The Kentucky Wildcats (22-11) are set to face the Troy Trojans (23-10) in the first round of the 2025 NCAA Tournament on Friday in Milwaukee, WI.
Kentucky enters the tournament as the No. 3 seed in the Midwest Region and as one of the true, blue bloods of the sport holding records for the most appearances (62) and the most games played (185). They have secured eight National Championships and reached 17 Final Fours. The good news for this year’s Wildcats is Lamont Butler practiced earlier this week signaling his availability despite ankle and shoulder injuries. The guard’s presence on the court adds scoring but also helps space the court for Kentucky.
Troy enters the tournament as the No. 14 seed in the Midwest Region having won the Sun Belt Tournament with a 94-81 win over Arkansas State. The team averages 73.9 points per game, ranking 177th nationally, and has a field goal percentage of 43.8%.
The winner of this game earns the right to play the winner of Illinois vs. Xavier.
Lets dive into the matchup and offer some information and possibly a sweat or two.
We’ve got all the info and analysis you need to know ahead of the game, including the latest info on the how to catch the opening tip, recent team performance, player stats, and of course, our predictions, picks & best bets for the game from our modeling tools and staff of experts.
Game details & how to watch Troy vs. Kentucky
- Date: Friday, March 21, 2025
- Time: 7:10PM EST
- Site: Fiserv Forum
- City: Milwaukee, WI
- Network/Streaming: CBS
Never miss a second of the action and stay up to date with all the latest scores and player news. Check out our day-by-day NCAA Basketball Schedule Page that includes live game updates.
Game odds for Troy vs. Kentucky
The latest odds as of Thursday courtesy of BetMGM:
- Odds: Troy Trojans (+525), Kentucky Wildcats (-750)
- Spread: Wildcats -11.5
- Total: 152.5 points
Expert picks & predictions for Troy at Kentucky
NBC Sports Bet Best Bet
Our model calculates projections around each moneyline, spread and over/under bet for every game on the NCAA calendar based on data points like past performance, player matchups, injuries, and the schedule.
Once the model is finished running, we put its projection next to the latest betting lines for the game to arrive at a relative confidence level for each wager.
Here are the best bets our model is projecting for Friday’s Trojans & Wildcats game:
- Moneyline: NBC Sports Bet is staying away from a play on the Moneyline.
- Spread: NBC Sports Bet is leaning towards a play ATS on Kentucky -11.5.
- Total: NBC Sports Bet is recommending a play on the Game Total OVER 152.5.
Troy vs. Kentucky: Top betting trends and recent stats
- Troy has won 6 straight and 8 of their last 10 games
- Troy is 6-0 against the spread in their last 6 games
- The Game Total is 6-1 to the OVER in Troy’s last 7 games
- Kentucky is 2-5 against the spread in their last 7 games (16-14-1 ATS for the season)
- Kentucky has won 4 of their last 7 games
If you’re looking for more key trends and stats around the spread, moneyline and total for every single game on the schedule today, check out our NCAA Basketball Top Trends Tool on NBCSports.com!
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· Jay Croucher (@croucherJD)
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· Vaughn Dalzell (@VmoneySports)
· Brad Thomas (@MrBradThomas)
