The Evansville Purple Aces and Louisville Cardinals tip off their college basketball seasons Wednesday at the KFC YUM! Center in Louisville, Ky., at 4 p.m. ET. Below, we analyze the Evansville-Louisville college basketball betting odds and lines, with picks and predictions.
The Cardinals received 55 points in the recently released USA Today Sports men’s basketball coaches poll, the first team outside of the top 25.
Evansville at Louisville: Betting odds, spread and lines
Odds via BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated at 8:40 a.m. ET.
- Money line: Evansville +1200 (bet $100 to win $1,200) | Louisville -3334 (bet $3,334 to win $100)
- Against the spread/ATS: Evansville +21 (-110) | Louisville -21 (-110)
- Over/Under: 132 (O: -110 | U: -110)
Evansville at Louisville: Three things to know
- Evansville had a horrific 2019-20 campaign, going 9-22 with an 0-18 regular-season record in the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC). The Aces ended up 3-11 straight up away from home, and 10-18-2 ATS while the Under edged the Over 16-14.
- Louisville was poised for a deep run into the NCAA tournament before the Big Dance was wiped out. The Cardinals were 24-7 (15-5 in the ACC) during the regular season, and they won 17 of their 19 games at the KFC YUM! Center. The Cardinals were 16-14-1 both against the spread and on Over/Under results.
- Evansville didn’t play Louisville last season, but likely made Cards fans very happy when it upset Kentucky 67-64 on Nov. 12, 2019 at Rupp Arena. It’s yet another reason never to bet huge money lines, as Evansville won outright as a 24.5-point underdog.
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Evansville at Louisville: Odds, betting lines, predictions and picks
Prediction
Louisville 81, Evansville 57
Money line (ML)
Evansville (+1200) might have recorded a giant upset in the Bluegrass State last season, but it’s not happening again. Louisville (-3334) will win, but you can’t back such a heavy favorite. AVOID.
Against the spread (ATS)
LOUISVILLE -21 (-110) won’t get caught looking past an Evansville +21 (-110) team which slayed Kentucky last season. The Cards could be a bit sluggish early on, but expect G David Johnson, G Carlik Jones, C Malik Williams and C Samuell Williamson to make plenty of noise in the opener. The Cardinals have been top 30 in both offensive and defensive efficiency the past two seasons, and there is no reason to believe it won’t happen again in 2020-21.
Over/Under (O/U)
OVER 132 (-110) is worth a small-unit play in this one, as Louisville returns a fairly experienced starting five which should push Evansville around early and often.
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