Georgia vs. Kentucky Prediction, Odds for College Basketball on Tuesday, Feb. 17

Mark Pope’s Kentucky Wildcats are coming off a tough road loss to the Florida Gators over the weekend, and they fell out of the top-25 as a result.

Now, Kentucky has a bounce-back spot at home against the Georgia Bulldogs (17-8), who have struggled so far in SEC play, going just 5-7. The Wildcats, on the other hand, are 8-4 against the SEC with wins over Tennessee (twice), Arkansas, Texas and others.

Oddsmakers have set the Wildcats as 7.5-point favorites at home, where they are an impressive 13-2 this season.

Georgia (4-3 on the road) has lost back-to-back games against Floria (by 20) and Oklahoma (by 16), putting it in a tough spot if it wants to sneak into the NCAA Tournament this season.

This is a must-win for Kentucky, as it has just three home games left in SEC play and still has to face ranked teams like Florida and Vanderbilt to close out the regular season.

Here’s a look at the latest odds, a key player to watch and my prediction for Tuesday’s SEC showdown.

Georgia vs. Kentucky Odds, Spread and Total

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook

Spread

Georgia +7.5 (-115)
Kentucky -7.5 (-105)

Moneyline

Georgia: +250
Kentucky: -310

Total

161.5 (Over -112/Under -108)

Georgia vs. Kentucky How to Watch

Date: Tuesday, Feb. 17
Time: 9:00 p.m. EST
Venue: Rupp Arena
How to Watch (TV): ESPN
Georgia record: 17-8
Kentucky record: 17-8

Georgia vs. Kentucky Key Players to Watch

Otega Oweh, Guard, Kentucky

The Wildcats only have two players averaging double figures this season, and there’s no doubt that senior guard Otega Oweh is the leader for this team.

He’s really turned things on during SEC play, pushing his season averages to 17.0 points, 4.4 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.8 steals per game while shooting 47.4 percent from the field and 33.3 percent from 3.

Oweh has scored at least 10 points in every game this season, and he’s dropped 20 or more points in nine of his 12 SEC games. So, Kentucky is going to look to him early and often for scoring on Tuesday.

At home, Oweh is averaging 16.7 points per game while shooting 37.7 percent from 3 and 50.0 percent from the field.

Georgia vs. Kentucky Prediction and Pick

After some poor showings early in the 2025-26 season, the Wildcats have turned their season around during SEC play and should find themselves in the NCAA Tournament in March.

However, I don’t think they’re 7.5-point better than this Georgia team, especially since Kentucky has gotten off to some slow starts at home this season. The Wildcats have won just two of their last five home games by eight or more points, and they also have a home loss to Missouri earlier in SEC action.

Overall, the Wildcats are just 8-8 against the spread at Rupp Arena this season, and they may struggle to put away a Georgia team that loves to push the pace (ninth in the country in KenPom’s adjusted tempo) and ranks 33rd in adjusted offensive efficiency.

In fact, Kentucky only ranks 16 slots ahead of Georgia in KenPom’s latest rankings and six slots ahead of the Bulldogs in Bart Torvik’s latest rankings. These teams are relatively even when it comes to effective field goal percentage, and offensive and defensive efficiency, so I don’t mind taking the points with this spread set at a three-possession game.

Georgia has also been solid on the road, going 4-3 against the spread and straight up in the 2025-26 season.

Pick: Georgia +7.5 (-115 at DraftKings)

Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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