Troy vs Kentucky Prediction: Odds, Expert Picks, Betting Trends and Stats for 2025 March Madness First Round
The Kentucky Wildcats (22-11) are set to face the Troy Trojans (23-10) in the first round of the 2025 NCAA Tournament on Friday in Milwaukee, WI.
Kentucky enters the tournament as the No. 3 seed in the Midwest Region and as one of the true, blue bloods of the sport holding records for the most appearances (62) and the most games played (185). They have secured eight National Championships and reached 17 Final Fours. The good news for this year's Wildcats is Lamont Butler practiced earlier this week signaling his availability despite ankle and shoulder injuries. The guard's presence on the court adds scoring but also helps space the court for Kentucky.
Troy enters the tournament as the No. 14 seed in the Midwest Region having won the Sun Belt Tournament with a 94-81 win over Arkansas State. The team averages 73.9 points per game, ranking 177th nationally, and has a field goal percentage of 43.8%.
The winner of this game earns the right to play the winner of Illinois vs. Xavier.
Lets dive into the matchup and offer some information and possibly a sweat or two.
We've got all the info and analysis you need to know ahead of the game, including the latest info on the how to catch the opening tip, recent team performance, player stats, and of course, our predictions, picks & best bets for the game from our modeling tools and staff of experts.
Date: Friday, March 21, 2025
Time: 7:10PM EST
Site: Fiserv Forum
City: Milwaukee, WI
Network/Streaming: CBS
Never miss a second of the action and stay up to date with all the latest scores and player news. Check out our day-by-day NCAA Basketball Schedule Page that includes live game updates.
The latest odds as of Thursday courtesy of BetMGM:
Odds: Troy Trojans (+525), Kentucky Wildcats (-750)
Spread: Wildcats -11.5
Total: 152.5 points
Our model calculates projections around each moneyline, spread and over/under bet for every game on the NCAA calendar based on data points like past performance, player matchups, injuries, and the schedule.
Once the model is finished running, we put its projection next to the latest betting lines for the game to arrive at a relative confidence level for each wager.
Here are the best bets our model is projecting for Friday's Trojans & Wildcats game:
Moneyline: NBC Sports Bet is staying away from a play on the Moneyline.
Spread: NBC Sports Bet is leaning towards a play ATS on Kentucky -11.5.
Total: NBC Sports Bet is recommending a play on the Game Total OVER 152.5.
Troy has won 6 straight and 8 of their last 10 games
Troy is 6-0 against the spread in their last 6 games
The Game Total is 6-1 to the OVER in Troy's last 7 games
Kentucky is 2-5 against the spread in their last 7 games (16-14-1 ATS for the season)
Kentucky has won 4 of their last 7 games
If you're looking for more key trends and stats around the spread, moneyline and total for every single game on the schedule today, check out our NCAA Basketball Top Trends Tool on NBCSports.com!
Please bet responsibly. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, call the National Gambling Helpline at 1-800-522-4700.
