Back the Kentucky Wildcats to win and cover against the MS State Bulldogs

One of the betting favorites to win the NCAA Championship is the Kentucky Wildcats, and they are in Conference action against the Mississippi State Bulldogs on Wednesday night. The Wildcats are favored to win the match, and in our latest NCAAB betting picks, we tell you how they are going to get on.

  • What; 2023/24 NCAA Men’s Basketball
  • Who; Kentucky Wildcats vs. Mississippi State Bulldogs
  • Where; Rupp Arena, Lexington, Kentucky
  • When; Wednesday, January 17th 2024
  • Tip-Off; 7 pm ET

Both colleges are slightly off the pace when it comes to the Southeastern. The Wildcats have a 2-1 record in the Conference and sit in fifth. The Bulldogs are 1-2 and sit in ninth. And with Auburn and Alabama flying at the top of the Conference table, neither side can afford too many more slips.

This is the first of two home-court Conference matches for Kentucky. They will want to make sure they cash in and win both. As for the Bulldogs, they’ve lost two of their last three and could well do with a confidence-building win ahead of Saturday’s home match against struggling Vanderbilt.

Latest betting to win the SEC

In the latest betting to win the SEC, the best college basketball betting sites have made Auburn their favorites at +140. Auburn has a 3-0 record in the Conference and an impressive 14-2 overall record this season.

The Tigers have taken over from Tennessee as the betting favorites. The Volunteers are second in the betting at +310, marginally ahead of the third-place team, Alabama, who are +350. The Kentucky Wildcats are next in the betting at +700.

Outside of the leading four colleges in the betting are Texas A&M at +1400, Florida at +2500, and MS State at +4500.

Betting to win the 2024 NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship

UConn is the new No.1 ranked team in the NCAA, but they haven’t been able to overthrow the Purdue Boilermakers as the favorites with the top-rated betting sites.

Purdue still leads the way at +900, with the No.5 ranked Houston Cougars second in the betting at +1000. Then comes the Huskies at +1100, just ahead of the Kentucky Wildcats at +1200. Also on +1200 is Arizona, who – this time last week – were the favorites at +900.

Kentucky vs. MS State Match Betting

Onto the latest NCAAB betting lines, and it’s the hosts who head into the match as the favorites with the top-rated NCAAB betting sites.

On the handicap spread, MI State is receiving a 7.5-point advantage. To win with the spread, Mississippi is -110. To win and cover the 7.5-point advantage, Kentucky is -110.

The total points spread is 153. Over is -110 with Bovada, and under is -105 with BetOnline. More betting options are available on our college basketball odds table. For our odds, we only use the top-rated NCAA basketball betting sites.

Kentucky Wildcats vs. MS StateBovadaBetOnline ReviewMyBookie Review
KentuckyN/AN/AN/A
MS StateN/AN/AN/A
Kentucky (-7.5)-110-110-110
MS State (+7.5)-110-110-110
Over 151.5-110-115-110
Under 151.5-110-105-110

Kentucky vs. MS State; Latest Form

The Kentucky Wildcats sit fifth in the Southeastern with a Conference record of 2-1. Overall this season the Wildcats are 12-3. The No.8 ranked team has a home record of 8-1 and a road record of 2-1. In their most recent outing, the Wildcats lost 97-92 to Texas A&M at the Reed Arena on Saturday. The Aggies needed overtime to clinch the victory.

The defeat was a shock to the Wildcats, and it snapped a six-match winning streak running back to the beginning of December. Included in the winning streak were victories over Penn (81-66), UNC (87-83), Louisville (95-76), IL State (96-70), and Florida (87-85).

MS State sits ninth in the Southeastern with a Conference record of 1-2. Overall this season they are a respectable 12-4, with a 6-2 record at home, but a rather telling 0-2 record on the road.

The Bulldogs are on a losing streak of one. The defeat was an 82-74 loss to the Alabama Crimson Tide at the Humphrey Coliseum last weekend. The loss was the Bulldogs’ second defeat in their last three, having also lost 68-62 on the road at the South Carolina Gamecocks.

Sandwiched in between the two defeats was an impressive 77-72 home win against the Tennessee Volunteers seven days ago. On that occasion, MI State was fast out of the blocks, racing into a 35-22 lead at the break. The 13-point advantage was too much for the Volunteers to make up in the second half. And despite a good fightback from the visitors, MS State managed to hang on for the victory.

Kentucky vs. MS State Betting Picks

MS State does have it in them to go to Kentucky and upset the Wildcats. Tolu Smith has been in good form for the Bulldogs lately. But the giant forward will need more support from elsewhere if they are to defeat the Wildcats in Kentucky.

Looking at it from a betting perspective, we are struggling to make a case for the Bulldogs. Their road form isn’t great, and they will be facing a strong-looking Kentucky, who, apart from the loss to the Aggies, have been in excellent form of late.

Throw in a home-court advantage for the Wildcats, and we believe that adds up to a win for Kentucky. Therefore, our betting pick is for Kentucky to win and cover the spread.

Kentucky Wildcats (-7.5)To beat MS State and Cover Spread
★★★★★
-110
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Dean Etheridge

Dean is a general all-around sports enthusiast, but primarily he is a fan of English football and cricket. An experienced writer, Dean has been practicing his trade for over 15 years, first writing for his own publications, and latterly MyTopSportsbooks, and various other sports betting websites. Dean has extended his writing skills in recent years and now covers various other sports including Formula 1, darts, boxing, snooker, tennis, and golf. In his spare time, he enjoys days out at football and cricket with his family and friends.