Oakland vs Kentucky Predictions, Picks, and Odds: Reeves Steps Up in March Madness Opener

Kentucky has had disappointing runs in the last two March Madness tournaments and will look to make up for it this season. Antonio Reeves will be looked upon for offense, and our college basketball picks think he'll deliver from deep.

Oakland has been a fun team to watch this year, with Jack Gohlke being the best 3-point shooter in the tournament. The 14-seeded Grizzlies punched their ticket here by winning the Horizon League Tournament, capped by a championship game win over Milwaukee. was eliminated from the NCAA tournament by Kansas State, and the senior had one of the worst games of his season.

I also like the element of a young Kentucky team leaning on its veteran in its first NCAA Tournament game. In the first three games of the year, Reeves combined for an eye-popping 49 total shots. I'm not sure he'll see quite that volume here, but it aligns with the thinking he should get many opportunities as a veteran player for a group of many playing in their first tournament game. is a terrible spot-up defense, allowing .98 points per possession on such sets and 38% shooting.

The Wildcats will be aware that one of the only ways for Oakland to win this game involves Gohike getting hot from deep. The extra emphasis on running him off the 3-point line should open up some passing lanes and allow him to eclipse this minimal number —something he's done in two of his last four games.This is a reasonably high-variance game, so I want no part of the pregame 13.5-point spread.

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