Kentucky Wildcats and Oakland Golden Grizzlies square off in the first round of NCAA Tournament

Published Mar. 21, 2024 3:23 a.m. ET

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Oakland Golden Grizzlies (23-11, 18-5 Horizon League) vs. Kentucky Wildcats (23-9, 13-6 SEC)

Pittsburgh; Thursday, 7:10 p.m. EDT

FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK LINE: Wildcats -13.5; over/under is 161.5

BOTTOM LINE: No. 12 Kentucky plays in the first round of the NCAA Tournament against Oakland.

The Wildcats are 13-6 against SEC opponents and 10-3 in non-conference play. Kentucky averages 89.4 points and has outscored opponents by 9.7 points per game.

The Golden Grizzlies are 18-5 against Horizon League teams. Oakland is fourth in the Horizon League allowing 72.9 points while holding opponents to 43.7% shooting.

Kentucky scores 89.4 points, 16.5 more per game than the 72.9 Oakland allows. Oakland has shot at a 45.0% clip from the field this season, 2.0 percentage points greater than the 43.0% shooting opponents of Kentucky have averaged.

TOP PERFORMERS: Reed Sheppard is averaging 12.8 points, 4.5 assists and 2.5 steals for the Wildcats. Antonio Reeves is averaging 20.6 points over the last 10 games.

Jack Gohlke averages 3.6 made 3-pointers per game for the Golden Grizzlies, scoring 12.3 points while shooting 37.0% from beyond the arc. Trey Townsend is averaging 17.5 points, 9.2 rebounds and 3.4 assists over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Wildcats: 7-3, averaging 88.8 points, 34.4 rebounds, 16.4 assists, 7.4 steals and 7.0 blocks per game while shooting 50.8% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 82.7 points per game.

Golden Grizzlies: 8-2, averaging 78.6 points, 37.3 rebounds, 16.6 assists, 6.9 steals and 4.2 blocks per game while shooting 45.7% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 70.2 points.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

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