POINT SPREAD: Opening Line for Kentucky at Texas

The Kentucky football team traveled to Texas in November. Now, Mark Pope’s Wildcats are hitting the road to take on the Longhorns at the Moody Center. Can the shorthanded Cats string together a February win streak?

Kentucky opens as a 1.5-point underdog vs. Texas. The total has been set at 157.5.

The computers believe this game is going down to the wire. Kenpom calls for an 81-80 Kentucky victory, while Bart Torvik forecasts an 83-82 final score in favor of the Wildcats.

The trends around Texas aren’t complicated. The Longhorns have lost three straight games and failed to cover in each of them. The over has also hit in four straight games for the Horns. Texas is 3-3 Against the Spread (ATS) at home in SEC play with only two outright wins.

Kentucky is 2-3 ATS away from Rupp Arena against conference foes. The Cats have covered in back-to-back wins.

Texas is led by freshman Tre Johnson. The SEC’s leading scorer averages 19.3 points per game while shooting 43.9% from the floor. The Horns rank fourth in the league in three-point shooting (36.7%) and third from the free throw line (75%). Texas is currently 12th in the SEC standings with a 4-8 record. Despite that, they’re still in the projected NCAA Tournament field, hanging onto a No. 11 seed in the Bracket Matrix.

Even though the vibes are feeling good, Kentucky will likely be without three ball-handlers in Austin. Kerr Kriisa has been sidelined since December. Lamont Butler and Jaxson Robinson were both banged up in the last week, and Mark Pope didn’t sound too optimistic that either would be able to return anytime soon.

Kentucky at Texas: How to Watch, Listen

• Time: 8:00 pm EST
• Television: ESPN (Karl Ravech, Jimmy Dykes)
• Home Radio: UK Sports Network – 630 WLAP, iHeart Radio (Tom Leach, Goose Givens)
• Online Radio: iHeart
• Satellite Radio: Sirius 81 or 390
• Live Stats: StatBroadcast

You can also follow the game via our new LIVE BLOG on the website, which will begin an hour before tip-off, or join the conversation on KSBoard.

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