Wofford vs. Kentucky Pick Center

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TOTAL

Wofford

+220

+5
(-105)

O 139.5
(-105)

Kentucky

-260

-5
(-105)

U 139.5
(-105)

NCAAB

FINAL (3/23/2019)

Mar 22, 2019Kentucky's players making their first appearances in the NCAA Tournament haven't seemed fazed.Neither has upstart Wofford, which is coming of its first victory in the tournament.The teams meet Saturday afternoon at Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Fla., for the right to advance to the Sweet 16.It's a matchup involving seventh-seeded Wofford (30-4), a small private school in South Carolina, against established power Kentucky (28-6), the No. 2 seed in the Midwest Region."I don't think I'm going to change my approach too much," said Wofford senior guard Fletcher Magee, the NCAA's all-time leader in 3-point baskets. "I think that teams in our league have played us for a long time and done some things. I'm sure teams that haven't seen us are looking at what they can do and strategy-wise and stuff." Kentucky freshmen Keldon Johnson and Tyler Herro excelled in their first game in the national tournament. So did graduate transfer Reid Travis, who previously played for Stanford."This has always been a dream of mine playing college basketball, to be in the tournament and advance deep in it," Travis said. "This is the first step." Wofford hopes to step in the way, showing up with a 21-game winning streak after defeating Seton Hall in Thursday night's first round.The Terriers might have the parts to piece together a strong showing against Kentucky. Magee set the NCAA mark for 3-point baskets in the first tournament game, hitting seven to give him 509 for his career.Herro, also considered a sharpshooter, said he's aware of Magee's historic shooting."I've watched his highlights," Herro said. "I've heard he's a very good shooter, so I think it would be a good matchup." Wofford won an NCAA Tournament game for the first time in five tries in turning aside Seton Hall 84-68. The Terriers have embraced some of the attention."The hype has built the past couple months of the season, so we've kind of gotten used to it in a way," senior center Matthew Pegram said.Johnson and Herro combined for 39 points in Kentucky's 79-44 first-round rout of Abilene Christian.But Kentucky played without team scoring and rebounding leader PJ Washington, a 6-foot-8 sophomore who had his left foot in a cast from an injury sustained in last week's Southeastern Conference tournament.Kentucky coach John Calipari said the medical experts said Washington's healing would be faster if the foot was in a cast. He said the situation would be re-evaluated by the end of the day Friday to determine Washington's availability.Travis missed time this winter, and the Wildcats might be able to take what they learned from that situation to help in the tournament."I feel like with my injury a couple weeks back, guys had to step up and fit into different roles and really just build their confidence," Travis said.Calipari said without even delving into the details about Wofford that he knows it's a top-level team because the Terriers defeated UNC Greensboro three times this season in Southern Conference play. Kentucky had a nonleague tussle with UNCG before pulling away in the Dec. 1 meeting.Wofford, meanwhile, split two matchups with Southeastern Conference teams, winning at South Carolina and falling at Mississippi State."We know what's in front of us," Wofford coach Mike Young said. "I've got a really good team, and we're excited to be here." --Field Level Media