As of late Tuesday morning, most books had Tennessee (16-2 straight up, 10-7-1 against the spread) installed as a 7.5-point home favorite vs. Mississippi St. tonight.
Tip-off on ESPN2 is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. Eastern.
Tennessee is unbeaten in 10 home games with a 7-3 ATS record, but the non-covers came when Rick Barnes’s squad was laying 27.5, 27 and 30.5 points. The Volunteers have won their 10 home games by margins of 16, 35, 35, 43, 26, 48, 18, 15, 24 and 18 points.
They’re in bounce-back mode tonight after dropping a 76-75 decision Saturday at Vanderbilt. UT is also looking to avenge a pair of losses to the Bulldogs last season.
Chris Jans’s team beat the Vols 77-72 as a two-point home underdog last season. Then in the SEC Tournament quarterfinals, Mississippi St. raced out to a 38-19 halftime lead and coasted to a 73-56 win over Tennessee as a 9.5-point underdog in Nashville.
Mississippi St. (15-3 SU, 9-9 ATS) falls into a letdown scenario here after beating arch-rival Ole Miss 84-81 in an overtime thriller at home on Saturday night. The Bulldogs had lost their two previous games and are mired in a 0-3 ATS slump.
PREDICTION: Vols -7 (-120 juice) for one unit.