The No. 6 seed Kentucky Wildcats and No. 14 seed Oklahoma Sooners will renew a thrilling matchup from just over two weeks ago on Thursday in the second round of the SEC Tournament.
The Sooners defeated the Georgia Bulldogs on Wednesday night to seemingly secure themselves a spot in the NCAA Tournament/ Can they repeat that performance against 15th-ranked Wildcats? Find out below as we make a prediction and break down the spread, total, and money line bets.
Oklahoma vs. Kentucky Betting Preview
All Oklahoma vs. Kentucky odds are from Fanduel Sportsbook and are correct as of Thursday, March 13, 2025.
- Spread
Kentucky -6.5 - Moneyline
Kentucky -255, Oklahoma +205 - Over/Under
162.5 Points - Game Time
Thursday, March 13, 9:30 p.m. ET - Location
Bridgestone Arena | Nashville, TN - How To Watch
SEC Network
The Sooners enter with a 17-15 record ATS, including 10-9 in SEC play. However, they’ve covered six games in a row—all as the underdog, as they are in this matchup.
Meanwhile, Kentucky is 16-15 and 10-8 ATS in conference matchups, but they have only covered the spread in two of their last five games and failed to do so earlier this season against the Sooners.
Defense is not either of these teams’ specialties; both have a propensity for going over the point total due to that and explosive offenses. Oklahoma has gone over in five of their past six outings, while the Wildcats have gone over in four consecutive games.
Oklahoma vs. Kentucky Preview
Oklahoma comes into this game with a 20-12 overall and 6-12 SEC record. Despite the poor conference record, the Sooners have six Quad 1 victories to their name—a seventh would be claimed with a victory over Kentucky.
The Wildcats are 21-10 this season and 10-8 in conference play, ranking them 15th in the country. On February 26, led by guard Otega Oweh’s season-high 28 points, Kentucky defeated Oklahoma on the road, 83-82, in their only meeting of the season.
Oweh is their leading scorer, averaging 16.2 ppg on 49.2% shooting from the field. The junior averaged 23.0 ppg over his last two games. When he gets going, he’s shown to be one of the best scorers in the conference.
His backcourt mate, San Diego State senior transfer Lamont Butler has been disappointing as of late, scoring in single figures in six of his last seven games. He does have the potential to turn a game, as evidenced by his 33-point outburst against the Louisville Cardinals in December.
Big man Amari Williams has been consistent all season long, averaging 11.0 ppg and 8.7 rpg while showing an innate passing ability, dishing out 3.1 apg.
On the other side, the Sooners are led by their two stars, Jeremiah Fears and Jalon Moore.
Freshman point guard Fears was the star on Wednesday night against Georgia, totaling 29 points on eight of 16 shooting and nine of 12 from the free throw line. On the season, he’s averaging team highs in points (16.3 ppg), assists (4.2 apg), and steals (1.5 spg).
Moore, a senior forward, had 14 points in the win against the Bulldogs and averages 16.2 ppg and 5.8 rpg on the season.
The duo is a huge reason for the Sooners’ current three-game winning streak that has vaulted them into the NCAA Tournament field. But against a talented Kentucky squad, it won’t be easy to continue that streak.
The winner of this game will face the third-seeded Alabama Crimson Tide, who last played on March 8 when they defeated the then-No. 1 Auburn Tigers at the buzzer-beater. They’ll surely be feeling good about themselves against whoever wins in this matchup.
Best Bets and Final Score Prediction
It’s already been laid out how each team has been going over the point total in recent weeks. To be exact, the Sooners have gone over in five of their last six, while the Wildcats have gone over in each of their last four games.
The total is set at 162.5 points—a very reachable number for teams that scored 164.4 ppg combined. Additionally, 165 points were scored in their first meeting just over two weeks ago.
The line is lower, presumably because it’s the second meeting, and the head coaches will be honed in on the other team’s tendencies and the high intensity that comes with a conference tournament game.
But the writing is on the wall, and we’ll take the over. I don’t believe it’ll fly over it, but it’s a relatively safe over. I just don’t see any situation in which it goes under that number.
SEE THE FULL BRACKET! SEC Tournament Schedule
Similarly, the trends say another thing that will happen: Oklahoma to cover the spread. They’ve done it in six consecutive games, all as the underdog. That doesn’t mean they’ve won outright, however. In fact, the Sooners are 4-2 in that stretch and suffered one of those losses to these Wildcats.
I could absolutely see Oklahoma covering, but Oweh and Kentucky finished the game off in the final minute. It was Oweh who hit a layup with six seconds left that put his team up for good.
Something resembling that will happen yet again, as the Sooners will cover the spread of Kentucky -6.5 but ultimately, the Wildcats will come out with a victory, setting up a matchup with the Crimson Tide on Friday.
Picks: Over 162.5 Points, Oklahoma +6.5
Prediction: Kentucky 82, Oklahoma 79
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