The Memphis Tigers take on the Louisville Cardinals in Louisville, Kentucky. Tip-off is set for 3:30 p.m. ET on ESPN.
Louisville is favored by -16 points on the spread with a moneyline of -2000. The total is set at 160.5 points.
Here’s my Memphis vs. Louisville prediction and college basketball picks for December 13, 2025.
Memphis vs. Louisville Odds, Spread, Pick
| Memphis Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+16 -110 | 160.5 -110 / -110 | +1000 |
| Louisville Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-16 -110 | 160.5 -110 / -110 | -2000 |
Pick: Memphis +16 (Play to +14)
My Memphis vs Louisville best bet is on the Tigers 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.
Memphis vs Louisville NCAAB Betting Preview
Memphis Basketball
Memphis is a tricky team to figure out. After opening the season with a good win against a decent San Francisco team, the Tigers have dropped four straight.
Admittedly, all games were within single digits, except for their matchup against UNLV, which they lost by 14 points. They had back-to-back victories against Southern Illinois and New Orleans, but those are hardly wins to brag about. They did have a solid victory against Baylor.
In basketball, I don’t necessarily believe in letdown or bounce back spots, but this seems to be one of those pinnacle letdown spots.
Even with success against teams like Southern Illinois and New Orleans, they don't shoot the basketball well. They rank outside the top 214 in 3-point percentage, 2-point percentage, free-throw percentage and offensive turnovers.
They do balance it out a little bit on the defensive side of the ball, and they do an excellent job at grabbing offensive rebounds.
Their big issue is that they're also among the bottom 300 teams in allowing opponents second-chance opportunities via offensive rebounds.
This Memphis team lacks offensive firepower, as the Tigers have one double-digit scorer, which is Dug McDaniel. Zach Davis, Sincere Parker and Julius Thedford do aid with nine points per game each, but Louisville averages over 17 more points than Memphis
Louisville Basketball
All the success that Memphis has not had, Louisville can claim. The Cardinals have just one loss on the season and have good wins against Kentucky and Indiana.
The one thing we can say in this spot is that they do have a top-25 matchup against Tennessee on deck. And that game will be on the road, so it could be a lookahead spot for the Cardinals.
This Louisville team scores via the 3-pointer, ranking second in 3-point attempts while hitting them at about a 36% clip. They’re also top-20 in shooting the 2-point field goal and top-10 in limiting opponents' 2-point percentage.
Memphis vs. Louisville Betting Analysis
This spread has swelled to double-digits, hitting 16.5 at a couple of sportsbooks like FanDuel and Hard Rock.
Since most of this write-up has pinpointed the shooting struggles of the Tigers and the great shooting of the Cardinals, I’m not sure I can lay 16.5 points. I still look at the strength of schedule as a true indicator of what to expect in this matchup.
Louisville ranks 211th overall in strength of schedule, while Memphis has played the 21st-toughest schedule in basketball. And a quality win last time out against Baylor might be the reason the Tigers can continue that momentum.
This is going to be a very telling two-game stretch for Memphis, as it faces off against Louisville and Vanderbilt. But in this spot, catching 16.5 points, I'll side with Memphis to keep this game close.
My Pick: Memphis +16 (Play to +14)
