Mississippi State vs. Tennessee odds: Win probability, final score prediction in SEC Tournament

After over two months apart, No. 1 seed Tennessee and No. 9 seed Mississippi State will face off once again on Friday afternoon. However, this time around, there will be more than a simple tally in the win column on the line.

The two will go head-to-head in the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament, with the winner advancing to Saturday. Mississippi State already has one win under its belt in Nashville, knocking off the No. 8 seed LSU Tigers in the opening round of the tournament. The win halted a four-game losing streak for the Bulldogs.

Unlike MSU, Tennessee will be entering Friday’s meeting with a surplus of rest. The Volunteers last played on March 9 in an 85-81 loss to Kentucky. Tennessee will look to bounce back in a big way in the SEC Tournament. Tennessee fell 77-72 to Mississippi State when the two teams met earlier this season.

Odds for Mississippi State vs. Tennessee

Evidently, Vegas doesn’t expect history to repeat itself. Tennessee is a 9.5-point favorite against the Bulldogs, according to FanDuel. Further, the site listed the money line for the Volunteers at -490 while MSU sits at +365.

The point total for the game is currently set at 141.5 points. For reference, Tennessee is averaging 80.2 points per game. The Bulldogs trail closely behind, regularly scoring 75.3 points a night.

Final score predictions for Mississippi State vs. Tennessee

KenPom Predicted final score: Tennessee 75, Mississippi State 68
KenPom Win probability (for Tennessee): 75%

KenPom is another predictive system for college basketball. It’s designed to show how strong a team is at a given time, without taking factors like injuries into account. For this game between Mississippi State and Tennessee, KenPom agrees with Vegas, projecting the Volunteers to comfortably win.

How to watch Mississippi State vs. Tennessee

Time: 1:00 p.m. ET
Channel: ESPN, FuboTV (streaming)
Location: Nashville, Tenn.

Tennessee and Mississippi State are expected to tip-off at 1 p.m. ET. The pivotal matchup will be held in Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn. The SEC Tournament has been held in Nashville every year since 2013 with the exception of the 2014 tournament which was held in Atlanta and the 2018 tournament held in St. Louis.

For fans unable to attend the highly-anticipated showdown, the game can be watched on ESPN. It’s will also be available to fans on streaming through FuboTV, which does have an option for a free trial.