Want to wager on Kentucky basketball? UK vs Arkansas odds, props bets, Final Four chances

Posted by author January 30, 2025 Basketball

Kentucky is expected to be an 8-to-12 point favorite against Arkansas.
Arkansas is 100-to-1 odds to reach the Final Four.

LEXINGTON — Above all, Kentucky basketball fans attending Saturday night’s game against Arkansas (and former coach John Calipari) want to see the the Wildcats walk away with a win at Rupp Arena.

But that doesn’t mean there won’t be people interested in more than just the result. Sports betting continues to grow in popularity in the U.S.

Ahead of Saturday’s matchup, The Courier Journal spoke with Steve Bittenbender, a gaming analyst and writer for Gambling.com Group, for more insight on the Wildcats and Razorbacks in the betting world:

Betting odds: Odds are not yet available for the UK-Arkansas matchup. But Bittenbender has an idea for what it likely will be.

“KenPom‘s expecting about a 10-point victory for Kentucky. So I can see probably Kentucky being an 8-to-12 point favorite, just depending on … Kentucky’s health is going into the game.

“But no matter what, I can’t see them not not being a sizable favorite in the game.”

Aside from the line itself, Bittenbender also noted there should be ample opportunity to capitalize on player-specific prop bets. For instance: if Lamont Butler was at optimum health, Bittenbender said he’d expect an over-under prop bet centering around the point guard’s assist tally. Bittenbender also expects there to be various prop bets involving a pair of Razorbacks (Zvonimir Ivišić and D.J. Wagner) who played for Calipari last season at Kentucky.

If nothing else, Bittenbender said bettors in the Bluegrass State ought to take advantage of the prop-bet possibilities.

“That’s one thing that’s unique about Kentucky,” he said. “There’s a push nationally to get states to not allow college player props. Right now, Kentucky is one of the few states that still allows them.”

Want to wager whether Calipari will receive more boos than cheers when he’s introduced Saturday night? How about what color suit he’ll wear? Those types of bets exist, sure. Just not in a regulated market.

“Now the offshore books like Bovada and those operators may have those odds,” Bittenbender said. “But the Kentucky Horse Racing and Gaming Corporation does not allow anything like that — and neither do any other states.

“They focus strictly on what is going to happen in the game: how many points a player scores, how many rebounds, how many assists, how many 3-pointers, etc.”

Bittenbender believes placing a bet on the Wildcats to reach the final weekend, and potentially even win it all, wouldn’t be a bad investment.

“Kentucky right now is 25-to-1 at DraftKings to win the national title,” Bittenbender said. “So their odds have gone up some, obviously, just because of the hits they’ve taken here in SEC play. But they’re going to be a good price. I think, especially considering what seed they’re going to be. … Kentucky has proven they can play with anybody on a neutral court. They they can put together a string of four solid games (to advance to the Final Four).”

Given the Razorbacks’ struggles this season — they’re 12-8 overall, 1-6 in the SEC — Calipari’s club would be on the outside looking in if the NCAA Tournament started today. But Bittenbender pointed to the length of the season, and the plethora of opportunities to notch quality victories in the rugged SEC before Selection Sunday arrives, as reasons to keep Arkansas on your betting radar.

“Arkansas right now is 100-to-1 to get to the Final Four,” he said. “So that should make them 200-to-1 to win the NCAA title. … If Arkansas puts together a five- or six-game (winning streak), especially because of who they’re playing in the conference, they’re going to start attracting interest just because of the value that would be there with the odds.”

UK and Arkansas are slated to tip off at 9 p.m. Saturday at Rupp Arena.

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Reach Kentucky men’s basketball and football reporter Ryan Black at rblack@gannett.com and follow him on X at @RyanABlack.