Mississippi State vs Kentucky Women’s College Basketball Prediction Preview and Betting Lines

It’s the SEC opener and a huge chance for the Bulldogs to make a national statement against the No. 16 Kentucky Wildcats.

UK has won four straight since getting rocked by North Carolina in early December. The offense ripped through a relatively easy stretch, and it needs this with four of the next five games on the road.

Mississippi State has won five straight since the close loss at Georgia Tech. It would be a huge deal to steal this one with the two games at home – the Bulldogs were on an eight-game away run before coming back to roll South Carolina State.

Date: Thursday, January 2, 2025
Game Time: 7:00 pm ET
How To Watch: SEC Network+
Venue: Memorial Coliseum, Lexington, KY
Teams: Mississippi State (13-1), Kentucky (11-1)
Fiu Bluesky 

Why Kentucky Will Win

The Wildcats are a D and 3 team – at least that D comes from the perimeter.

It’s been great at keeping teams from hitting from the outside, and it’ll keep firing away from three with the size and ability to come up with rebounds to clean up the messes.

There aren’t a lot of mistakes allowed for fast break points, and all is fine as long as the defense isn’t allowing much inside. That loss to North Carolina came on the team’s worst defensive performance of the season. It’s 11-0 when allowing teams to hit fewer than 47% from the field, but …

Why Mississippi State Will Win

The Mississippi State defense is better.

It’s the best among all SEC teams at holding down the three, the size is there to hold up on the boards, and the offense is ultra-efficient for that extra pass for easy points.

Mississippi State is hitting 49% from the field, and it can run a bit. This isn’t the deepest of Bulldog teams, but there’s no bench for Kentucky, and it’s about to get into a physical game.

Mississippi State vs Kentucky: Who Will Win?

Can Mississippi State hold up in yet another game away from Starkville?

Kentucky is great defensively, but it’ll have a hard time coming up with the consistent threes to get comfortable. The Bulldogs might not have UK’s scoring defense, but it’ll hold up well enough for this to come down to free throws.

Unfortunately, Kentucky is outstanding from the line. It’ll hit the extra free throw, Miss State won’t.

Mississippi State vs Kentucky Women’s Basketball Prediction, Betting Lines

Prediction: Kentucky 70, Mississippi State 66
Line: COMING, o/u: COMING
ATS Confidence out of 5: COMING