Mississippi State Bulldogs vs Kentucky Wildcats Prediction, 1/17/2024 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Mississippi State Bulldogs vs Kentucky Wildcats

Date: Wednesday, January 17, 2024

Location: Rupp Arena in Lexington, KY

TV: ESPN

The Kentucky Wildcats (12-3) will try to beat the Mississippi State Bulldogs (12-4) at Rupp Arena on Wednesday.

The Mississippi State Bulldogs stepped onto the hardwood against Alabama and went home with a loss by a final score of 82-74 in their last contest. With respect to fouls, the Bulldogs ended up walking away with 19 and Alabama recorded 20 fouls. They converted 10 of their 28 tries from 3-point land. Alabama finished the game shooting 84.6% at the charity stripe by converting 22 of 26 shots. Additionally, Alabama totaled 32 rebounds (10 offensive, 22 defensive), but didn't notch a block. Alabama dished out 9 dimes and had 7 steals in this matchup. In regard to defense, Mississippi State allowed 43.1% from the field on 25 of 58 shooting. They also dished out 12 assists in this matchup while forcing 13 turnovers and having 7 steals. Regarding hauling in rebounds, they collected 34 with 13 of them being of the offensive sort. When they shot from the charity stripe, the Bulldogs knocked down 15 of 27 attempts for a percentage of 55.6%. Mississippi State ended the contest having earned a 42.6% field goal percentage (26 out of 61) and made 7 of their 17 3-point shots.

Tolu Smith is one player who was a contributor in this matchup. He was able to score 15 points on 5 out of 15 shooting. He was on the court for 29 mins and also collected 10 boards. He finished shooting 33.3% from the floor and distributed 3 assists.

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Mississippi State steps onto the hardwood with a win-loss record of 12-4 so far this year. They are averaging 75.3 points per contest (167th in the nation) while going 45.2% from the floor. The Bulldogs are connecting on 32.0% on 3-point shots (119 of 372) and 71.0% from the free throw line. As a unit, Mississippi State is grabbing 38.8 boards per contest and has accounted for 237 dimes on the season, which is 149th in the nation in terms of passing the ball. They are giving up possession 13.1 times per game and as a group they commit 16.6 fouls on a nightly basis.

When they are on defense, the Bulldogs are forcing 13.3 turnovers on a nightly basis while drawing 18.4 fouls. They rank 11th in the nation in giving up assists to the opposition with 164 conceded on the season. The Bulldogs defensively are giving up a field goal percentage of 39.5% (362 of 916) and they concede 32.4 rebounds per game as a squad. They give up 27.7% on shots from beyond the perimeter and they are 40th in college basketball in PPG allowed (64.8).

When they last stepped on the court, the Kentucky Wildcats took a loss by a score of 97-92 when they played Texas A&M. In the matter of rebounds, Kentucky permitted Texas A&M to get 49 in all (22 offensive). They finished 37.5% from distance by going 12 of 32 and walked away from this one shooting 19 of 30 at the free throw line (63.3%). The Wildcats allowed Texas A&M to bury 33 out of their 82 tries from the floor which had them at 40.2% for this contest. When all was said and done, the Wildcats went 32 out of 76 from the field which gave them a percentage of 42.1%. When it comes to 3-point shots, Kentucky knocked down 15 of their 39 tries (38.5%). They were able to knock down 13 of those for a percentage of 61.9%. Texas A&M was called for 19 personal fouls in this contest which got the Wildcats to the charity stripe for 21 tries. They turned the ball over 11 times, while getting 6 steals in this game. The Wildcats pulled down 26 defensive boards and 16 offensive rebounds for a total of 42 in this matchup.

Antonio Reeves ended up having an impact for the Wildcats in this matchup. He totaled 22 points in his 31 mins on the hardwood and accounted for 1 assist in this contest. He converted 7 out of 15 in this contest for a field goal rate of 46.7%, and added 6 rebounds.

Kentucky has a win-loss mark of 12-3 for the campaign. The Wildcats commit 15.9 fouls per contest and they shoot 73.8% from the free throw line. They are assisting teammates 18.3 times per contest (13th in the nation) and they turn it over 9.7 times per game. Kentucky has accounted for 1,362 pts this year (90.8 per game) and they grab 39.1 rebounds per game. On the offensive side of the court, the Wildcats are shooting 49.3% from the field, which ranks 17th in the nation.

The Kentucky defense surrenders 31.3% on shots from 3-point land (130 of 415) and opponents are making 68.6% of their foul shots. They allow 13.7 dimes and 37.5 boards every game, which ranks them 251st and 294th in college basketball. The Wildcats on the defensive side of the court are 295th in D-1 in points allowed per game with 76.0. They are forcing 13.4 TO's every game and allow teams to shoot 41.4% from the floor (94th in college hoops).

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Kentucky

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