The Eastern Illinois Panthers take on the Kentucky Wildcats in Lexington, KY. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. ET on SEC Network+.
Kentucky is favored by -39.5 points on the spread, and the total is set at 147.5 points.
Here’s my Eastern Illinois vs. Kentucky predictions and college basketball picks for November 14, 2025.
Eastern Illinois vs Kentucky Prediction
My Pick: Eastern Illinois Team Total Under 56.5 or Better
My Eastern Illinois vs Kentucky best bet is on the Panthers to go under their team total. For all of your college basketball bets, be sure to find the best lines by using our live NCAAB odds page.
Eastern Illinois vs. Kentucky Odds
| E. Illinois Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+39.5 -110 | 147.5 -110o / -110u | OFF |
| Kentucky Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-39.5 -110 | 147.5 -110o / -110u | OFF |
- Eastern Illinois vs Kentucky spread: Kentucky -39.5
- Eastern Illinois vs Kentucky over/under: 147.5 points
Eastern Illinois vs Kentucky College Basketball Betting Preview
Eastern Illinois Basketball
Eastern Illinois comes in off a 20-point loss against Notre Dame on Tuesday night. The Panthers played pretty good defensive basketball for a half, forcing the Irish to settle for the long-range 3s more frequently than expected.
For not being a very talented team, this group has shown some tenacity on defense this season. We've seen the Panthers contest almost everything in the paint and they do well to not get run out in transition.
The Panthers struggle to score the basketball with any regularity, as they're a below average shooting team that turns the ball over way too often. Eastern Illinois ranks 351st in KenPom’s adjusted offensive efficiency metric and 329th nationally in turnovers committed.
There's not a lot of size in the post to rely on, and Zion Fruster can create off the dribble but doesn’t make contested shots in the lane.
Eastern Illinois operates at the 30th-slowest tempo offensively, and the Panthers will be methodical working the ball into the paint or getting Fruster in a position to create.
This team doesn’t want to shoot 3s and it's shown patience to wait for its opportunity rather than settling for a deep shot.
Inefficient shooting has been the main reason why this team hasn't eclipsed 70 points this season in any game.
Kentucky Basketball
Kentucky lost a heart breaker against fast-paced Louisville on Tuesday on the road in a game it didn’t shoot particularly well in. The Cats committed 14 turnovers and made just 12-for-34 3-point shots while struggling to defend Pat Kelsey's offensive system.
Kentucky hasn't shot the ball well this season from 3-point range and needs to figure out ways to get to the charity stripe more often, as it's in the bottom half of the NCAA in 3-point percentage and free throw rate.
Defensively, Kentucky put together back-to-back solid performances against lesser foes before playing Louisville.
I would expect the Wildcats to be sharp defensively on Friday. Mark Pope wants to keep opponents out of the lane and off the foul line, so I would expect this matchup to be an opportunity to frustrate Eastern Illinois and force the Panthers into long jumpers.
Kentucky should win this basketball game convincingly. Eastern Illinois doesn’t have the size down low to compete with the athletes the Wildcats have in the frontcourt, and this appears to be a bad matchup for Eastern Illinois on the offensive end.
Eastern Illinois vs. Kentucky Betting Analysis
I would expect Mark Pope and this Wildcats group to use this as a get-right opportunity on the defensive end. Pope mentioned wanting to be the best defensive team in the country and start this season how he ended last year — strong on defense.
This team has a deep roster and Pope is still trying to configure his lineup to field the best starting five and bench platoon. I could see some retooling on the defensive end after Tuesday’s game against Louisville.
With the spread and total where it's set, we should see an Eastern Illinois team total of 56.5 or so on game day, and I'm willing to take the under there.
I don't believe Eastern Illinois will be able to shoot effectively in this one, and the Panthers should struggle to get the ball inside.
Nothing will come easy for the Panthers on the offensive end. With Eastern Illinois playing at a snails pace and being deliberate on offense, I expect it to be deep into the shot clock frequently, which will result in wildly inefficient shots, shot clock violations or throw away turnovers.
With how frequently this group is turning it over, its poor shooting efforts in the first three games, and Kentucky's focus on the defensive end, I'm going to go low on the Eastern Illinois team total.
My Pick: Eastern Illinois Team Total Under 56.5 or Better
