2024 NCAA Tournament: Kentucky vs. Oakland prediction, odds, line, spread picks from proven model for Thursday

The Kentucky Wildcats will look to get back on the winning track when they square off against the Oakland Golden Grizzlies in a first round game of the 2024 NCAA Tournament on Thursday at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh. The Wildcats (23-9) are coming off a 97-87 loss to Texas A&M in the SEC Tournament. Meanwhile, the Golden Grizzlies (23-11) enter the NCAA Tournament having won both the Horizon League regular season and tournament titles. 

Tip-off is set for 7:10 p.m. ET. The Wildcats are favored by 13 points in the latest Kentucky vs. Oakland odds, while the over/under for total points scored is 160.5.

Before making any Oakland vs. Kentucky picks or NCAA Tournament predictions, you need to check out the college basketball predictions from the SportsLine Projection Model. (See up-to-date odds for every game this week on our college basketball odds page.)

The model simulates every Div. I college basketball game 10,000 times. It enters the 2024 NCAA tournament on a 148-106 roll on all top-rated college basketball picks dating back to last season, returning more than $1,700 for $100 players. It also has a strong 29-19 (+810) record on top-rated spread picks this season. Anyone following it has seen huge returns.

The model knows that Kentucky has one of the best players in the country in Antonio Reeves. The 6-foot-6, 195-pound senior guard ranks third in the SEC in scoring (20.0 points) while shooting 50.8% from the field (fifth best in the conference). For his efforts this season, he was named a third-team all-America by The Sporting News.

But the model also has taken into account that Oakland will face a Kentucky team that has struggled on defense this season. The Wildcats give up 79.7 points per game, which ranks 12th in the SEC and 334th in the country. They also give up 102.7 points per 100 possessions according to Ken Pomeroy's adjusted defensive efficiency metric, which is 108th in the nation.

For Thursday, the model has set its sights on Kentucky vs. Oakland. We can tell you the model is leaning Over on the point total, and it also says one side of the spread hits in more than 70% of simulations. You ABSOLUTELY need to see the model before locking in any college basketball picks.

Who wins Oakland vs. Kentucky, and which side of the spread hits over 70% of the time? ... Join SportsLine right now to find out which side of the Kentucky vs. Oakland spread you should be all over Thursday, all from the model on a roll on college basketball picks!