The Oklahoma Sooners take on the Kentucky Wildcats in Lexington, KY. Tip-off is set for 9 p.m. ET on ESPN2.
Kentucky is favored by 8.5 points on the spread with a moneyline of -500. The total is set at 152.5 points.
Here’s my Oklahoma vs. Kentucky predictions and college basketball picks for February 4, 2026.
Oklahoma vs Kentucky Prediction
My Pick: Kentucky -9 or Better
My Oklahoma 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.
Oklahoma vs. Kentucky Odds
| Oklahoma Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+8.5 -105 | 152.5 -110o / -110u | +375 |
| Kentucky Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-8.5 -115 | 152.5 -110o / -110u | -500 |
- Oklahoma vs Kentucky spread: Kentucky -8.5
- Oklahoma vs Kentucky over/under: 152.5 points
- Oklahoma vs Kentucky moneyline: Oklahoma +375, Kentucky -500
Oklahoma vs Kentucky College Basketball Betting Preview
Modern college sports have given us plenty of new phenomena to experience. The Sooners and Wildcats squaring off as conference rivals is certainly new.
The idea of a revenge game for a player who hopped into the transfer portal is absolutely new. Kentucky star Otega Oweh played two years in Norman for Porter Moser before relocating to Lexington. You'd assume it's less about revenge for Oweh and more so regret for Moser, seeing his former sophomore star for a conference rival as a senior.
For Moser and maybe for Kentucky head coach Mark Pope, this game is nothing new, but a tale as old as time. The loser of this game will have some heat on their seat. A win for either side would be huge in a crowded SEC.
Oklahoma Basketball
Moser was the subject of plenty of coaching carousel rumors in the last two cycles. For the most part, those opportunities were seen as lateral moves, or even slight steps downward. His name came up for several other power-conference or elite mid-major openings.
Why leave an SEC program for a lesser landing spot? Well, back in the day, you'd call it "beating the posse out of town." The heat was on for Moser before his Sooners won three of the final five in the regular season last season, beat fellow bubble dweller Georgia in the SEC Tournament and were gifted a nine-seed in the Big Dance.
That berth may have cooled the heat and convinced Moser to stay in Norman, yet the flames have returned. After topping Ole Miss in the first game of the SEC slate, Oklahoma has dropped eight straight games.
Moser is now a coach with just one NCAA Tournament berth in five seasons, and that came in a year in which his Sooners were 6-12 in conference play.
Moser's Oklahoma teams are now 27-54 in conference play across the SEC and Big 12, without a winning conference record in a season.
Now riding an eight-game skid, the Sooners fly to Kentucky and then face 19-3 Vanderbilt on the road. If this losing streak hits 10 games, his seat may be too hot to handle (not to mention Oklahoma's seven games after Vandy are all top-60 KenPom teams).
The Sooners have the talent to compete. Nijel Pack, in his fifth season at his third school, was a highly sought-after transfer. Xzayvier Brown ranked 28th on the portal by EvanMiya last summer, even more so after a great career at Saint Joe's.
They've made for a dynamic backcourt in Norman, yet the Sooners' struggles have come defensively. Oklahoma ranks 14th in the SEC on that end of the floor, allowing opponents in conference play to shoot 58% inside the arc.
Kentucky Basketball
Some Kentucky fans may bristle at my earlier mention of Pope's seat also getting hot at this time of season. Ah, who am I kidding? You're Kentucky fans.
Big Blue Nation was ready to replace Pope after Kentucky started 9-6 this season, but the former Wildcat big man steadied the ship, leading the Cats to five straight wins in SEC play.
A 25-point drubbing at Vandy re-ignited those talks, before Pope again silenced them by beating former Kentucky head coach John Calipari on his home floor at Arkansas.
Much of the Kentucky roller coaster has been dictated by injuries. The Wildcats can't keep a healthy, consistent lineup on the floor. Point guard Jaland Lowe is out for the season, with the same potentially true of Jayden Quaintance and Kam Williams.
The Arkansas win showed that, while losing that much talent to the injury report is never good, Pope's lineup decisions may have become a big simpler. He played starting guards Oweh and Denzel Aberdeen 38 minutes each in Fayetteville, allowing them to get in a rhythm and outlast the young Arkansas backcourt.
Freshman seven-footer Malachi Moreno had two blocks and five offensive rebounds, taking command in the middle.
Seven losses jump off the page, but this Kentucky team has a high ceiling. Wins over Indiana, St. John's, Tennessee and Arkansas — the last two in hostile road environments — prove this team has some real punch when playing its best.
Pope just needs to find ways to help his team reach those heights.
Oklahoma vs. Kentucky Betting Analysis
Eventually, Oklahoma is going to wake up and bite someone on its schedule.
The Sooners led Alabama by 11 at halftime but lost by two points. Oklahoma gave up a 37-foot three-pointer to Mizzou to send the game to overtime and a buzzer-beater in the extra period to lose a heartbreaker on the road. The Sooners led Arkansas with under a minute to play and lost.
Unless this team quits on Moser, a bounce-back performance is coming.
I have a hard time seeing that happen on the road at Rupp Arena. Oklahoma's backcourt is talented, but small. Kentucky's guards have several inches of height advantage, plus the strength and force to get the ball into the paint on every trip down the court.
Teams have feasted on Oklahoma's interior defense, and that should continue here.
Scoring props for Oweh and the emerging Moreno interest me, yet I'll simply take the Cats to cover at home, riding the momentum after the big win at Arkansas.
My Pick: Kentucky -9 or Better