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New York Times
an hour ago
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College football's forgotten rivalry: Revisiting Washington's 2000 upset over mighty Miami
It's impossible to find two power-conference college football programs farther apart geographically than Miami and Washington. They have faced each other only three times, but the Hurricanes and Huskies have a unique bond. Before they ever squared off, they split the 1991 national title, with 12-0 Miami crowned by the AP poll and 12-0 Washington getting the nod from the coaches poll. Advertisement Then, in 1994, Washington traveled to Miami as a 14-point underdog and snapped the Hurricanes' NCAA-record 58-game home winning streak. The Huskies' 38-20 win became known as 'The Whammy in Miami.' What no one could've imagined when No. 4 Miami visited No. 15 Washington in 2000 was the impact that game would have on both programs, particularly the Hurricanes, who were looking for revenge but maybe got something bigger from the showdown in Seattle. Marques Tuiasosopo, Washington QB, 1997-2000: I don't think either side liked sharing the national title. 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One other similarity between the two programs: They each had iconic home stadiums known for raucous atmospheres. Husky Stadium, with its overhanging roof on each side of the field, held the highest recorded decibel record for a college stadium for over 30 years. It was set in 1992 against Nebraska at 133.6, a record that stood until 2023 when Tennessee's Neyland Stadium registered 137 dBs against Georgia. But to the players on the field on Sept. 9, 2000, Husky Stadium — or any other football stadium — never sounded any louder. And considering the Canes quarterback, Ken Dorsey, was making his first start on the road, that made a big difference. Advertisement Tripplett: It was deafening. Dude, it was so crazy loud. I felt as if Miami was really shell-shocked as far as how loud it was and how aggressively we were playing. Joaquin Gonzalez, Miami, offensive tackle, 1997-2001: It's the loudest place I've ever played, college and pros. 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Neuheisel: We hit a touchdown on an unbalanced scheme, and we had post-post-wheel and hit the wheel. It was good stuff. Rumph: They kept running the speed option. They found the wrinkle. They ran the speed option weak against us, and we couldn't figure it out because they kept pulling the guard with the twist. We were one man short a lot. I remember that adjustment. Tripplett: Tui was doing Tui Magic. He just makes stuff happen. And he was our leader. He was the type of leader that everybody on the team would run through a wall for. That year, we just knew as long as Tui was out there, we had a chance to win, and it proved to be true because we had some crazy comebacks that year. Alexis: The guy just had swagger about him. Just calm, cool. It doesn't matter what the moment was like. He would just be himself, calm, cool, just a born leader out there. He'd make sure everybody was not nervous. He was like that consistently all year. Those Samoan boys are different, man. Rumph: He was a real good quarterback. He could run, he could throw. He was physical. Gonzalez: We basically played like s— for a half. Santana fumbled, Dorsey fumbled. One of our other running backs fumbled as well. We had a field goal blocked. We definitely didn't start great. Miami woke up in the second half. The Canes scored their first of three third-quarter touchdowns on a 21-yard pass from Dorsey to Wayne, but the Huskies answered when Neuheisel inserted Alexis, a true freshman running back from South Florida, and called an option play with the ball at midfield. Alexis: I didn't even know if I was gonna get in the game or not, but Neuheisel told me he wanted to just throw me in the game so my parents could see that I'm doing well. He threw me in the game, and I'm looking at Dan Morgan. I'm like, dang, everybody I looked up to was against me. Advertisement I wanted to be a Hurricane all along. It came down to Miami and Washington. Neuheisel told me if I came out there, I'd play running back. He needed a big running back. Miami was already loaded at running back. You got James Jackson and Clinton Portis. Me and Willis McGahee were in the same recruiting class. Greg Schiano wanted me to play safety. The only thing I knew how to do is just run the football. Myers: We called 43-veer. That meant offensive tackle Elliot Silvers was to release inside and veer through to the first backer in the box, which would be the weakside backer, and they had taken their defensive ends and put them head up on the tackles. On the second or third series, we went to that arc option part of the scheme (reading Miami's defensive end) so that we could get their defensive end to tackle (fullback) Pat Conniff. And, if he didn't, then Conniff was to get the ball in the option, and we wouldn't end up pitching the ball. Elliot is a really, really smart kid. Their guy was really squeezing down. Elliot and (guard) Chad Ward said to me, 'Coach, we need to arc this stuff because we can't get through.' We ended up optioning the safety, the corner was being blocked and we went right down the sideline. It was awesome. Tuiasosopo: The option kept them on their heels and off-guard. It was gonna be a quick pitch. I got nailed. I was lying on the ground, but I saw him get around the corner and make that first guy miss, and I looked at their end who was on top of me and I smiled. 