The 10-seed Mississippi State Bulldogs (21-11, 8-10 SEC) take on the 7-seed Missouri Tigers (21-10, 10-8 SEC) in a second-round matchup in the SEC Tournament in this Mississippi State vs. Missouri prediction. Mississippi State took down LSU in the First Round to get here, while Missouri had a first-round bye. When these teams met in the regular season, Missouri won by 27 on the road. The winner will advance to play the 2-seed Florida. Tipoff is set for 7:00 EST from the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville and can be found on the SEC Network. Keep reading to see our Mississippi State vs. Missouri prediction, and keep up with all our NCAAB picks!
Mississippi State Rolls on Day One
The first two games of the SEC Tournament were tight contests, but the same cannot be said about the third game as the Mississippi State Bulldogs thoroughly dominated LSU. They won by 29 points and controlled the whole game as they led by 20 at halftime. The Bulldogs seem as if they will be a lock for the NCAA Tournament, but would love to improve their resume with at least one more big win here. In the LSU game, they were led by Josh Hubbard who buried six threes on his way to a 26-point night.
Hubbard is the leader of the Bulldogs and was named Second Team All-SEC as a 5'11 sophomore guard. He averaged 18.3 PPG this season and led the team with 95 made threes on the year. Hubbard is a quick point guard, and he dropped 24 points in their previous meeting with Missouri. No other Bulldog reached double figures in the LSU game, but KeShawn Murphy averages 11.6 PPG and 7.5 RPG as a 6'10, 230-pound big man on the inside. Murphy had nine points and six boards in the win over LSU and went for 16 and nine last time he played Missouri. Claudell Harris Jr. is another scorer on the perimeter, he is averaging 9.8 PPG as a 6'4 senior guard.
Mississippi State is currently ranked 32nd overall in KenPom. They are 22nd in offensive efficiency and 51st in defensive efficiency. They rank 137th out of 364 Division I teams in pace of play. The Bulldogs are projected to be a 9-seed in Bracketology.
Tigers Lose Final Three
The Missouri Tigers come into the SEC Tournament as the 21st-ranked team in the AP Poll, but they lost all of their final three games of the season. Two of those losses came against unranked opponents, falling to Oklahoma and Vanderbilt, while losing to #19 Kentucky in their season finale. The Tigers look to bounce back and improve their seed in the NCAA Tournament. The Tigers had three separate players garner recognition in the postseason awards.
Mark Mitchell was named to Third Team All-SEC as a 6’9, 230-pound junior forward. He led the team in scoring with 14.3 PPG while adding 4.7 RPG. Mitchell played for Duke for two seasons before coming over to Missouri, he can hit the three if necessary but is more likely to score around the bucket. Caleb Grill is their shooter off the bench and won the Sixth Man of the Year Award in the SEC. He is a 6’3 senior guard who led the team with 73 made threes on 42.3% shooting from deep and was second on the team in scoring with 14.2 PPG. Anthony Robinson II was named to the All-Defensive Team, the 6’3 sophomore led the team with 2.0 steals per game and added another 9.2 PPG.
Missouri is currently ranked 20th overall according to KenPom. They are 5th in offensive efficiency and 74th in defensive efficiency. They rank 131st in pace of play. The Tigers are projected to get a 7-seed in the NCAA Tournament according to Bracketology.
Best Bets for Mississippi St vs. Missouri
Full-Game Side Bet
Insiders Status:
The Bulldogs come into this game off an easy win against LSU, but beating the 15-seed is not the same as taking on the 7-seed 24 hours later. Josh Hubbard is an excellent player, but the Bulldogs are too reliant on their 5'11 guard to generate all their offense. Hubbard had 26 against LSU, and no other player had 10. This works against the bottom teams in the conference, but will not work against the Tigers who are ranked 21st in the nation. Missouri is 5th in the nation in offensive efficiency, they score the ball well and will not have a problem outpacing Hubbard and the rest of Mississippi State. When these teams met earlier this season, it was a blowout, with Missouri winning by 27 points on the road, they only need to win by four at a neutral site to win this bet, take the Tigers.
Take Missouri to cover.
Full-Game Total Pick
Insiders Status:
These teams play at a similar pace, and have both been trending toward the over recently, they will match each other's pace of play in a high scoring game here. Both teams are between 130th and 140th in pace of play, so neither team is going to be outside of their comfort zone in this one. Missouri is a team deep with scorers, they do not rely on one star, and one of their biggest scorers comes off the bench in Grill. The Tigers are 5th in the nation in offensive efficiency, and went over in all of their last seven games to close the season, they will fill it up here. Hubbard is going to go down swinging if Mississippi State falls behind, he hit six threes in the opening round game and the Bulldogs went over in each of their last three.
Take the over.
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