College hoops odds: Kentucky looks to get back on track; Duke-UNC highlights week

The 15th-ranked Kentucky Wildcats (18–5 overall, 8–2 SEC) have stumbled a bit lately, dropping three of their last four games to make bettors wonder if they

The 15th-ranked Kentucky Wildcats (18–5 overall, 8–2 SEC) have stumbled a bit lately, dropping three of their last four games to make bettors wonder if they still deserve to be among the favorites to win the 2017 NCAA tournament.

The Wildcats will try to get back on track Tuesday against an overmatched opponent when they host the LSU Tigers (9–13, 1–9) as massive home betting favorites at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com.

Kentucky is coming off an 88–66 road loss to the Florida Gators on Saturday as a 1.5-point underdog, the first time the school had been in that role in more than a year.

The Kansas Jayhawks (-5.5) were the last team to be favored against the Wildcats in a 90–84 home win on January 30, 2016. That obviously will not be the case here when Kentucky hosts an LSU team riding a nine-game losing streak, going 3–6 against the spread during that stretch.

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In a more important SEC matchup on Tuesday, the 19th-ranked South Carolina Gamecocks (19–4, 9–1) will take on the Alabama Crimson Tide (13-9, 6-4) as solid home favorites as well. The Gamecocks are currently leading the conference, but they have lost four of the past seven meetings with the Crimson Tide, going 1–3 ATS in the last four.

On Wednesday, the sixth-ranked Baylor Bears (20–3, 7–3 Big 12) will attempt to end a two-game skid on the road after a disappointing 56–54 loss Saturday to the Kansas State Wildcats as seven-point home favorites.

The Bears fell from second in the rankings and will try to top the Oklahoma State Cowboys (15–8, 4–6) for the fourth straight time. But Baylor is 3–7 ATS in its previous 10 overall and 1-3-1 ATS on the college basketball odds in the past five meetings between the schools.

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Also in the Big 12 on Wednesday, the 13th-ranked West Virginia Mountaineers (18–5, 6–4) will look to beat the Oklahoma Sooners (8–14, 2–8) for just the second time in six games between them. The Mountaineers will visit the Sooners and have not won in Norman since 2005 when they pulled off a 92–68 upset victory as 7.5-point road dogs.

Thursday’s top games will take place in the ACC and Pac-12, with a pair of top-25 matchups. The 18th-ranked Duke Blue Devils (18–5, 6–4 ACC) will first host the eighth-ranked North Carolina Tar Heels (21–4, 9–2), followed by the fifth-ranked Oregon Ducks (21–3, 10–1 Pac-12) visiting the 10th-ranked UCLA Bruins (21–3, 8–3).

Duke has won four of the last five meetings (3–2 ATS) in its intrastate rivalry with North Carolina, according to the OddsShark College Basketball Database, while Oregon has done the same versus UCLA (4–1 ATS).