'That's a touchdown!' Alexis: I really didn't think he was going to pitch it. I went to the left with him, till he dove in with a quick dive, and he just pitched it to me, and I just took off. I couldn't believe I made the touchdown. I mean, I was just in shock. You watch the replay, I froze. I didn't know what to do. I was holding onto the ball. I didn't even know how to celebrate. I just ran by Mike (Rumph), the late Al Blades, I saw all these guys, and I couldn't believe I just scored. I was just so overwhelmed with joy. Washington led 27-9 with a little over six minutes remaining in the third quarter, but Miami started to heat up offensively as Portis broke some big plays and Morgan recovered a Tuiasosopo fumble to set up another UM touchdown to make it 27-22 with 3:50 left in the third. Washington, though, never wilted and kept responding. On defense, Tripplett was a menace. He had two sacks, blocked a field goal and recovered a fumble in the fourth quarter. Miami had one last chance to rally, getting the ball back with 20 seconds left at their own 20 down 34-29, but Dorsey couldn't rescue the Canes. Neuheisel: We ended up beating them because we played some slight of hand with some option and had some decent concepts to trick them in the red zone. We were able to run the ball against them some, which not very many people could. Gonzalez: I think if we have probably eight to 10 more seconds at the end of that game, we win it. There was a moment in that game where things kind of just started clicking. Advertisement Rumph: They had like 800 recruits there, and their head coach looks at us as we're leaving the field, and he goes, 'You don't want to go play there. You want to play here. You don't want to go to Miami. Play here.' I vividly remember that. And as we exited through that tunnel, their players were barking at us. We were actually trying to fight them a little bit, but they were barking. Gonzalez: It was just a s—-y situation to start the season. When you start off the season, you have all of these hopes and aspirations for all of these big things that you're going to do. You never want to start off, in any sport — no matter if you're playing Pee Wee or whatever — you never want to start off 1-1. More so in college sports at that time, one loss in any part of your season meant that you weren't a contender anymore for the national championship. You fast forward to the end of the year, and we get screwed, even after beating Florida State head to head. Because of us, really, that's why they changed the BCS. Miami finished the regular season 10-1 with wins over No. 1 Florida State and No. 2 Virginia Tech (by 20 points), but those were the Canes' only wins over ranked opponents. Washington also went 10-1, with its lone loss coming at Oregon, three weeks after beating UM. The Huskies also had just two Top 25 victories, with their other win over No. 23 Oregon State. The Noles ended up getting the title shot against No. 1 Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl, even though the Canes were ranked No. 2 in the coaches and AP polls. They were ranked third in the BCS. Delvin Brown, Miami, DB, 1997-2000: What happened that year that people don't remember is Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech had a game that was canceled because of lightning. Lee Corso's car got struck by lightning, and because Virginia Tech didn't play Georgia Tech, our strength of schedule was actually weak. If we would have had a stronger strength of schedule, even despite our loss to Washington, we would have played in the national championship game. The good news is we still got to put a spanking on Florida (in the Sugar Bowl) that year. That was the year we fought them on Bourbon Street. Alex Brown ended up being a first-round pick for Chicago. We beat him up in the bar. He was in the postgame with a black eye. Gonzalez: I remember walking out this white painted tunnel with pictures of Washington greats all around, in pain with my f—ing ribs, and just f—ing sitting there and saying, 'All this f—ing work wasted.' But I think that sparked the fire in us. To get slapped in the f—ing face the way that we did by Washington, it could have been very easy for us to go the other way. How did that become the turning point? It's hard for me to kind of verbalize. I just think that we had all worked so hard that we weren't going to let that define us. We really busted our ass that summer. UM had always had the offseason workouts. The test for stamina was always 16 110s. That's what you had to run to make sure that you were ready for the season. If you didn't, you had to run it every day until you passed it. But that offseason was the first offseason that the guys on the team said, 'No, 16, is not good enough. We gotta