Cornell vs. Kentucky (-8.5) Point Spread Picks

No. 1 Kentucky (34-2, 19-15 ATS) has demolished everything in its path so far. The Wildcats have won their opening two NCAA Tournament games by an average of 29.5 points, including a 90-60 annihilation of Wake Forest in the second round. It all adds up to a 15-1 run for Kentucky. The Wildcats are beginning to gain some momentum at the sportsbook, too; back-to-back wins against the point spread gives Kentucky a 3-1 record in its past 10 games on college basketball odds. Kentucky has covered six of its past 10 games against the spread.

The Wildcats simply have too many weapons for anyone to defend. Against East Tennessee State in the opening round, guard Eric Bledsoe poured in 29 points while Patrick Patterson and John Wall merely chipped in 22 and 17 points, respectively (Wall, a freshman, also added 11 assists). It was more of the same against Wake Forest with Wall and Bledsoe both scoring double-figures; this time, though, Darius Miller (a game-high 20 points) and DeMarcus Cousins (19 points) also got into the mix. Most observers believe Kentucky has four future NBA-first-round picks on its roster.

No. 12 Cornell (29-4, 18-10 ATS) has arguably been the biggest surprise of March Madness. Not only has the Big Red won its first two games, it did so by spanking No. 5 Temple by 13 points and No. 4 Wisconsin by 18 points. The Ivy League champions have been money in the bank at the sportsbook-the Big Red has ripped off four straight wins on NCAA basketball odds. Cornell is riding a nine-game winning streak straight up.

Cornell-which has lost just twice in its previous 29 outings-can no longer be taken lightly. Senior guard Louis Dale is probably playing the best basketball of is life. He led Cornell in assists (4.8 APG) while finishing second in scoring this season (12.6 PPG), but he's upped the ante; Dale is averaging 23.5 points and 5.0 assists per outing in the NCAA Tournament. Forward Ryan Wittman, who lead the Big Red in scoring this season, has been just as good at 22.0 points per game. Expect almost all scoring to come from the starting lineup; the bench has contributed just 10 points in the past two games.

The Big Red has gone over the total in three of its last four games, including the win over Wisconsin. Kentucky has gone over the total in three consecutive games. Sportsbook.com has the total set at 147 points.

Game Prediction

Take Cornell