Kentucky Wildcats vs South Carolina Gamecocks Prediction, 2/24/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Kentucky Wildcats vs South Carolina Gamecocks

Date: Tuesday, February 24, 2026

Location: Colonial Life Arena in Columbia, SC

TV: SEC Network

The Kentucky Wildcats (17-10) are hitting the road to Colonial Life Arena on Tuesday where they will try to defeat the South Carolina Gamecocks (12-15).

The Kentucky Wildcats stepped onto the hardwood against Auburn and walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 75-74 in their last contest. When discussing fouls, the Wildcats ended up finishing with 19 while Auburn had 14 fouls. They made 5 out of their 19 shots from beyond the perimeter. Auburn walked away from this one shooting 83.3% from the free throw line by making 20 of their 24 tries. Moreover, Auburn collected 30 boards (11 offensive, 19 defensive), but wasn't able to record a block. Auburn recorded 12 assists and had 9 steals in the matchup. Regarding the defense, Kentucky let their opponent shoot 40.3% from the floor on 25 out of 62 shooting. They also doled out 14 assists in this contest while forcing 11 turnovers and earning 7 steals. Regarding grabbing rebounds, they earned a total of 37 with 16 of them being of the offensive variety. At the free throw line, the Wildcats buried 14 of their 17 shots for a percentage of 82.4%. Kentucky finished having earned a 41.5% field goal percentage (27 out of 65) and knocked down 6 out of their 23 shots from beyond the perimeter.

Otega Oweh is one player who had an impact for this game. He ended up walking away with 29 points on 11 of 20 shooting. He was on the hardwood for 35 mins and totaled 7 boards. He finished the game at 55.0% from the field and dished out 3 dimes.

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Kentucky heads into this matchup with a win-loss record of 17-10 on the campaign. They turn it over 10.5 times per game and as a group they commit 18.0 fouls on a nightly basis. As a unit, Kentucky is snagging 38.1 rebounds per game and has earned 431 dimes on the year, which has them ranked 92nd in D-1 in terms of passing. The Wildcats are shooting 34.8% on shots beyond the perimeter (224 of 644) and 72.3% from the free throw line. They have an average of 81.2 points per game (70th in Division 1) while going 46.7% from the floor.

When they are on defense, the Wildcats are able to force 10.9 turnovers per game and they draw 18.1 personal fouls. They give up 31.7% from 3-point land and they rank 144th in college in points per game allowed (72.8). The Wildcats are giving up a field goal percentage of 41.8% (670 of 1,604) and they relinquish 34.1 rebounds per contest as a group. They are ranked 208th in college hoops in allowing assists with 380 relinquished for the year.

In their last game, the South Carolina Gamecocks walked away with a victory by a final of 97-89 when they played Mississippi State. The Gamecocks collected 24 defensive rebounds and 4 offensive rebounds totaling 28 in this matchup. They also coughed it up 6 times, while earning 4 steals for this contest. Mississippi State earned 21 fouls for the matchup which took the Gamecocks to the free throw line for a total of 27 shots. They were able to convert 23 of the free throw tries for a rate of 85.2%. Concerning shots from 3-point land, South Carolina converted 12 out of their 24 attempts (50.0%). When all was said and done, the Gamecocks finished 31 out of 56 from the field which gave them a percentage of 55.4%. The Gamecocks permitted Mississippi State to make 31 of 69 tries from the floor which had them sitting at 44.9% for this contest. They shot 30.3% from three-point range by going 10 out of 33 and finished the contest at 17 of 30 at the free throw line (56.7%). In regard to rebounding, South Carolina permitted Mississippi State to snag 34 in total (13 on the offensive side).

Meechie Johnson Jr. was important for the Gamecocks for the matchup. He converted 5 out of 11 in the matchup for a rate of 45.5%, and accounted for 5 rebounds. He recorded 21 points in his 28 mins on the court and had 9 assists for the matchup.

South Carolina has a mark of 12-15 for the year. On the offensive side of the ball, the Gamecocks are connecting on 44.3% from the field, which ranks them 244th in the country. South Carolina has accumulated 2,070 pts this year (76.7 per game) and they average 32.9 rebounds per game. Their rate of earning assists is at 13.7 times per contest (199th in D-1) and they are giving up possession 9.8 times per game. The Gamecocks are committing 17.9 fouls every game and they connect on 79.0% from the charity stripe.

The South Carolina defense concedes 31.7% on 3-pointers (184 of 580) and their opponents are knocking down 70.9% of their free throw shots. They relinquish 15.3 assists and 36.3 total rebounds per game, which has them ranked 304th and 298th in the country. The Gamecocks are ranked 250th in college hoops in PPG surrendered with 76.4. They are forcing their opponents into 10.3 turnovers on a nightly basis and have let teams shoot 45.2% from the field (250th in D-1).

Who will win tonight's NCAA game against the spread?

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Kentucky

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