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The Alabama Crimson Tide take on the Mississippi State Bulldogs. Check out our college basketball odds series for our Alabama Mississippi State prediction and pick.
The Alabama Crimson Tide have once again announced themselves as a major national player in college basketball. Coach Nate Oats' team not only defeated the Houston Cougars — a top-five team in the country — but came back from a 15-point second-half deficit on the road in Houston to do so. That's a remarkable feat. It might be the single most impressive thing any team has done in college basketball this season. Coming back from a 15-point second-half deficit against a defense-first team such as Houston is incredible in its own right, but doing so in Houston is a million times more remarkable. If Alabama can pull that off, it is capable of anything. The Crimson Tide have beaten North Carolina and Memphis, among their other victims so far this season. This team certainly has Final Four potential.
The Mississippi State Bulldogs were almost able to go unbeaten heading into this SEC opener. They were finally picked off by the Drake Bulldogs earlier in December in a neutral-court game. However, before then, first-year coach Chris Jans — who came from New Mexico State to replace previous coach Ben Howland — had done a fantastic job with the Bulldogs. They beat Utah, which is a decent Pac-12 team. They beat Marquette, a likely NCAA Tournament team. They took on a range of different challenges and were able to pass all of them until the Drake game. Still, with only one loss on the slate heading into SEC play, Mississippi State has better than even odds of making the NCAA Tournament.
Here are the Alabama-Mississippi State College Basketball odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
College Basketball Odds: Alabama-Mississippi State Odds
Alabama Crimson Tide: -0.5 (-112)
Mississippi State Bulldogs: +0.5 (-108)
Over: 140.5 (-114)
Under: 140.5 (-106)
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Why Alabama Could Cover the Spread
The game is essentially a pick'em game, so you're basically choosing which team will win. Alabama's victory over Houston shows what kind of ceiling this team has. It's a much higher ceiling than Mississippi State. One should also point out that Alabama loaded up on its nonconference schedule. The Crimson Tide take on all comers so that when they get to the SEC schedule, they are prepared precisely for games such as this one, going into Humphrey Coliseum in Starkville to take on a good Mississippi State team. Alabama's roster didn't really mesh last season. The Tide did not fulfill their potential. This season's roster has come together a lot more fully — not all the way, but certainly more than last season. The growth and evolution of the Tide should continue. This team is expected to get better, so you should expect a good, strong performance on the road.
Why Mississippi State Could Cover the Spread
The Bulldogs play really good defense under Chris Jans, who showed how good a defensive coach he was at New Mexico State. It's a big reason he was hired by MSU: to stop Alabama and other high-octane SEC teams. The Bulldogs have lost only once, and while that setback against Drake might sting, it also might be the perfect wake-up call for this team, getting this team to focus more on its weaknesses in ways that previous wins would not have achieved. Mississippi State is more cognizant of its flaws, and that should lead to a sharper, more focused performance against an Alabama team which, as good as it is, is prone to scoring droughts and has shown its flaws on multiple occasions this season, particularly against UConn and Gonzaga.
Final Alabama-Mississippi State Prediction & Pick
Alabama has a higher ceiling than Mississippi State, but it also has better crunch-time scorers than anyone on the MSU roster. The Tide are battle-tested and have shown that they can win big road games. Go with Bama here.
Final Alabama-Mississippi State Prediction & Pick: Alabama -0.5
