Arkansas vs Kentucky Odds, Pick: Team Total to Take

Arkansas takes on Kentucky on Saturday, March 2 at 1:30 p.m. ET on CBS. Here's Arkansas vs Kentucky odds and a pick for Saturday.

Kentucky fans were fully intent on sending coach John Calipari packing just a couple weeks ago after Kentucky lost at home to Gonzaga in large part due to an apparent lack of defensive adjustments from Calipari.

Since, Kentucky has inspired Big Blue Nation's optimism meter to rise again. The Wildcats have beaten Auburn and Mississippi St. on the road with a 117-point offensive performance against Alabama sandwiched in between.

Now, they're set to welcome the Arkansas Razorbacks, who have been wildly disappointing all season and just lost at home to Vanderbilt.

Arkansas' upward trajectory from the past few seasons suddenly started to descend this season. Off-court issues, team chemistry questions and rumors of coach Eric Musselman entertaining other potential job opportunities have all led to strange disappointments throughout the season.

Musselman has established himself as one of the premier recruiters in the country. After upsetting Kansas before ultimately losing to the eventual national champions in the Sweet 16, Musselman was intent on re-loading his roster with talent via the transfer portal. Musselman landed seven transfers in the offseason, many of whom were highly recruited and talented on paper. However, he has since discovered that talented individuals don't always fit together to establish a winning product.

Arguably the best transfer performer has been Khalif Battle, who transferred from Temple and has contributed off the bench for most of the season. However, Musselman decided to insert Battle into the starting five recently and Battle has rewarded Musselman handsomely by scoring 15 or more points in all four of those games. After scoring 42 points against Missouri and 36 against Vanderbilt, Battle will be riding a confidence wave with a green light to pull from anywhere.

Arkansas' individual talent may result in a few scoring runs in Lexington. Still, the lack of communication and cohesion on this team will cause defensive breakdowns galore against Kentucky.

Star freshmen Rob Dillingham and Reed Sheppard joined D.J. Wagner, Justin Edwards, Aaron Bradshaw, Jordan Burks and Zvonimir Ivisic to solidify yet another remarkable recruiting effort from Calipari.

Schools like Kentucky that relied so heavily on players who would likely spend only one year on campus used to be at a disadvantage. However, the transfer portal has leveled the playing field, allowing Kentucky's players to feel just as comfortable in their roles as a more veteran team filled with transfers.

Sheppard has clearly distinguished himself among the class of seven freshmen. Calipari still stubbornly refuses to make Sheppard and Dillingham starters, but they both seem to be on the floor in key moments.

Sheppard efficiently scored 32 points (14 shots) in Kentucky's win on Tuesday in Starkville. He gambles occasionally on defense to try to create turnovers, but still likely creates more easy buckets for his team than he gives up. And, if his game-winning floater to beat Mississippi St. is any indication, he's the guy to trust in crunch time.

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After scoring 117 points at home a week ago, one might have thought a letdown performance would follow. However, the Wildcats defied that assumption by tallying 91 points on the road against a Mississippi St. defense that was a top-15 unit in the country prior to the game.

The SEC has been much more offensively oriented than in year's past. Kentucky should be able to maintain the positive momentum it has built since suffering a buzzer-beating defeat at LSU. Arkansas' home loss to lowly Vanderbilt may have been the final breaking point in its season. I don't expect the Razorbacks to be fully engaged defensively, so I'm trusting Kentucky to potentially hang another big number.

Pick: Kentucky Team Total Over