Michigan State Spartans vs Mississippi State Bulldogs Prediction, Picks and Game Preview - 03/21/2024

Game Time: 12:15 pm ET, Thursday, March 21, 2024

Venue:  Spectrum Center, Charlotte, NC

Where to Watch:  CBS

DraftKings:  Point Spread:  MSU -1, MS State +1; Over/Under:  130 points

Bet365:  Point Spread:  MSU -1, MS State +1; Over/Under:  130 points

BetMGM:  Point Spread:  MSU -1.5, MS State +1.5; Over/Under:  130.5 points

Michigan State Spartans:  19-14 (10-10) (6th place, Big Ten)

Mississippi State Bulldogs:  21-13 (8-10) (9th place, SEC)

Do not miss out on our expert handicapper analysis! Big Al McMordie is on a HOT STREAK in college basketball on a 109-84-5 CBB RUN for +$16,290 PROFIT! Make sure you check out his picks and many more from the expert handicappers featured in the Shop Picks section.

Michigan State Spartans:  2-3  last 5

Mississippi State Bulldogs:  2-3  last 5

Michigan State is entering this game with a 19-14 record overall, a 10-10 record in conference games, and they are 2-3 in their neutral site games this season where they will be in this game. They are coming off a loss against the Purdue Boilermakers in their last game. Tyson Walker led the team in points per game in that game with 15 while Malik Hall was next on the team with 12. AJ Hoggard led the team in assists with 10 in that game while Malik Hall and Mady Sissoko each led the team in rebounds with 7. They were 39.3% from the field, 22.2% from 3-point range, and 83.3% from the free throw line with their shooting in that game. Their offense is averaging 73.1 PPG and their defense is allowing their opponents to average 65.9 PPG against them. Michigan State has an ATS record of 18-14-1 this season and their O/U record is 14-19.

Mississippi State is entering this game with a 21-13 record overall, an 8-10 conference record, and they are 8-1 in their neutral site games this season where they will be in this game. They are coming off a loss against the Auburn Tigers in their last game. Josh Hubbard led the team in points in that game with 20 while D. J. Jeffries was next on the team with 12. D. J. Jeffries and Cameron Matthews each led the team in assists with 3 in that game while Tolu Smith III led the team in rebounds with 10. They were 41.1% from the field, 20% from 3-point range, and 63% from the free throw line with their shooting in that game. Their offense is averaging 74.8 PPG and their defense is allowing their opponents to average 69.1 PPG against them. Mississippi State has an ATS record of 17-16-1 this season and their O/U record is 16-18.

The current betting odds have Mississippi State listed as a 1 point underdog in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. Mississippi State has looked good in their games this season with their 21-13 record overall and their 8-10 conference record in the SEC which was enough to land them one of the 8th seeds in the NCAA Tournament. They did struggle a lot more in their conference games since they were under .500 in the SEC, but they were really good in their non-conference games and in their neutral site games with their 8-1 record in those. Meanwhile, Michigan State hasn't looked great in their games this season with their 19-14 record overall and their 10-10 conference record which was enough to get them in the NCAA Tournament as one of the 9th seeds. They struggled all season in the Big Ten with their losing record in conference games and they weren't that great in their non-conference games either. They have also looked terrible in their neutral site games this year with their 2-3 record in those. Michigan State did start to get hot near the end of the regular season but Mississippi State also made a deep run in their Conference Tournament, getting really hot themselves, and they played in a stronger conference all season than the Big Ten. The best way to place a bet here is on Mississippi State to cover the spread in this game. 

Michigan State Mississippi State Prediction:  Our NCAAB Pick for Thursday, March 21, 2024 (12:15 pm ET start time) is Mississippi State 77 Michigan State 71.

Don't miss our champion handicappers free picks and expert basketball picks today. And if you enjoyed this Michigan State Spartans Mississippi State Bulldogs prediction, be sure to drop by every day for our weekly NCAAB predictions and previews.

Michigan State Spartans: 12-4 ATS after a loss by 6 points or less. 25-11 ATS after 1 or more consecutive losses. 19-9 ATS off a loss against a conference rival. 26-17 UNDER in a neutral court game where the total is 130 to 134.5. 12-6 UNDER after 1 or more consecutive unders. 14-6 UNDER after 5 straight games committing 14 or less turnovers.

Mississippi State Bulldogs: 8-16 ATS when the line is +3 to -3. 4-11 ATS in March games. 9-15 ATS when playing only their 3rd game in a week. 15-7 UNDER in all neutral court lined games. 28-13 UNDER in non-conference games. 12-4 UNDER in all tournament games. 

Michigan State Spartans:  J. Fears Jr (G) out for season - Leg. S. Izzo (G) Out indefinitely - Undisclosed. G. Normand (G) Out indefinitely - Foot.

Mississippi State Bulldogs:  A. Taylor (G) Out indefinitely - Personal.

“Guarding Edey is a load. We tried it a number of different ways. We tried doubling. We tried digging. We tried regular head up. Matt does such a great job of getting them the ball in different spots.” - Tom Izzo after his team’s loss against Purdue in their last game of the Big Ten Tournament on Friday.

“We had our chances.” - Chris Jans after his team’s loss against Auburn in their last game of the SEC Tournament on Saturday.

J. Akins 

M. Hall 

A. Hoggard 

M. Sissoko 

T. Walker

J. Bell 

D. Davis

T. Fort 

D. Jeffries 

C. Matthews

PPG: T. Walker (18.4)

APG: A. Hoggard (5)

Reb/G: M. Hall (5.7)

PPG: J. Hubbard (16.8)

APG: C. Matthews (2.9)

Reb/G: T. Smith (8.2)

Coaches:

Michigan State Spartans: Tom Izzo (29th season)

Mississippi State Bulldogs: Chris Jans (2nd season)