Two SEC teams with strong postseason aspirations collide Tuesday when Kentucky visits South Carolina at 9 p.m. ET in a nationally televised showdown. The odds have already been on the move with Kentucky now listed as a 2.5-point favorite after the line opened at three.
In this huge SEC basketball showdown that features two promising teams jockeying for NCAA Tournament positioning, you need to see what SportsLine analyst Josh Nagel has to say.
Nagel is a Nevada-based expert with almost two decades of experience in the handicapping industry. He has won multiple handicapping contests and specializes in picking college sports.
And he has developed a knack for Kentucky basketball, as evidenced by his astounding 9-1 run picking for or against Big Blue. Anybody following his picks is way, way up right now.
Now, Nagel has studied every angle of this SEC hoops showdown and has locked in his strong point-spread pick. He's only sharing it over at SportsLine.
Nagel knows that Kentucky has owned the series against South Carolina. The Wildcats are 11-1 in their past 12 games against the Gamecocks and South Carolina has just 11 wins in 62 tries all-time against Big Blue.
The Wildcats are heating up with wins in five of their past six, including consecutive conference victories over Texas A&M and Vanderbilt. South Carolina, meanwhile, is 11-6 overall and 2-3 in SEC play. It has been a slow start overall for a program that was in the Final Four just last season.
But just because Kentucky is playing better overall doesn't mean the Wildcats will be able to go on the road and cover the spread.
This young Kentucky team is still largely unproven on the road. The Wildcats lost by 11 at Tennessee two weeks ago and only beat a poor Vanderbilt team by seven in Nashville in their previous outing away from Rupp Arena. Their other conference road test at LSU this season came down to the wire (74-71).
South Carolina plays hard-nosed defense under coach Frank Martin. The Gamecocks are giving up just 65.1 points per game, making them a top-40 scoring defense nationally. No team has cracked the 80s on them, so a Kentucky team that averages more than 78 points might struggle to put up enough points for a big win.
Nagel has evaluated all of these circumstances and has identified an x-favor that he believes gives one team the edge in this matchup. He's sharing what that is, along with his pick, over at SportsLine.
So what side do you need to be all over in Kentucky vs. South Carolina? Visit SportsLine now to find out what x-factor will be the difference and get a strong point-spread pick for Kentucky-South Carolina, all from a Nevada-based handicapper who is on a blistering 9-1 run on his picks involving the Wildcats.