Mississippi State Bulldogs vs Kentucky Wildcats Prediction, 3/11/2021 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Mississippi State Bulldogs vs Kentucky Wildcats

Date: Thursday, March 11, 2021

Location: Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, TN

TV: SECN

Odds/Point Spread: Mississippi State (+2)

The Mississippi State Bulldogs (14-13) travel to Bridgestone Arena on Thursday where they'll meet the Kentucky Wildcats (9-15). Kentucky opens this game as 2-point favorites. The total is set at 131.

Mississippi State will take the court with a record of 14-13 for the campaign. They are averaging 69.4 pts per contest (232nd in D-1) while hitting 45.5% from the field. The Bulldogs are shooting 34.9% from downtown (145 of 415) and 64.1% from the free throw line. As a unit, Mississippi State is pulling in 38.9 rebounds per game and has tallied 351 assists so far this season, which is 82nd in the country in terms of passing the rock. They cough up possession 14.9 times per game and as a unit they are committing 15.6 personal fouls per game. When they are on the defensive end, the Bulldogs are able to force 12.3 turnovers per contest while drawing 16.1 personal fouls. The Bulldogs are giving up and opponent field goal percentage of 39.9% (635 of 1,590) and they surrender 32.1 rebounds per game as a squad. They rank 309th in the country in allowing assists to the opposition with 366 relinquished so far this season. They are giving up 31.7% on three-point shots and they are 60th in college hoops in PPG allowed (65.7).

The Mississippi State Bulldogs faced off with the Auburn Tigers and ended up losing by a score of 78-71 in their last game. Mississippi State ended the contest with a 45.0% FG percentage (27 of 60) and made 2 out of their 10 three-point attempts. From the charity stripe, the Bulldogs converted 15 of their 24 tries for a rate of 62.5%. Pertaining to hauling in boards, they earned 35 with 15 of them being of the offensive variety. They also recorded 9 assists for the game while forcing the other team into 9 turnovers and getting 6 steals. Concerning defense, Mississippi State let their opponent shoot 43.5% from the field on 27 out of 62 shooting. Auburn doled out 15 dimes and had 3 steals in the game. Moreover, Auburn grabbed 32 boards (12 offensive, 20 defensive) and earned 6 rejections. Auburn walked away from this one shooting 86.7% from the free throw line by making 13 of their 15 attempts. They made 11 out of their 33 attempts from beyond the arc.

Tolu Smith is one guy who played a role for this contest. He scored 20 points on 7 of 17 shooting. He was on the hardwood for 36 mins and snagged 9 boards. Smith walked away from this one shooting 41.2% from the field but finished the game without an assist. One more player that was a major factor in the matchup for the Bulldogs was D.J. Stewart. He collected 5 rebounds in his 37 min on the basketball court. He finished 53.3% from the floor in this matchup by shooting 8-of-15 (19 points). When the final whistle was blown, Stewart accounted for 1 assist.

Kentucky has a record of 9-15 so far this year. As an offense, the Wildcats are connecting on 41.7% from the floor, which is ranked 293rd in the country. Kentucky has scored 1,688 points for the year (70.3 per contest) and they collect 38.4 boards per contest. They are assisting teammates 12.3 times per contest (243rd in the nation) and they turn the ball over 14.3 times per game. The Wildcats are committing 18.0 personal fouls per contest and they shoot 73.4% from the free throw line. The Wildcats defensively are ranked 174th in college basketball in points per game surrendered with 70.0. They have allowed 12.1 dimes and 35.8 rebounds per game, which has them ranked 112th and 224th in the country. The Kentucky defense surrenders 31.3% on three-point shots (159 of 508) and opponents are making 73.9% of their foul shots. They have forced 12.7 TO's every game and allow teams to shoot 41.0% from the field (58th in college hoops).

When they last stepped on the court, the Kentucky Wildcats went home victorious with a score of 92-64 against the South Carolina Gamecocks. The Wildcats earned 31 defensive rebounds and 13 offensive rebounds totaling 44 for the matchup. They turned the ball over 17 times, while getting 7 steals in this contest. The Gamecocks were called for 16 personal fouls for the contest which took the Wildcats to the free throw line for a total of 18 tries. They were able to convert 13 of the free throws for a clip of 72.2%. In reference to shooting from downtown, Kentucky made 13 of their 27 tries (48.1%). Overall, the Wildcats shot 33 for 67 from the floor which had them shooting 49.3%. The Wildcats allowed the Gamecocks to convert 26 of 68 attempts from the field which had them shooting 38.2% in the matchup. They finished 11.8% from downtown by going 2 out of 17 and walked away from this one shooting 10 of 17 from the charity stripe (58.8%). In relation to rebounds, Kentucky permitted South Carolina to get 30 in total (9 on the offensive glass).

Brandon Boston pitched in for the Wildcats for the contest. He knocked down 7 of 13 in the matchup giving him a rate of 53.8%, and had 4 rebounds. Boston earned 21 points in his 33 mins on the hardwood and tallied 3 assists in this matchup. Someone else that ended up playing a role for Kentucky was Davion Mintz. He came away with 7 assists in 28 mins played, and he shot 7 of 13 from the floor. Mintz wrapped this one up going 53.8% from the field as well as earning 20 points and 5 rebounds.

Who will win tonight's college basketball game against the spread?

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Kentucky (-2)

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