Kentucky Wildcats vs Mississippi State Bulldogs Prediction, 1/11/2025 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Kentucky Wildcats vs Mississippi State Bulldogs

Date: Saturday, January 11, 2025

Location: Humphrey Coliseum in Starkville, MS

TV: ESPN+

The Kentucky Wildcats (12-3) are hitting the road to Humphrey Coliseum on Saturday where they will try to defeat the Mississippi State Bulldogs (14-1).

The Kentucky Wildcats played Georgia and took a loss by a final of 82-69 in their last contest. In relation to personal fouls, the Wildcats finished with 25 while Georgia recorded 20 personal fouls. They buried 7 out of their 24 tries from 3-point range. Georgia finished the game at 76.3% when shooting free throws by knocking down 29 of their 38 tries. Additionally, Georgia totaled 35 rebounds (11 offensive, 24 defensive), but didn't notch a block. Georgia recorded 9 assists and had 7 steals for this game. When discussing defending, Kentucky allowed their opponent to shoot 41.8% from the floor on 23 out of 55 shooting. They also doled out 8 assists in the matchup while forcing the other team into 14 turnovers and earning 10 steals. When discussing grabbing rebounds, they collected 32 with 11 of them being on the offensive end. At the charity stripe, the Wildcats made 15 of 19 shots for a percentage of 78.9%. Kentucky ended having earned a 37.5% field goal percentage (24 out of 64) and converted 6 of their 25 3-point shots.

Lamont Butler is someone who was a major contributor in the game. He ended up going 57.1% from the field and also distributed 3 assists. He played for 34 minutes and totaled 4 rebounds. He walked away with 20 points on 8 out of 14 shooting.

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Kentucky steps onto the court with a win-loss record of 12-3 this year. They cough up possession 9.5 times per game and as a team they are committing 17.0 fouls per game. As a team, Kentucky is grabbing 40.9 boards per contest and has accumulated 276 assists on the season, which has them ranked 17th in the nation in terms of passing. The Wildcats are shooting 35.7% on shots beyond the perimeter (147 of 412) and 74.5% from the free throw line. They currently have an average of 88.8 points per outing (3rd in D-1) while connecting on 48.1% from the field.

When they are on defense, the Wildcats are able to force 11.2 turnovers per contest and they draw 17.5 fouls. They rank 101st in the nation in allowing assists to the opposition with 179 surrendered this season. The Wildcats defense is giving up and opponent field goal percentage of 41.5% (398 of 959) and they concede 36.5 rebounds per contest as a team. They give up 28.2% on shots from downtown and they rank 251st in D-1 in points per game allowed (73.9).

The last time they took the court, the Mississippi State Bulldogs walked away with a victory by a final of 76-64 against Vanderbilt. The Bulldogs collected 26 defensive rebounds and 7 offensive rebounds for a total of 33 for this contest. They coughed up the ball 10 times, while getting 7 steals in this game. Vanderbilt committed 17 fouls for this contest which took the Bulldogs to the charity stripe for 19 shots. They were able to convert 16 of the free throws for a percentage of 84.2%. Regarding shots from distance, Mississippi State made 6 of 16 attempts (37.5%). When all was said and done, the Bulldogs shot 27 for 57 from the floor which gave them a percentage of 47.4%. The Bulldogs allowed Vanderbilt to knock down 22 out of 62 tries from the field which had them shooting 35.5% for the game. They went 19.2% from beyond the arc by connecting on 5 out of 26 and finished the game at 15 of 20 from the free throw line (75.0%). When discussing rebounding, Mississippi State permitted Vanderbilt to snag 31 overall (9 on the offensive side).

RJ Melendez was important for the Bulldogs in the matchup. He tallied 19 points in his 32 minutes on the court, but wasn't able to earn an assist. He knocked down 8 out of 14 in this game for a field goal percentage of 57.1%, and earned 7 rebounds.

Mississippi State has a win-loss record of 14-1 this year. The Bulldogs have committed 16.9 fouls per game while shooting 70.2% from the free throw line. They are dishing out assists 17.3 times per game (28th in the country) and they are losing possession via turnover 9.6 times per game. Mississippi State has totaled 1,252 pts so far this year (83.5 per game) and they collect 39.3 boards per game. When it comes to offense, the Bulldogs are shooting 47.6% from the field, which is 65th in D-1.

The Bulldogs are ranked 63rd in D-1 in points given up per game with 66.5. They are forcing 14.7 turnovers per game and allow teams to shoot 40.6% from the field (67th in college). The Mississippi State defense concedes 32.8% on shots from beyond the perimeter (110 of 335) and their opponents are knocking down 68.4% of their shots from the free throw line. They have given up 11.9 dimes and 34.2 total boards per game, which is ranked 91st and 171st in Division 1.

Who will win tonight's NCAA game against the spread?

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Mississippi State

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