Wake and Rake: Sharps Pouncing Early on Kentucky-Alabama Showdown

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The last time PJ Walsh didn't write our daily Wake and Rake column, Mark Gallant so humbly compared himself to the greatest quarterback of all time. So if that was Brady replacing Bledsoe, I guess that makes me Matt Cassel? Personally I'd rather suppress that memory, so I'll just call myself T.J. Yates for now.  Anyway, the point is that even the third-stringers get their moments, so kids, don't give up on those dreams.

Alright, enough with the side show, let's get to what you came here for: The game sharps are targeting in early college hoops betting.

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In the first of today's two SEC semifinal matchups (1 p.m. ET), Alabama opened as a 4.5-point dog to Kentucky. Despite the Tide's exciting start to the tourney, they still have been unable to draw a heavy public backing, as only 32% of spread tickets have landed on Bama at the time of writing (see live percentages here).

Wiseguys are seeing this one a bit differently, however. Late last night, sharps at Carib took the points on the opening line, triggering two Sports Insights Bet Signals that helped drive the spread down from 4.5 to its current line of 4.

Also helping push this line toward the Tide: They're getting significantly more money (far right column below) than tickets (left column), a sign that bigger, likely sharper, wagers have landed on Alabama.

To stay up to date on this, as well the rest of Saturday's conference tournament line movement leading up to tip-off, follow @ActionNetworkHQ on Twitter.

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Photo: Kentucky forward PJ Washington (left) and Alabama forward Donta Hall

Credit: Mark Zerof-USA TODAY Sports