Kentucky Looks to Stay Perfect at Home
Mississippi State Trying to Spring Upset of No. 12 Wildcats
The No. 12 Kentucky Wildcats are among the favorites in terms of the March Madness odds. However, those odds took a slight hit when they lost to then-No. 2 Auburn on Saturday.
There’s nothing embarrassing about losing on the road to the No. 1 team in the country. However, it was the second loss in six games for the Wildcats. While that doesn’t seem bad, they had just two losses in their first 13 affairs.
Let’s take a closer look at this NCAA game betting preview and see if Kentucky is a good bet on the college basketball odds as it looks to rebound when facing a quality Mississippi State squad.
- Game: Mississippi State (13-5) at Kentucky (15-4)
- Location: Rupp Arena, Lexington, KY
- Day/Time: Tuesday, 9 p.m. ET
- Television: ESPN
Mississippi State Bulldogs at Kentucky Wildcats
How Good is Mississippi State?
Nobody is really expecting the Bulldogs to go to the Final Four but they have played well for the most part. However, there are some general questions as to just how good this team is.
On one hand, the Bulldogs are a respectable 13-5. They’re third in the SEC standings, which puts them behind No. 1 Auburn and No. 12 Kentucky. That’s not a bad place to be.
At the same time, Mississippi State is 3-2 since a 10-3 start to the season. And, taking a closer look at the losses, it seems that many of them came against good teams while the Bulldogs’ wins were against weaker foes.
Mississippi State only played one ranked team – No. 24 Alabama – and won 78-76 at home. However, the losses aren’t great. The Bulldogs have fallen to Florida, Ole Miss, Minnesota, Colorado State and Louisville.
Tuesday’s is going to serve as a huge temperature check. Win and the Bulldogs have a solid resume for March Madness. Lose and this team moves squarely on the bubble.
Wildcats Looking to Quickly Rebound
Kentucky has been one of the top teams in the country and nothing really changed following their Saturday loss to Auburn, which moved to No. 1 in the rankings.
The Wildcats hung quite tough and had a 48-45 lead with 11:54 to go in the second half. However, from there, Auburn pulled ahead and kept them at arm’s length the rest of the way.
What is concerning for Kentucky is losing by nine when shooting 50 percent from the field and winning the turnover battle. Auburn went 24 of 29 from the charity stripe while the Wildcats were just 8 of 10.
For the Wildcats to bounce back, they just need to play defense overall and play better defense without fouling.
Wildcats to Get Better of Bulldogs
With the Wildcats struggling defensively on Saturday, look for them to tighten things up in a bit in rebound effort. That will probably lead to an under in the sportsbook.
At the same time, the Wildcats are going to be focused here from start to finish, which is why they’re the play versus the number.
