We have a late-season SEC showdown in College Station as the Mississippi State Bulldogs hit the road to meet the Texas A&M Aggies. Tipoff is set for 9 p.m. ET and the game will air on ESPNU.
Mississippi State (19-10, 8-8 SEC) is on a two-game skid heading into this midweek showdown and last fell in a 78-63 setback at Auburn on Saturday. The Bulldogs fell behind quickly and couldn’t catch up as they shot just 39.3% from the field. Josh Hubbard led with 23 points in the loss.
Texas A&M (16-13, 7-9 SEC) mercifully ended a five-game losing streak on Saturday when taking down Georgia in a 70-56 triumph. Both teams shot under 36% from the field, but the Aggies were able to lock down late by holding the Bulldogs scoreless for the final 6:35 of the game. Tyrece Radford had a double-double of 20 points and 10 rebounds. Senior forward Henry Coleman III missed the game with an undisclosed injury and is considered doubtful for tonight.
This should be an interesting clash in tempos as Texas A&M operates at a relatively slow pace on offense while Mississippi State likes to speed teams up on defense. The Aggies can benefit from playing aggressive on defense this evening as the Bulldogs have the worst turnover rate in the SEC at 18.8% and are also shooting a league-worst 61.9% from the free throw line. On the other end of the floor, the Bulldogs will be facing the worst shooting team in the conference as A&M is shooting just 43.6% from two and 26.2% from three.
What this game means for Mississippi State
State would be the No. 7 seed in the SEC Tournament if the season ended at this exact moment and that’s the highest seed it can attain with just two games left in the regular season. However, the Bulldogs haven’t helped themselves with this two-game skid and they run the risk of falling further down the standings with another loss. On top of that, they are considered to be safely in the NCAA Tournament field by bracket experts, but could easily fall into bubble territory if they drop these last two games. MSU needs to lock in.
What this game means for Texas A&M
Texas A&M stopped the bleeding with last Saturday’s win, but the damage has already been done as it is projected to be out of the NCAA Tournament field at the moment. The Aggies need to scramble and try to make up lost ground with victories in their final two games.
Mississippi State vs. Texas A&M odds from DraftKings Sportsbook
Spread: Texas A&M -2.5
Total: 138.5
Moneyline: TAMU -148, MSU +124
Pick: Under 138.5
This has the makings of being a sloppy contest with Mississippi State’s turnover problems and Texas A&M’s poor shooting in SEC play. That’s why I’ll go with the under cashing this evening, even with two over-friendly programs.