The No. 9 Tennessee Volunteers (14-3, 4-1 SEC) will try to get back on the winning side against the Mississippi State Bulldogs (12-5, 1-4) in Starkville Tuesday at 7 p.m. ET (ESPN2). Below, we analyze Tipico Sportsbook’s lines around the Tennessee vs. Mississippi State odds, and make our expert college basketball picks, predictions and bets.
Rankings courtesy of the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll.
Tennessee is coming off its worst loss of the season, a 63-56 home loss as 11-point favorites to a Kentucky team which was coming off a 71-68 home loss of its own against a 20-point underdog in South Carolina. Coach John Calipari was and is on the hot seat and this was a bad loss for Tennessee.
Tennessee is only ½ games behind Alabama in the Southeastern Conference standings. The Vols allow just 54.0 points per game to rank 2nd in the nation while Mississippi State ranks 5th at 57.5 PPG.
Mississippi State has lost 2 straight games, the last 69-63 on Saturday to No. 17 Auburn although they did cover as 7.5-point underdogs. The Bulldogs average 65.6 PPG which ranks 322nd in the nation.
These teams met just 2 weeks ago and the Volunteers beat the Bulldogs 87-53 as 10.5-point favorites at home.
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Tennessee at Mississippi State odds
Provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 1:42 p.m. ET.
- Moneyline (ML): Tennessee -280 (bet $280 to win $100) | Mississippi State +200 (bet $100 to win $200)
- Against the spread (ATS): Tennessee -5.5 (-115) | Mississippi State +5.5 (-105)
- Over/Under (O/U): 123.5 (O: -105 | U: -115)
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Tennessee at Mississippi State picks and predictions
Prediction
Tennessee 71, Mississippi State 56
Moneyline
PASS on the moneyline in this game in favor of the spread.
Against the spread
TENNESSEE -5.5 (-115) is the bet to make here.
The Volunteers will come out and look to get the offense on track in this game. After only putting up 56 points on Saturday against Kentucky, the Vols will press the pace in Starkville. The Bulldogs will not be able to keep pace and will find behind early and stay there.
Over/Under
OVER 123.5 (-105) for this game is the way to bet.
Despite 2 elite defenses that combined allow only 111.5 points per game, Tennessee will use its premier athletic advantage to make this a higher- scoring game. Even though the Bulldogs will not be able to keep up, they will score enough to get this game to the Over.
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