The Mississippi State Bulldogs (12-7, 1-6 SEC) attempt to take down the No. 2 Alabama Crimson Tide (17-2, 7-0) in Tuscaloosa Wednesday. Tip-off from Coleman Coliseum is at 9 p.m. ET (SEC Network). Below, we analyze Tipico Sportsbook’s lines around the Mississippi State vs. Alabama school odds, and make our expert college basketball picks, predictions and bets.
While Kansas was losing its 3rd game in a row over the weekend and Houston was losing to Temple, Alabama was remaining steady with an 85-64 win at Missouri Saturday to jump up to the No. 2 spot in the rankings. This will be a matchup of strengths as the 9th-ranked Alabama offense (84.1 points per game) will be going against the 6th-ranked Mississippi State defense (58.3 points allowed per game).
Alabama lives and dies by the long ball despite shooting just 34.6% (149th) from beyond the arc.' Although the Bulldogs’ scoring defense is good, their 32.2% 3-point defense ranks just 126th and this is an area where the Tide can exploit a small weakness. Mississippi State has struggled to score this season, ranking 330th nationally with just 64.9 points per game — almost 20 points per game fewer than Alabama.