No. 23 Kentucky will host James Madison on Friday at 7 p.m. ET at Rupp Arena in Lexington, looking to remain unbeaten after an 85-57 season-opening win over Manhattan.
The Wildcats (1-0) are 24.5-point favorites against a Dukes team that fell to Miami (OH) 86-77 in its opener. The over/under is set at 156.5 points, with Kentucky's money line at -9091 and James Madison at +3500.
A projection model that simulates each game 10,000 times leans toward the under on the total, projecting it to hit 52% of the time. The model also forecasts five Kentucky players to score in double figures: Alex Wilkins (over 20 points), Milan Momcilovic (over 16), Zoom Diallo (over 15), Justin McBride (over 13) and Jerone Morton (over 11). For James Madison, Gage Lattimore (over 13), Cavan Reilly (over 10) and Adrian Myers (over 10) are projected to reach double digits.
The model enters the 2026-27 season on an 11-1 run on its top-rated over/under college basketball picks dating back to 2025, and a 28-22 record on top-rated side picks.
