Volunteers Should Score At Will And Rebound From Loss

Mississippi State vs. Tennessee, 7:00 ET

College Football wrapped up last night with a mostly boring, but somewhat exciting game in the later stage. It was a nice wrap up for the year even though I lost both of my plays on the game. It happens. Outside of the loss to end the season, and now me sitting here stewing about it until the start of the next season in August, I've been on a really nice hot streak for College Hoops and the NHL. Tonight I'm starting with a game between Mississippi State and Tennessee. 

Mississippi State enters tonight's game with a 15-3 record for the season, and they are just 3-2 in conference play. They are currently ranked 14th in the nation at the moment and a win here could vault them up even further. For the season, the three losses they've had are fairly understandable. The first game against Butler in a neutral court tournament game. They dropped that game by 10 points. After losing, they followed it up with eight straight wins which is always the way you want to respond. Their other losses were against Kentucky and Auburn in back-to-back games about a week ago. They did beat Ole Miss in their most recent game, that one went to overtime. They are in the middle of a very tough stretch. Starting on January 11th, and running until February 18th, they have 11 games. Of those 11 games, they are facing nine ranked opponents. If you extend that a bit further, they face 10 ranked opponents in 13 games. Mississippi State has five guys that are averaging 9.6 points per game or more, and another three that are at 6.3 or better (one of those has played just seven games). They have good depth and have a lot of guys that can get going for the team, but it seems like they might need someone to step up and be more consistent in every game to push them ahead truly. 

Jan 18, 2025; Starkville, Mississippi, USA; Mississippi State Bulldogs guard Claudell Harris Jr. (0) and guard Josh Hubbard (12) react after defeating the Mississippi Rebels at Humphrey Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

Tennessee has been one of the better teams in college basketball. They are 16-2 for the season, but both losses have come in conference play and they have the same 3-2 mark as Mississippi State. The Volunteers have lost to Florida - a game that I was dead wrong about - and they were blown out in that one, losing by 30 points on the road. Their other loss came in their most recent game a matchup where they traveled to Vanderbilt. It was a one-point loss, but it was still a loss. I mentioned the trough stretch that Mississippi State is facing, but Tennessee doesn't have it much easier. Starting on January 4th and going until February 5th, they have 10 games, and are facing eight ranked opponents. Currently, they have only four unranked opponents remaining on their schedule for the year. The Volunteers aren't quite as deep as Mississippi State, but I think they are probably more impressive in their top four players. Those four guys all average 10+ points per game and I would consider them better three-point shooters. 

We have two fairly talented offenses in this one. I like that there are multiple players that can score the ball in this game. I think the biggest challenge to the total is that Mississippi State doesn't get rolling because they are on the road, but I think they should be able to score at least 65 points in this. I think the over is the correct play in this one at 140.5. I also lean toward the Volunteers at home, especially coming off of the loss. I'm going to play both, but not sure if I'll put a full unit on each or split a unit. 

For more sports betting information and plays, follow David on X/Twitter: @futureprez2024