run 20 110s now.' Then, my senior year, we said, 'It's not 20 anymore. It's 24 110s.' Davis left the Canes after the season to become the Cleveland Browns coach. Offensive coordinator Larry Coker was promoted after Miami's veteran leaders, who had opted to stay in Coral Gables, lobbied the school's AD, Paul Dee, to make that move for continuity's sake. The Canes opened the 2001 season at Penn State and destroyed the Nittany Lions, 33-7. They pounded Rutgers 61-0 with the rematch against Washington, who had beaten No. 11 Michigan, up next. But then 9/11 happened. Like most games that weekend, it was postponed. The game was tentatively rescheduled for Thanksgiving weekend, when both schools had open dates. Advertisement Neuheisel: We had just beaten Washington State. We were beat up. We were 8-2. I told (Washington AD) Barbara (Hedges), 'Barbara, just tell them that we'll do it another year. We don't need to go.' She said, 'Oh, we have to.' I said, 'No, we don't. Other people have turned it down. We'll play 'em another year.' We went and got waxed. Myers: I can remember sitting in the staff room and Rick was adamant about not playing that game because we didn't need to. A lot of people around the country weren't replaying that game they'd missed early in the season because of 9/11. Rick was not happy about it. In addition to beating Michigan, Washington had defeated No. 10 Stanford and No. 9 Washington State. Miami had blown out No. 13 Florida State on the road and beat No. 15 Syracuse 59-0. The Canes — and their fans — were primed for the Huskies. Myers: As soon as we got down there to the Orange Bowl parking lot, they were throwing oranges at our bus. The fans were ready for us. That was crazy. Tripplett: They were throwing oranges at us. Little kids were giving us the finger. They were really pissed at us. On the second play of the game, Miami linebacker Jonathan Vilma intercepted Washington QB Cody Pickett. Miami needed one play, a Portis run, to score its first touchdown. In the next series, UW went on a 15-play drive. Alexis broke a 31-yard run up the middle to the 2, but the Canes stiffened and stuffed four successive runs. Myers: From then on, we didn't move the ball hardly at all. It was like we poked the bear. They just bludgeoned us after that. We couldn't move the big man from the Patriots, (Vince) Wilfork, at all. Gonzalez: We beat them up and down every f—ing which way, and every facet, every metric that you could imagine in the f—ing game. And I remember that the athletic director for Washington said that they would never play us again. I do remember Larry Coker calling a timeout only to allow the seniors to come out of the game because we're already winning by a lot. And I do have a beautiful picture of me and (offensive lineman Martin) Bibla in the center of the Orange Bowl with our helmets up, walking off the field in the middle of the fourth quarter, whatever it was. Advertisement But I do remember at some point in that game, I don't know when that was in the second or the third quarter, I remember standing up on top of the bench and calling the whole team together and (saying), 'Don't you ever f—ing forget what these guys did to us last year. You f—ing shove it down their f—ing throat and you f—ing make them feel the f—ing pain that we felt last year.' Those were the exact words that I used. I remember that. My hands are shaking. I'm ready to f—ing run through a f—ing wall right now. I remember telling the guys that.' Miami led Washington 37-0 at halftime and won 65-7. Pickett fumbled twice and was sacked four times. The Canes intercepted six passes. Miami went on to win the national title, with the 2001 team regarded as one of the greatest in college football history. Tripplett: I don't know if they felt this way or not, that cross-country flight is a beast. That was a challenge. I'm not using that as an excuse, but it definitely plays a role, and I wonder if it played a role at their end as well. They had a different mindset. They were trying to beat us down, and that's exactly what they did. We were not ready. We had Cody Pickett, he was young. Reggie Williams was a freshman. This was not the Tui-led Huskies in that game. Rumph: Damien Lewis, Dan Morgan, feel bad for those guys. I mean, the 2000 team was probably just as good or better than the 2001 team. But we lost that game. Tripplett: I remember when I got into the league, I played with Reggie Wayne (with the Colts), and I'd joke that they were basically an all-star team. They had so many first-rounders (15) and the only first-rounder we had was our tight end, Jerramy Stevens. Many of the players in the 2000 and 2001 Miami-Washington games now have sons who are college recruits themselves. Miami head coach Mario Cristobal was a grad assistant on the UM staff in 2000 when the Canes lost but wasn't on staff when Miami got its revenge in 2001 because he'd taken the O-line job at Rutgers when Schiano became the Scarlet Knights head coach. One of Cristobal's big recruits in the 2026 class is a South Florida kid whose family knows all about the Washington-Miami rivalry — running back Javian Mallory, the nephew of Rich Alexis. Alexis: It was a full circle moment because we had a lot of people amongst our family who are Canes at heart. Now, you got one that's actually going to be a Cane. We got one, at least. (Top photos of Rick Neuheisel, Reggie Wayne: Otto Greule Jr. / Allsport)
