Rupp Arena - Lexington, KY
Tip-off: Saturday, 4:00 p.m. ET
Line: Louisville -2.5, Total: 149

No. 6 Louisville and No. 18 Kentucky will duke it out for state supremacy Saturday afternoon in Rupp Arena with Cardinals head coach Rick Pitino facing his former team in this contest between the past two national champions.

The reigning nation champion Cardinals have yet to beat a ranked team this year and fell to their only ranked foe of the season, then-No. 24 North Carolina. They won and covered in their lone road game, at Florida International, and have covered in four of their past five lined contests, making them 6-4 ATS. The Wildcats have played a stronger schedule and struggled, losing to all three of their ranked foes: Michigan State, Baylor and North Carolina. They are 4-6 ATS now after going 2-5 ATS in their past five games. Both of these teams are strong on the boards with Kentucky raking in 44.1 RPG (7th in Div. I) and Louisville pulling in 41.1 RPG (20th in Div. I). The Cardinals offense ranks 11th in the nation with 86.2 PPG. Louisville won when these two teams played last season, though the Wildcats covered. Kentucky beat the Cardinals in the 2012 Final Four en route to its national championship. The Wildcats have now won seven of the past 10 meetings between these two programs, going 7-2-1 ATS in the process.

Which team will prevail in this classic in-state rivalry? For the latest college basketball picks, check out The Platinum Sheet for all the StatFox Experts selections every week throughout the entire 2013-14 season. The StatFox Experts have been rolling in college basketball Best Bets this season with a 63% ATS (107-63-5) mark, including an eye-popping 72% ATS (72-28) record over the past four weeks. StatFox Zach is leading the way at 68% ATS (23-11-1) on Best Bets this season, including 80% ATS (16-4) in the past four weeks, while StatFox Brian is 65% ATS (22-12-1) for the season and 75% ATS (15-5) in the past four weeks. StatFox Gary is 64% ATS (21-12-2) for the season and 87% ATS (13-2) in the past three weeks, while StatFox Scott is 63% ATS (22-13) for the season and 73% ATS (11-4) in the past three weeks. StatFox Dave is 56% ATS (19-15-1) for the season and 60% ATS (12-8) in the past four weeks.

Louisville star SG Russ Smith spurned the NBA to come back for his senior season and is making it count with 16.8 PPG and 5.0 APG. His passing is up significantly over last season, already having recorded two double-digit assist performances. Chris Jones (13.5 PPG, 2.7 APG) joins him in the backcourt, though he has struggled in his past two games after suffering a wrist injury, scoring a total of 14 points in those two. He and Smith form a nasty defensive duo, combining for 3.8 SPG. Montrezl Harrell (12.5 PPG, 8.3 RPG) has come into his own as a sophomore, and leads the team in rebounding, getting help down low from junior Chane Behanan (8.3 PPG, 6.2 RPG). Wayne Blackshear (10.3 PPG) is the team’s final double-digit scorer, but don’t forget about senior Luke Hancock (7.8 PPG), who went off in the Final Four last year and won Most Outstanding Player.

Once again, Kentucky head coach John Calipari has assembled the nation's top crop of freshman, though it is clearly taking them time to gel. Freshman PF Julius Randle (18.2 PPG, 11.3 RPG) is the reason this team is so good on the boards, recording a double-double in eight of the team’s 11 games thus far. He gets plenty of help from C Willie Cauley-Stein (9.3 PPG, 8.0 RPG), who is posting a ridiculous 4.2 BPG, discouraging any would-be drivers. Freshman SG Aaron Harrison (15.1 PPG, 2.3 APG) ranks second on the team in scoring and is finding his footing, having posted back-to-back, 20-point efforts in the team’s past two contests. His twin, PG Andrew Harrison (10.6 PPG, 3.5 APG) hasn’t scored as much, but is the team’s top passer. Another big threat is freshman SG James Young (13.4 PPG), who is hitting 2.2 threes per game.