Kentucky will take on UCLA in NYC as slight underdog

When No. 13 Kentucky and No. 16 UCLA clash on Saturday afternoon in Madison Square Garden, the Wildcats will do so as a slight underdog.

According to VegasInsider, UCLA is currently a 2-point consensus favorite to beat the Wildcats in the CBS Sports Classic with the over/under set at 142.5. The Bruins initially opened up as a 1.5-point favorite with the majority of bets being placed on UCLA since. Kentucky is 4-5-0 against the spread this season while UCLA is 6-5-0.

If we look at the analytics, the betting odds line up quite similarly. UCLA has a 51.5 percent chance to beat UK, per ESPN’s Matchup Predictor, while KenPom gives the Bruins a 55 percent chance to sneak out the win.

Tipoff is scheduled for 5:15 p.m. EST and will be available live on CBS.

A big day of college hoops

Kentucky-UCLA isn’t the only big-time matchup taking place on Saturday, though. No. 14 Indiana and No. 8 Kansas are currently underway on ESPN2 while No. 15 Gonzaga vs. No. 4 Alabama recently tipped off on CBS in the C.M. Newton Classic.

That’s not all, either. A slew of top-25 teams will also be in action on a packed day of hoops across the country, including a pair of top 10 showdowns. Check out today’s schedule.

2:00 (ESPN2): No. 5 Houston @ No. 2 Virginia
Line: HOU -2.5
O/U: 115.5

3:00 (SECN): Nicholls @ No. 17 Mississippi State
Line: MSST -21.5
O/U: 138

3:00 (CBS): North Carolina @ No. 23 Ohio State [CBS Sports Classic]
Line: UNC -2.5
O/U: 149.5

4:00: Bradley @ No. 10 Arkansas
Line: ARK -9.5
O/U: 136.5

4:00 (BTN): Alabama A&M @ No. 18 Illinois
Line: ILL -32.0
O/U: 148.5

4:00 (ACCNX): Grambling @ No. 24 Virginia Tech
Line: VT -18.0
O/U: 135

6:15 (BTN): Davidson @ No. 1 Purdue [Indy Classic]
Line: PUR -15.5
O/U: 140

7:00 (FS1): No. 3 UConn @ Butler
Line: CONN -7.5
O/U: 139

10:30 (ESPN2): No. 6 Tennessee @ No. 9 Arizona
Line: ARIZ -3.5
O/U: 150.5