Kentucky opens as road underdog against Mississippi State

Kentucky will head to Starkville as the underdog for the first time in over a month.

The Wildcats (16-9; 7-5 SEC) have opened up as 2.5-point underdogs for Wednesday night’s road matchup against the Mississippi State Bulldogs (17-8; 5-7 SEC), according to The Action Network. The over/under has been set at 127.5. Kentucky has not been an underdog entering a game since upsetting Tennessee in Knoxville back on Jan. 14. UK was an 11.5-point ‘dog heading into that matchup before winning 63-56.

Following that win over Tennessee, Kentucky went on to cover in three straight games but has since gone 2-3 against the spread, including back-to-back losses against Arkansas and Georgia where the ‘Cats came in as 5.5-point and 7.0-point favorites, respectively. UK is currently 10-15-0 against the spread this season. Meanwhile, Mississippi State has covered in six straight outings and is 13-11-1 on the season against the spread. The Bulldogs will bring a five-game winning streak into Humphrey Coliseum on Wednesday night.

Looking at ESPN’s Matchup Predictor, Kentucky has just a 39 percent chance of pulling off the victory. The minds over at BartTorvik and KenPom aren’t any higher on the ‘Cats, giving them just a 32 and 37 percent chance, respectively, to beat the Bulldogs.

The injury status of key rotational guards CJ Fredrick and Sahvir Wheeler is still up in the air as we sit roughly 24 hours until tipoff, which is likely helping give MSU the betting edge. Neither player has been officially ruled out, but they did not practice on Monday and were questionable for Tuesday’s practice. Regardless of whether or not they’re able to go, Kentucky is facing a must-win situation with the team’s NCAA Tournament hopes hanging in the balance.

How to Watch Kentucky vs. Mississippi State

• Date: 8:30 EST, Wednesday, Feb. 15
• Location: Humphrey Coliseum (Starkville, MS)
• TV Channel: SEC Network (Roy Philpott, Mark Wise)
• Stream: WatchESPN, ESPN+
• Home Radio: Tom Leach and Jack Givens, UK Sports Network (630 WLAP, 840 WHAS)
• Satellite Radio: Sirius 137 or 190, SXM App 961

The KSR crew will get you ready for the matchup with the KSR Pregame Show, which airs LIVE from KSBar and Grille at 6:00 p.m. EST on 630 WLAP, 840 WHAS, or iHeart Radio. Drew Franklin and Ryan Lemond are holding down the fort in Matt Jones’ absence.