Posted on 3/19/2008 6:50:25 PM

NCAA Basketball Betting Picks Kentucky vs. Marquette

By Charles Jay

BetUS NCAA college basketball betting odds: Marquette -6, Total 130

The Kentucky Wildcats (18-12 SU, 15-10-2 ATS), seeded at #11 in the South Regional, will embark on its NCAA tournament journey without its best player as they take on the Marquette Golden Eagles (24-9 SU, 15-12 ATS) in first-round action that tips off at 2:30 PM ET on Thursday at the Honda Center in Houston.

At BetUS Sportsbook, Marquette is listed as a six-point favorite, with a total of 130 points.

Here are some of the NCAA college basketball betting trends as they relate to this matchup:

* KY is 10-3-1 ATS in its last 14 games
* KY has won 11 of its last 14 games SU
* KY has played six of its last eight games UNDER the total
* MARQ has won and covered eight of its last 11 games SU
* MARQ has played four of its last six games OVER the total

Patrick Patterson (16.4 ppg, 7.7 rpg, 57% shooting) was the sensational frosh that was helping Kentucky rebound after a slow start under new coach Billy Gillespie (who came over from Texas A&M). Honestly, though, Patterson's numbers had been thinning a little when he went down with a broken foot in early March. There were signs that sophomore Perry Stevenson was going to pick up the slack. But Stevenson has scored in double digits in just one of his last ten games.

But he has become a component of what has become a more balanced offense. Actually, the hot guy for the Wildcats is Joe Crawford, who scored 24 points in the loss to Georgia in the SEC tournament and had 35 points against South Carolina a couple of games before that. And you can't ignore what Ramel Bradley can do either; at one point he scored 20 points in six consecutive games.

The point is, Kentucky has players who can put the ball in the hoop, and they're not particularly handicapped by a lack of size against Marquette, which has a three-guard lineup and a power forward (Lazar Hayward) who is 6'6". Kentucky has played with injuries all season, and had to adapt to Gillespie's system, which was painful at times. Yes they're here, and ready to go a strong 40 minutes with the possibility of moving on to the next round.

We'll take the points with Kentucky, the six-point underdog in the BetUS NCAA college basketball betting odds.

JAY'S PLAY:  KENTUCKY

(Charles Jay of http://www.eBookies.com gives it the old college try as a regular contributor to the BetUS Locker Room)

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