No. 4 Alabama and No. 14 Mississippi State meet for a huge SEC showcase on Wednesday night! It's time to continue our College Basketball odds series with an Alabama-Mississippi State prediction and pick.

The Crimson Tide are 17-3 on the season and are coming off a close win at home against LSU, 80-73. They are winners of three straight including a massive win on the road at Kentucky. Alabama is 6-1 in conference play and right behind Auburn for the top spot. The SEC is stacked with 10 ranked teams and three in the top five. The two schools in the state of Alabama have been the top teams so far, but it is anyone's conference right now.

The SEC can't be talked about without the job Mississippi State has done this year. At 16-4 overall, the Bulldogs are 4-3 in conference play which places them in a tie for 5th. The Bulldogs have wins over UNLV, SMU, No. 18 Pitt, No. 21 Memphis, No. 21 Ole Miss, and South Carolina twice. Butler defeated Mississippi State earlier in the season, and since then, the only losses this team has are against No. 1 Auburn, No. 6 Kentucky, and No. 6 Tennessee.

Here are the Alabama-Mississippi State College Basketball Odds, courtesy of FanDuel 

College Basketball Odds: Alabama-Mississippi State Odds

Alabama: -1.5 (-102)

Moneyline: -111

Mississippi State: +1.5 (-120)

Moneyline: -108

Over: 164.5 (-115)

Under: 164.5 (-105)

How to Watch Alabama vs. Mississippi State

Time: 9:00 ET/6:00 PT

TV: SEC Network

*Watch college basketball LIVE with fuboTV (Get Access | Save $30)*

Why Alabama Will Cover The Spread/Win

Alabama has wins over No. 6 Houston, No. 25 Illinois, Rutgers, Creighton, No. 20 North Carolina, No. 8 Kentucky, No. 12 Oklahoma, No. 10 Texas A&M, and South Carolina. Their only losses are to No. 13 Purdue, No. 21 Ole Miss, and Oregon (who is now ranked). Alabama can compete with anyone and can defeat anyone. If the offense is flowing there is no stopping this team. Nate Oats contains five players who average north of 10 points per game along with two more who are above eight per game. Alabama continues to lead the nation in points per game at 90.4.

Mark Sears leads the squad at 18.1 points per game and adds 2.9 rebounds, 4.9 assists, and 1.1 steals. The senior is tied for 65th in scoring and has 12 games of 20+ this season. His season high is 27, which he did twice against Creighton and A&M. Against LSU, Sears did not score a single point. He went 0-5 from the floor with two turnovers in 17 minutes. Oats kept Sears on the bench for the entire second half and his off night was a big reason why the Tigers kept that game close. Oats recently said that Sears had a great two days of practice leading up to this contest against Mississippi State, so that is a good sign if you consider Alabama here.

Grant Nelson has been playing very well for the Crimson Tide as of late. He's at 12.6 points, and 8.4 rebounds, shoots 54.2% from the field, and blocks 1.2 shots per game. He plays even better on the road at 14 points, 9.4 rebounds, and 1.3 assists.

Why Mississippi State Will Cover The Spread/Win

The Bulldogs contain an elite offense as well as a respectable defense. It's a much better defense than Alabama, and that is how they can expose the Crimson Tide at home. Mississippi State is 16th in the nation in steals per game at 9.6. They rack up close to ten per game which can benefit them in a game against an aggressive offense. If they can force Alabama to 12+ turnovers while racking up close to 10 steals, then the Bulldogs will cover this spread at home. They must convert on the other end to be able to keep up offensively, though.

Josh Hubbard leads the team in scoring at 16.3 per game. At home, he averages 18.1 points on 43% shooting. Hubbard has scored in double digits in all but one game this season when he scored just nine against Vanderbilt. His season high is 26 in the win against West Georgia to open the season. He has scored 20+ six times.

Claudell Harris Jr. is second on the team in scoring at 10.7 per game and is at 11.5 at home. Riley Kugel is third at 10.6 points and lastly, Keshawn Murphy is at 10.4 points per game. Murphy shoots 55% from the floor and leads the team in rebounding at 7.2 per game.

Final Alabama-Mississippi State Prediction & Pick

Alabama is only 11-9 against the spread this season. They are also 9-10-1 on over/under's. Mississippi State is not any better at 9-11 ATS and 10-10 on O/U's. Alabama is 5-1 on the road and the Bulldogs are 9-1 at home. This game will be close. You just have to assume the better team will win.

Final Alabama-Mississippi State Prediction & Pick: Alabama ML (-111)