Mississippi State Bulldogs vs. Tennessee Volunteers Pick & Prediction JANUARY 21st 2025

Preview and Prediction

The solitary encounter this year between No. 15 Mississippi State and No. 6 Tennessee will hold national significance on Tuesday evening in Knoxville, Tenn.

Mississippi State (15-3, 3-2 SEC) faced off against in-state rival Ole Miss on Saturday in another clash of ranked teams and managed to secure a hard-fought victory of 84-81 in overtime against the No. 21 Rebels, showcasing the intense rivalry between the two teams.

Mississippi State initially had a 14-point lead in the first half, but had to rely on Riley Kugel to make two free throws with only 11 seconds remaining in overtime to secure the win, as Ole Miss' Jaemyn Brakefield missed a 3-point attempt at the buzzer.

Head coach Chris Jans of Mississippi State now boasts a 4-1 record against Ole Miss and reached his 200th career victory on Saturday, while also improving his record with the Bulldogs to 57-30.

Kugel, a transfer from Florida, is currently averaging a career-high of 10.2 points per game. He was unable to play in Tuesday's 88-66 loss against No. 1 Auburn due to injuries to his finger and ankle, but made a strong comeback against Ole Miss with a season-high of 21 points.

Kugel attributes his success to Jans, who has instilled a relentless work ethic within the Bulldogs' program.

"Man, he always gives his all," Kugel said, "so he expects us to do the same every day - during practice, games, and even on our off days. That's just who he is and he makes us a great team overall. "

Josh Hubbard leads the scoring for Mississippi State with an average of 16.6 points per game, followed by Claudell Harris Jr. with 10.8 points and KeShawn Murphy with 10.3 points.

Murphy, who averages 7.7 rebounds per game, is a key player for the team and helped dominate Ole Miss on the boards with a 51-29 rebounding advantage. The Bulldogs rank fifth in the SEC with an average of 39.7 rebounds per game.

After suffering their second loss in three conference road games, the Volunteers (16-2, 3-2) must regroup after a narrow defeat of 76-75 against in-state rival Vanderbilt on Saturday in Nashville, where the sellout crowd stormed the court in celebration.

Tennessee is one of four teams in the SEC to remain undefeated at home, with a perfect record of 10-0. This puts them alongside Missouri with 14 home victories, Mississippi with nine, and Auburn with eight.

"I thought they played with a lot of intensity," said Tennessee coach Rick Barnes of Vanderbilt. "They had a clear purpose and were able to get a lot of points in the lane against us. You have to give them credit for fighting for that space and earning it.

"We gave up too many second-chance points, but again, you have to give them credit for that."

Tennessee ranks eighth in the SEC for rebounding, with an average of 38.6 rebounds per game, setting up a crucial matchup inside on Tuesday.

Chaz Lanier, who missed a game-tying free throw with only 2.8 seconds remaining against Vanderbilt, leads Tennessee in scoring with an average of 18.1 points, followed by Zakai Zeigler with 12.3 points and 7.7 assists. Jordan Gainey averages 11.3 points and Igor Milicic Jr. adds 10.7 points and 8.4 rebounds.

Mississippi State has won the last two meetings against Tennessee, breaking a five-game losing streak in the matchup.

In their previous encounter in March of last season, Mississippi State dominated as they defeated top-seeded Tennessee 73-56 in the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament in Nashville.

PREDICTION

Mississippi State Bulldogs

67

73

Tennessee Volunteers

Mississippi State Bulldogs vs. Tennessee Volunteers Recap JAN 26TH 2021