Kentucky and Gonzaga both have a few things in common: a frustrating loss against an unranked opponent. Kentucky lost on Tuesday to Clemson, while Gonzaga lost over Thanksgiving "Feast Week" to West Virginia. They both are currently in the top 10 and look to be among the deepest teams in the nation. Each team loves to score fast and can knock down the three, but they aren't afraid to score in the post.
They step into the battle in Seattle this Saturday, December 7th, and tip-off is set for 7 p.m. local time but 10 p.m. EST. It's going to be a late one for Big Blue Nation. While it is considered a neutral site, it will be anything but, as Seattle is home to many Bulldogs fans. While Kentucky won't have to worry about an annoying student section, they will have to contend with a crowd decisively in favor of Gonzaga.
What are the odds for this game?
Gonzaga opens as a 5.5 favorite, with the over/under at 163.5 points, according to FanDuel. This actually seems to be a pretty good pull for Kentucky as they are traveling across the country and basically playing an away game against the Bulldogs. Especially given that they just suffered a loss, it seems the sportsbooks know that Kentucky is very capable of pulling this off.
Who will win?
There is a lot going on here, and it's a tough one to predict. Mark Pope is very familiar with Mark Few but has lost to him 11 times in his career and only beat him once. For once, Pope has the talent to do it without it being a huge shock. He knows how to scout Gonzaga and even beat the Bulldogs.
There's also the home crowd advantage, the cross-country trip, and the time zone issues. However, Kentucky will not want to lose back-to-back games and will come in hungry. I think they were a little surprised by Clemson and won't want to let that happen again.
Gonzaga will be ready, too; with Mark Few at the helm, they don't really play down to opponents. They won't be under-rating Kentucky simply because Kentucky lost to Clemson; they know the Wildcats are good and capable of beating them. It will be a battle.
Final Score:
82-79 Kentucky