USA Today
2 hours ago
- USA Today
2025 MLB draft prospects: Top college players in NCAA baseball tournament
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LHP Jamie Arnold, Florida State Florida State's Jamie Arnold opened the 2025 season as the top-ranked college pitcher, and hasn't done much to change that sentiment with the MLB draft just over a month away. Arnold hasn't been quite as good as he was in 2024 when he finished the season with a 2.98 ERA in 105 2/3 innings, but he has still been one of the top arms in the country. Arnold has a 3.12 ERA with 110 strikeouts in 78 innings this season. Arnold, Anderson and Doyle are all expected to be drafted around the same range of picks, with team preference likely being the differentiating factor between each left-hander pitcher. 4. SS Aiva Arquette, Oregon State The top-ranked college position player in 2025, Oregon State shortstop Aiva Arquette could hear his name called early on due to his unique profile. Arquette stands 6-foot-5 but could potentially stick at shortstop at the pro level. His bat is his top attraction, though, as he's hitting .352 this season with 18 home runs and 65 RBIs for No. 8 Oregon State. The former Washington transfer was drafted in the 18th round out of high school by the Arizona Diamondbacks, which shows he has been on MLB draft radars for a few years now. Arquette is one of the best athletes in the 2025 MLB Draft and could development into a true five-tool player one day. 5. 2B Gavin Kilen, Tennessee Tennessee infielder Gavin Kilen transferred to the Vols from Louisville ahead of the 2025 season, and established himself as one of the best hitters in the SEC. Kilen projects as a contact-over-power hitter as a professional, although he slugged 15 home runs in 2025, six more than his 2024 mark at Louisville. Kilen batted .363 with a .686 slugging percentage in the SEC, which is a feat in itself. Kilen was selected in the 13th round by the Boston Red Sox in the 2022 MLB Draft out of high school, with MLB Pipeline projecting him as a high-floor player that can field and hit for average one day. 6. OF Brendan Summerhill, Arizona Brendan Summerhill stands 6-foot-3, 200 pounds, but hasn't shown a ton of power in the college ranks yet. However, he supplements that with a knack to get on base (.492 OBP in 2025) and strong contact numbers (.370 batting average this season). Summerhill can run and field and could grow into more power with a few tweaks at the next level, although he was already one of the best players in the Cape Cod Summer League prior to the 2025 season. MLB Pipeline compares Summerhill to Jake McCarthy, who has turned into a valuable outfielder for the Arizona Diamondbacks. 7. C Luke Stevenson, North Carolina Luke Stevenson likely could've gone in the top five rounds as a high schooler in 2023, but he opted to attend school at North Carolina. Stevenson is now the consensus top-ranked catcher in the 2025 MLB Draft class and hit for lots of power in 2025. The draft-eligible sophomore hit .254/.422/.555 this season with 18 home runs, and also boasts a strong arm from behind home plate. He adds little-to-no value on the basepaths and will need to cut down on his chase rate in future seasons, however. 8. OF/C Ike Irish, Auburn Ike Irish was a phenomenal hitter in the SEC this season, batting .362 with 18 home runs and 57 RBIs with a whopping .700 slugging percentage. Irish fractured his scapula in March, mostly limiting him to playing in the outfield instead of catcher, his natural position. MLB Pipeline projects Irish to potential develop into an average defender at catcher, but could also stick in a corner outfield spot at the professional level. 9. SS Wehiwa Aloy, Arkansas The SEC Player of the Year in 2025, Aloy is also a finalist for the Golden Spikes Award, which is essentially the Heisman Trophy of college baseball. The 6-foot-2 shortstop started his career at Sacramento State in 2022 before transferring to Arkansas, where he developed into one of the top players in college baseball. Aloy is hitting .355 this season with 20 home runs and 64 RBIs, facing some of the nation's top pitchers in the SEC. Aloy has impressive raw power for a middle infielder, and he has the tools to stay at shortstop going forward. 10. 1B/3B Andrew Fischer, Tennessee Another first-year transfer from Ole Miss, Andrew Fischer joined Liam Doyle at Tennessee for the 2025 season. Fischer was an All-SEC second team selection in 2024 with the Rebels after slugging 20 home runs, and followed up that season with a .343 batting average and 24 home runs with the Vols this season. Fischer has mostly played first base this season after starting most of his games at third base at Ole Miss. Fischer can really hit but is going to have to provide a lot of value at the plate to find a role in the MLB. Still, his batting numbers speak to themselves, and he's expected to be a fringe first-round pick in 2025.
