky Wildcats

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The Kentucky Wildcats have won 31 of 46 all-time meetings against the Louisville Cardinals, including a 73-66 victory as 1.5-point home underdogs on Dec. 28.

Over the last two-plus seasons, the Wildcats are 4-10 straight up and 6-8 against the spread as an underdog, with the OVER going 8-6 in that situation. 

Prediction

I'm going to recommend that readers back the Louisville Cardinals as one of their Sweet 16 picks, as they've covered the number in their last seven opportunities as neutral-court favorites of 3.5 to six points.

Pick: Louisville Cardinals -4

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