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Sometimes you want to make a quick pitstop, empty the bladder, grab a bag of salty snacks and limber up the limbs before hitting the open road again. For the fast-minded who enjoy simple $2 scratchers hoping to uncover the jackpot-winning image, here are quick thoughts and the lean on Kentucky-Clemson.
No. 4 Kentucky (7-0) at Clemson (7-1)
Date: Tuesday, December 3
Time: 9:30 p.m. ET
TV: ESPN
Last season in the foothills east of Lexington, there wasn’t enough wonderfully aged fine bourbon to numb Big Blue Nation’s pain. Not even an exorbitant bottle of Pappy Van Winkle could’ve done the trick.
Loyal Kentucky fans — without a doubt the most hoops-crazed contingency around — were fed up with the disappointment. No matter the rich tradition or overflowing NIL funds, the Wildcats failed to meet the lofty annual goal. Their first-round NCAA Tournament defeat against Oakland confirmed a failed 2023-24 season.
As a result, John Calipari bolted for Arkansas, and former Kentucky player and BYU head honcho Mark Pope returned to Lexington. The hire was met with some resistance, but the Wildcats’ unblemished start — including a come-from-behind 77-72 victory over Duke in Atlanta — has everyone aboard the bandwagon.
The pick — Clemson +2.5 (-110, DraftKings)
Kentucky is good — national champion good — and poised to make serious noise come March. The roster is packed with street toughness, proven veterans, considerable depth and well-oiled versatility. According to KenPom, the Wildcats are top-30 nationally in 10 different offensive and defensive categories combined, including effective field-goal percentage offense and effective field-goal percentage defense.
Clemson, however, presents a formidable foe.
The Tigers don’t have a Duke-level marquee win, but conquering San Francisco and Penn State on a neutral court are quality resume triumphs.
Similar to UK, Brad Brownell’s bunch is one of the oldest teams in the country. Clemson is also well-balanced, ranking top-30 nationally in adjusted offensive and defensive efficiency.
Most impressively, the Tigers shoot 39.6% on 3-pointers thanks to the marksmanship of Chase Hunter (46.5 3PT%), Chauncey Wiggins (40.0%), Dillon Hunter (38.1%) and Jaeden Zackery (33.3%). They are also highly effective on the glass, whether generating second chances or sealing off opponent crashes. They own few weaknesses.
The action at Littlejohn Coliseum will come down to how assertive Clemson’s big three — Ian Schieffelin, Viktor Lahkin and Myles Foster — perform on both ends. If they out-battle Andrew Carr and Amari Williams inside and the kick-out game again operates efficiently, Clemson will hand Kentucky its first loss of the year.
Fight Tigers, fight, fight, fight! Give this bettor the points.
Season record: 6-5, +1.09 units