Rebels vs. Wildcats Prediction
The 15th-ranked Kentucky Wildcats are at home tonight as they welcome in the Mississippi State Bulldogs. Is the total set high enough for this matchup of offensive-minded squads?
Game Snapshot
635 Mississippi State Bulldogs at 636 Kentucky Wildcats
Tuesday, February 4, 2020
Rupp Arena at 9PM ET
TV: ESPN
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According to oddsmakers, the Wildcats are a 6.5-point favorite on the spread line. The over-under is set at 139.5 points. As of Tuesday morning, 58 percent of public bets are siding with host Kentucky. Check out our College Basketball Public Betting Page for the latest information.
Bulldogs race past Vols
Mississippi State raced to an 86-73 home victory Saturday over Tennessee to improve to 14-7 overall and 5-3 in Southeastern Conference play. The Bulldogs outscored the Volunteers 58-39 in the second half after trailing by six at the break. Reggie Perry paced MSU with 24 points on 6-of-12 shooting plus 12-of-15 at the free throw line. He also racked up 12 rebounds and two assists. D.J. Stewart Jr. accounted for 20 points and four boards. Robert Woodard II contributed 14 points and two caroms. Nick Weatherspoon added 11 points, nine assists and eight rebounds.
Wildcats downed by Tigers
Kentucky lost 75-66 Saturday at Auburn to drop to 16-5 overall and 6-2 in conference play. The Wildcats were outscored 41-31 in the second half after leading by one at the break. Immanuel Quickley paced Kentucky with 23 points on 6-of-13 shooting including 2-of-4 from 3-point distance plus 9-of-10 at the charity stripe. He also registered five rebounds and two assists. Tyrese Maxey added 22 points, four boards and two assists.
College Basketball Betting Trends
Mississippi State
The over is 4-1 in the last five Bulldogs games overall. The under is 5-1 in the last six Mississippi State Tuesday games.
Kentucky
The over is 8-3 in the last 11 Kentucky games overall. The under is 21-10 in the last 31 Kentucky home games.
Prediction:
While the Bulldogs play at a very slow pace, they are tremendously efficient offensively ranking 14th nationally while barely inside the top 100 of adjusted defensive efficiency. The Wildcats are also on the slower end of pace nationally, but are also more efficienct on the offensive end than what they do defensively. Mississippi State has used tremendous offensive efforts to take down Florida and Tennessee. It will be needed again tonight in what I think will be a higher-scoring game than projected.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL DAILY PREDICTION: MISSISSIPPI STATE BULLDOGS/KENTUCKY WILDCATS OVER 139.5