The No. 17 Kentucky Wildcats will host the No. 1 Auburn Tigers in a highly-anticipated meeting between two explosive SEC offenses.
The Johni Broome-led Tigers have been arguably the best team in the country for a majority of the season; can they continue their dominance against the Wildcats, who will have their home crowd behind them? Or can the Wildcats stir up an upset victory, bolstering their 14-2 home record?
Find out below as we make a prediction and break down the spread, total, and money line bets.
Auburn vs. Kentucky Betting Preview
All Auburn vs. Kentucky odds are from Fanduel Sportsbook and are correct as of Saturday, March 1, 2025.
- Spread
Auburn -4.5 - Moneyline
Auburn -215, Kentucky +180 - Over/Under
167.5 Points - Game Time
Saturday, March 1, 1:00 p.m. ET - Location
Rupp Arena | Lexington, KY - How To Watch
ABC
Auburn has been excellent covering the spread this season, going 16-11-1 ATS this season. In conference, however, they’ve only covered seven of 15 contests — likely a result of the extreme competitiveness of the SEC. They’ve only covered one of their last three games.
The Wildcats are an even 14-14 ATS this season, covering eight of 15 conference matchups. They have shown a covering advantage at home, with a 9-7 record ATS. The Wildcats have covered four of their last six outings.
An extremely balanced and explosive offense, the Tigers tend to go over the listed point total. In fact, 17 of their 28 games have gone over and nine of 16 in conference play. The over has been the correct play in three of their last four games, including Auburn’s 106-point outburst in their last game.
Kentucky possesses an explosive offense as well, but only 15 of their 28 games have gone over. Although their offense has stayed near their season average in the last six games, four of them have gone under. Vegas has routinely set the total high for the Wildcats.
Despite being ranked No. 1 in the AP Poll, Auburn surprisingly comes in at No. 7 in our power rankings. One spot above them are the Wildcats, who assume the No. 6 spot.
The game is in Lexington, where the Kentucky faithful will be heard loud and clear; considering that, the line of Auburn -4.5 should likely be flipped if it were up to our rankings, proving the advantage lays with the Wildcats.
Preview for Auburn vs. Kentucky
The Tigers will enter Rupp Arena with a 26-2 overall and 14-1 conference record, good for first in the conference and leading them to being the top-ranked team in the nation.
Relative to their standards, Kentucky has struggled in conference play this season, with a record of 7-8. On the season, however, they’ve amassed a 19-9 record. Barring a significant late-season collapse and others rising up, the Wildcats have undoubtable earned a spot in the NCAA Tournament.
They’re led by Oklahoma transfer guard Otega Oweh, who pours a team-high 16.1 ppg. In a revenge game against the Sooners in his last outing, the junior scored a season-high 28 points. Beside Oweh in the backcourt is former San Diego State standout Lamont Butler.
A fifth-year senior, Butler is scoring 12.3 ppg and leading the team with 4.7 apg. 6’6″ senior guard Jaxson Robinson is a major threat from deep, shooting 37.6% from beyond the arc on 6.9 attempts per game. He’s combined for 13 points in his last two outings — in order for Kentucky to pull off the upset, they’ll need him to find his stroke.
Auburn has one of, if not the best player in the country.
Johni Broome has put together a terrific season in 2024-25, establishing himself as a firm candidate for the Naismith National Player of the Year Award. He’s leading the Tigers in every major stat category except steals, with outputs of 18.8 ppg, 11.0 rpg, 3.4 apg, and an elite mark of 2.6 bpg. He’s been a model of consistency all season long for Auburn.
KEEP READING: Bruce Pearl Says Auburn Has Chance to be 1 of the ‘Best Teams in History’
The issue for other teams is that it’s not just Broome that’s doing the damage; five other Tigers average in double-figure scoring.
Chad Baker-Mazara, a 6’7″ senior forward, is one of the most talented scorers in the SEC. Although he has gotten himself into trouble with technical fouls and a number of heated moments this season, his scoring ability is invaluable to the Tigers.
Beyond Broome and Baker-Mazara, starting guards Denver Jones and Miles Kelly provide outside shooting, while freshman guard Tahaad Pettiford has been a revelation off the bench, becoming one of the top bench players in the conference.
The Wildcats know it won’t be easy to pull off the upset. It starts with having a good night offensively and honing in on Broome while keeping an eye on the excellent supporting cast that Auburn possesses.
They may be able to catch an advantage with their raucous home crowd. If they can keep the momentum high all game long, they may be able to pull out their 15th home win over the No. 1 team in the country.
Best Bets and Final Score Prediction
This is set up to be one of the best games of the season. Two teams headed for the NCAA Tournament in just over three weeks will do battle in Lexington, with the national TV crowd of ABC tuning in.
It’s also a prime game to place a bet on.
First, we’ll examine the over/under, which is set at 167.5 points. According to the spread, the expected final score is 86-81. While that would be extremely entertaining and fun to root for, that’s a lot of points that the Tigers would have to give up.
On the season, they allow 68.4 ppg — and mind you that’s with an SEC schedule, where some of the most explosive offenses compete.
READ MORE: ‘Best Player in College Basketball’ – Johni Broome’s Impact Will Be Huge, Bruce Pearl Says
I’d be comfortable taking the under in this one.
Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl will voice the stakes of this game to his team, and they’ll come out with an intensity on the defensive end of the floor.
That’s not to say Kentucky won’t stay close. Behind their home crowd, I don’t expect the Tigers to win in blowout fashion. But the line of them being favored by 4.5 allows for a close win to still occur.
I’d take Auburn -4.5 as well — they’re the better team and, as March nears, they’ll start to focus even more on both sides of the court. There is no equal to Broome in this game — and in college basketball — and he’ll be the steady presence that he is.
Picks: Under 167.5 Points, Auburn -4.5
Prediction: Auburn 78, Kentucky 70
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