Editor's note: Since Feb. 21, Brian Edwards has been on a roll in college hoops, cashing tickets at a frenetic 18-4 clip (82%!) to produce 13.6 units of profit. Don't miss out on his pay-if-it-wins-only selction for tonight's Oregon-Colorado showdown.
**Kentucky at Georgia**
--As of 4:00 p.m. Eastern, most books were listing Kentucky (20-9 straight up, 10-16 against the spread) as a 2.5-point road ‘chalk’ with the total in the 124-125 range. UGA is plus-125 on the money line (risk $100 to win $125).
--UK is on the proverbial bubble with two regular-season games remaining, including a home tilt vs. Florida this weekend. The defending national champions are No. 51 in the RPI Rankings with only one win (at home vs. Missouri) over a Top 50 opponent. The Wildcats are 1-4 against the RPI Top 50, 6-9 versus the RPI Top 100.
--John Calipari’s team saw its three-game winning streak snapped in Saturday’s costly 73-60 loss at Arkansas as a 2.5-point road underdog. UK committed 18 turnovers, got beat 43-36 on the boards, missed 10 free throws and hit only 3-of-14 shots from 3-point land. Archie Goodwin finished with a team-high 14 points in the losing effort. Willie Cauley-Stein had a double-double with 13 points, 10 boards and four blocked shots.
--Georgia (14-15 SU, 15-10 ATS) is on fire for our purposes, posting an incredible 10-1 spread record in its last 11 games. The Bulldogs are coming off Saturday’s 78-68 win over Tennessee as two-point home underdogs. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored 25 points, grabbed nine rebounds, made four steals and dished out a pair of assists. Charles Mann added 18 points and eight assists without committing a turnover. Mann put the game on ice with his free-throw shooting down the stretch, finishing 12-of-14 from the charity stripe.
--Mark Fox’s team is 11-6 SU and 7-6 ATS at home inside of Stegeman Coliseum. The Bulldogs have won four of their last five both SU and ATS at home.
--UGA is led by Caldwell-Pope, a sophomore guard with a future at the next level. ‘KCP’ is currently listed as the final pick (#30) in the first round of NBADraft.net’s 2013 mock draft. The former McDonald’s All-American is averaging team-highs in scoring (18.0 points per game), rebounding (6.9 RPG), field-goal percentage (44.1%) and steals (2.1 per game).
--Since losing its best player Nerlens Noel to a season-ending ACL tear, Kentucky has gone 3-2 SU and 2-3 ATS.
--Kentucky owns a 1-4 spread record in five games as a road underdog. Meanwhile, Georgia has a 1-2 record both SU and ATS as a home underdog.
--The ‘under’ is 13-9-1 overall for UGA, 9-3 in its 12 home games with a total.
--The ‘over’ is 14-11 overall for UK, 4-1 in its last five games. However, the ‘Cats have seen the ‘under’ go 6-4 in their 10 true road assignments.
--The road team is 9-2 ATS in the last 11 UK-UGA games.
--ESPN will have the telecast at 7:00 p.m. Eastern.
**Oregon at Colorado**
--As of 4:00 p.m. Eastern, Colorado (19-9 SU, 15-11 ATS) was favored by three at most spots. The total was 129 and the Ducks were available for a plus-140 payout if they win outright.
--Oregon (23-6 SU, 11-15-1 ATS) is No. 48 in the RPI Rankings, going 3-4 against RPI Top 50 opponents and 8-5 versus RPI Top 100 foes.
--Dana Altman’s team has won five of its last six games but is mired in an abysmal 3-10-1 ATS slide. Oregon is coming off Saturday’s 85-75 comeback win over Oregon St. as a 10-point home ‘chalk.’ The Ducks trailed the Beavers 41-34 at intermission but they rallied to outscore their arch rivals 51-34 in the second half. Carlos Emory scored a team-high 21 points, while Arsalan Kazemi produced 17 points and 12 rebounds.
--CU has won 11 of its 13 home games, going 6-5 ATS at home. The Buffaloes are 3-3 ATS in their six games as single-digit home favorites.
--Thad Boyle’s squad had won five of its last six games before dropping a 62-46 decision Saturday at California as a five-point underdog. Xavier Johnson had 14 points and seven rebounds in CU’s losing effort.
--Colorado is led by sophomore guard Spencer Dinwiddie and junior forward Andre Roberson. Dinwiddie averages 15.2 points, 3.2 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game, while Roberson is averaging 10.8 points, 11.5 rebounds, 2.2 steals and 1.4 blocked shots per contest.
-CU is on the right side of the bubble and is probably safe thanks to an RPI of 30 with a 4-4 record against Top 50 opponents. The Buffs have a 9-8 ledger against the RPI Top 100.
--When these schools met in Eugene on Feb. 7, Colorado captured a 48-47 win over the Ducks as a seven-point road underdog. Roberson led CU’s balanced offense with a team-high 10 points and 13 rebounds. Emory and E.J. Singler scored 14 points apiece for Oregon.
--Oregon freshman point guard Dominic Artis missed nine games and more than a month of action with a foot injury before coming off the bench and contributing in Saturday’s come-from-behind win over Oregon St. Artis was limited to 12 minutes of playing time, but he produced six points by draining both of his attempts from beyond the arc.
--The ‘under’ has cashed in eight consecutive games for Colorado to improve to 14-5 overall. The ‘under’ is 5-2 in the Buffs’ seven home games with a total.
--Tip-off is scheduled for 9:00 p.m. Eastern on ESPN2.
**B.E.’s Bonus Nuggets**
--When I was at Harrah’s Casino during Final Four weekend in New Orleans last year, I walked past Arkansas head coach Mike Anderson and Missouri head coach Frank Haith standing against the wall chatting. About an hour later as I was playing blackjack, I noticed the two of them walk past my table. I found that a bit odd and tweeted as much the following day. To run into each other and have a quick cordial convo was one thing, but it seemed strange that they were still hanging out an hour later. Anyway, after Haith had to be restrained by his assistants from going after Anderson in Tuesday’s blowout victory in Columbia, I found it even odder that they were hanging out last year. Obviously, things have changed since then. Here’s to a rubber game between the two schools in Nashville next weekend at the SEC Tournament.
--Alabama provided me with one of my most fortunate winners of the season in Tuesday’s 87-83 loss at Ole Miss as a five-point underdog. This was the definition of a wrong-side winner for the Crimson Tide, which trailed by 15 with 3:42 left and by 10 with 49 seconds remaining. What made the backdoor cover even luckier was how the Rebels were clutch at the free-throw line when the foul-fest began. Nevertheless, trading 3’s for a pair at the stripe worked for ‘Bama backers thanks to six 3-pointers in the last 1:52 of the game. Trevor Lacey knocked down three of the late treys.
--Here’s my take on the unfathomable developments with USC and Tim Floyd.
Brian Edwards can be reached at briane@vegasinsider.com.
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