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North Carolina vs. Kentucky live stream: Betting odds, TV channel, prediction

By Mike Phillips

LEXINGTON, KY - DECEMBER 12: Brandon Boston Jr. #3 of the Kentucky Wildcats dribbles the ball against Dane Goodwin #23 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Rupp Arena on December 12, 2020 in Lexington, Kentucky. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)
LEXINGTON, KY - DECEMBER 12: Brandon Boston Jr. #3 of the Kentucky Wildcats dribbles the ball against Dane Goodwin #23 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Rupp Arena on December 12, 2020 in Lexington, Kentucky. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) /
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1-4 Kentucky will look to get on track against No. 13 North Carolina.

The college basketball season certainly hasn’t gone according to plan for Kentucky, which is 1-4 to start the campaign. John Calipari’s club has dropped four straight games following a season-opening victory over Morehead State and will look to get back on track against No. 13 North Carolina this afternoon in the CBS Sports Classic, one of many big matchups on the day.

The ongoing absence of Keion Brooks due to injury has certainly hurt the Wildcats, who have struggled to make all of their new pieces gel into a cohesive unit. There have been issues scoring the basketball in some games and on defense in others, a problem that will be tough to fix with conference play right around the corner.

Kentucky also drew a more difficult opponent in the CBS Sports Classic after the event’s organizers shuffled the matchups to more closely align non-conference opponents whose leagues had similar coronavirus protocols. Originally matched up with UCLA, the Wildcats now draw the Tar Heels, one of the ACC’s top teams this season.

North Carolina is 4-2 but the two losses have come by a bucket to Texas in the Maui Invitational and 13 against No. 3 Iowa in a true road game. Roy Williams’ team features a well-balanced offensive attack featuring four players who average at least 11 points per game, headlined by senior forward Garrison Brooks and freshman point guard Caleb Love.

Kentucky hasn’t played since last Saturday when they appeared to flip a switch in the second half of a game they were trailing by a huge margin against Notre Dame only to lose by a point when a pair of last-second field goal attempts fell short. If the momentum from that effort carries over to this game it could be the kind of breakout performance Kentucky really needs to get going.

How to watch and bet on North Carolina vs. Kentucky

  • Date: Saturday, Dec. 19
  • Time: 2:00 p.m. ET
  • Location: Cleveland, OH
  • Venue: Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse
  • TV: CBS
  • Live Stream: CBS All Access
  • Line: North Carolina -3.5 (FanDuel)
  • Pick: Kentucky 78, North Carolina 75

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