
Tennessee vs Mississippi State Prediction 1/21/25 College Basketball Picks Today
Mississippi State (15-3) vs. Tennessee (16-2)
January 21, 2025 7:00 pm EDT
The Line: Tennessee -6.5; Over/Under: 140
(Get latest betting odds)
The Mississippi State Bulldogs and the Tennessee Volunteers meet Tuesday in college basketball action from the Thompson-Boling Arena. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best bets for this game. Here’s a Tennessee vs Mississippi State Prediction.
Mississippi State Recap
The Mississippi State Bulldogs come into this game looking to add on to their 84-81 win over Ole Miss last time out to improve to 15-3 on the year. Mississippi State will take on South Carolina, Alabama, and Missouri after this game.
Bulldogs Looking To Build Steam With Road Upset
Josh Hubbard leads the Bulldogs in scoring with 16.6 PPG and 2.9 APG while Claudell Harris Jr. has 10.8 PPG. KeShawn Murphy has 10.3 PPG with 7.7 RPG to lead the Bulldogs in rebounding up to this point in the year and Riley Kugel has 10.2 PPG to round out the group of double-digit scorers for Mississippi State up to this point in the year. RJ Melendez also has 9.6 PPG with 4.3 RPG while Cameron Matthews has 8.5 PPG with 7.2 RPG and a team-high 3.8 APG to lead the Bulldogs in assists. As a team, Mississippi State is averaging 82.9 PPG on 46.6% shooting from the field, 32.7% from three, and 69.8% from the foul line this season.
Why the Mississippi State Bulldogs will win
- Mississippi State has won 15 of its last 18 games.
Tennessee Recap
The Tennessee Volunteers come into this game looking to bounce back from a 76-75 loss to Vanderbilt last time out to improve to 16-2 on the year. After this game, Tennessee will head on the road for a matchup with Auburn.
Volunteers Looking To Bounce Back At Home
Chaz Lanier leads the Vols in scoring with 18.1 PPG while Igor Milicic Jr. has 10.7 PPG with a team-high 8.4 RPG to lead the Vols on the glass. Zakai Zeigler has 12.3 PPG with 3.4 RPG and a team-high 7.7 APG to lead the Vols in the assist department up to this point in the year. Jordan Gainey has 11.3 PPG to round out the group of double-digit scorers for Tennessee up to this point in the year. As a team, Tennessee is averaging 76.8 PPG on 46.1% shooting from the field, 34.9% from three, and 75.1% from the foul line this season.
Why the Tennessee Volunteers will win
- Tennessee has won each of its last 10 games at Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center.
- Mississippi State has lost 16 of its last 18 night games against AP-ranked opponents.
Total Points Facts
- Each of Mississippi State’s last seven night games against AP-ranked opponents has produced a total of 147+ points.
- Each of Tennessee’s last five games against AP-ranked opponents have produced a total of 139 or fewer points.
Tennessee vs Mississippi State Prediction
I’m going to side with Tennessee here. The Vols have had some close calls in SEC play, but the thing here is that the closest calls the Vols have had for the most part have been on the road. At home, we’ve seen Tennessee stifle some decent teams, beating the likes of Arkansas by 24 and Georgia by 18. Mississippi State will definitely pose a test for sure, but I still think that the Vols pull away in the second half and win this one by 10-12 points. Give me the Tennessee Volunteers laying the points here.