The Bellarmine Knights take on the Kentucky Wildcats in Lexington, KY. Tip-off is set for 1 p.m. ET on SEC Network+.
Kentucky is favored by -35.5 points on the spread, and the total is set at 153.5 points.
Here’s my Bellarmine vs. Kentucky predictions and college basketball picks for December 23, 2025.
Bellarmine vs Kentucky Prediction
My Pick: Kentucky -35.5 (Play to -38)
My Bellarmine vs Kentucky best bet is on the Wildcats to cover the spread. For all of your college basketball bets, be sure to find the best lines by using our live NCAAB odds page.
Bellarmine vs. Kentucky Odds
| Bellarmine Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+35.5 -110 | 153.5 -110 / -110 | OFF |
| Kentucky Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-35.5 -110 | 153.5 -110 / -110 | OFF |
- Bellarmine vs Kentucky spread: Kentucky -35.5
- Bellarmine vs Kentucky over/under: 153.5 points
Bellarmine vs Kentucky College Basketball Betting Preview
Bellarmine Basketball
Bellarmine will look to pull off a stunner against the flagship program in the state of Kentucky.
The Knights are 5-6 in the first year of the Doug Davenport era. They've played just three high-major opponents, with blowout losses to Georgia and Kansas State and a nail-biting loss to Notre Dame.
Bellarmine is a much better offensive team than a defensive one. The Knights will look to slow down the pace and establish their half-court offense.
The Knights rank 157th in offensive efficiency and are looking to score at the hoop. They rank 40th nationally with a 56.5% effective field goal percentage and 19th with a 60% 2-point percentage. All five Bellarmine starters can stretch the floor and shoot, leading to a solid 34% clip from deep.
The forward duo — Jack Karasinski and Brian Waddell — is a vital offensive weapon for the Knights.
At 6-foot-7, Karasinski mainly starts at the three, but he can also shift to the four. He leads Bellarmine with 20 points per game and shoots 57% from the field.
Waddell, meanwhile, a seldom-used player at Purdue, has turned a new leaf at Bellarmine, tallying 15 points a night while shooting 64% from the field.
We can discuss where Kentucky can destroy Bellarmine. That's because the Knights lack interior beef, which hurts in multiple ways. They lack the needed physicality and length to battle bigger teams on the glass, as opponents grab offensive boards at a 34% rate.
Plus, Bellarmine allows opponents to shoot 62% from inside the arc.
The tallest player you'll see suit up for Bellarmine is just 6-foot-8, which is a bit of a scary sight against Kentucky's size.
Kentucky Basketball
Remember when the sky was falling for Kentucky about 10 days ago? The perfect antidote for solving the issue was getting fully healthy.
I'm buying into Kentucky with stud big man Jayden Quaintance in the fold. He epitomizes what it means to be a winning player. He led Kentucky to a second-half comeback win against St. John's, scoring 10 points with eight boards and elite rim defense.
Given that Kentucky should win by a healthy margin, Quaintance and point guard Jaland Lowe probably only play 15-20 minutes. That pair will have to make the most of their minutes to give us a strong chance for Kentucky to cover.
Even during their struggles, the Wildcats bullied mid-major foes, beating Nicholls by 26, Valpo by 48, Eastern Illinois by 46, Loyola (MD) by 42, Tennessee Tech by 50 and lastly, NC Central by 36.
Mark Pope is known for his offensive coaching chops, but defense is the calling card for this season's Kentucky squad. It ranks 15th in defensive efficiency, while limiting opponents to 45% shooting on 2s (28th nationally) and 28.4% from deep (20th).
Offensively, Kentucky can use its bigger guards — Otega Oweh and Denzel Aberdeen — to score over the smaller Bellarmine guards.
Plus, the Wildcats have a slew of bigs who can pick up second-chance points by bulling the smaller Bellarmine interior on the boards.
Bellarmine vs. Kentucky Betting Analysis
I see another blowout coming for Kentucky. The Wildcats clearly can blow out the teams they should blow out.
I don't see Bellarmine having a path to keeping this close.
Barring a sleepy showing from the Wildcats — in which they don't stay locked into the Knights' never-ending ball-movement — it should be a very routine victory for the home team.
My Pick: Kentucky -35.5 (Play to -38)
