Posted at 12:30 PM EST odds are subject to change.

Pinnacle +4½ -108 BET365  +4½ - 110 Sportsinteraction +4½ - 110 888Sport +4½ - 110

Greensboro Coliseum, Greensboro, NC - East Region - 1st Round

Streaming: CBS 

Providence +4½ -105 over Kentucky

Friday - 7:10 PM EST. Providence is not going to turn any heads here, but that serves us well, as the Friars are tough as nails. Not only that, but the Friars are not being given the respect of those teams around them in the power rankings, as they enter the NCAA Tournament as an #11. The goods under the hood love Providence, as the Friars are ranked 44th at KenPom. For some perspective, the U (Miami) is ranked 43rd, one spot ahead of Providence, and the Hurricanes are a #5 seed. To take that point one step further, Mizzou is ranked 47th and is a #7 seed. Something doesn’t add up here, and any way you slice it, the Friars have been disrespected by the selection committee.

Kentucky is college hoops royalty, but recent years have not been kind to the Wildcats once the calendar turns to March. It’s been nearly 1500 days since Kentucky has racked up a victory in the NCAA Tournament, which is not very Kentucky at all. The last game the Wildcats won in this tournament came against Houston in the Sweet 16 in 2019, which sent them to the Elite Eight, where Kentucky lost to fellow SEC brothers Auburn. The pandemic wiped out the 2020 NCAA’s, and as for 2021, the Wildcats didn’t make the cut. A rarity. Last season, you may remember that the Wildcats were upended when St Peters “shocked the world” and sent them packing in the first round.

The Wildcats not only didn’t win the SEC tournament this year, but they were sent home early after a quarterfinals loss to Vanderbilt. For the record, Vandy didn’t get the call here to participate in the Madness. It's hard to have much sympathy for head coach John Calipari because he’s the poster boy for the one-and-done generation. Kentucky is the destination for those talented players that are looking to go pro but will only play one season. It’s that formula that has led to a high rate of turnover and the recent run of futility in the Big Dance. There is so much pressure on this year's Kentucky team to not only make it out of the first weekend and make the Sweet 16 that we almost feel bad for Calipari. Almost.

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