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The Jackson State Tigers take on the Mississippi State Bulldogs. Check out our college basketball odds series for our Jackson State Mississippi State prediction and pick.
The Mississippi State Bulldogs are 9-0. You could make the case that the Bulldogs have not faced a fully formidable collection of opponents, and to a certain extent that's true. However, Mississippi State has clearly faced a number of good teams. Utah is 2-0 in the Pac-12 and whipped Arizona by 15 points. Mississippi State handled the Utes and shut down their offense. Marquette has beaten Baylor and Notre Dame, among other opponents, while also taking Wisconsin to overtime. Mississippi State dealt with the Golden Eagles and handed them a loss. Mississippi State went into The Barn this past weekend and decisively defeated Minnesota. MSU has some road and neutral-court wins which look good on a resume sheet on Selection Sunday. The Bulldogs haven't lost a game they shouldn't have lost. They're doing as well as they possibly could have hoped, and better than most people expected. This is the first season in Starkville for new coach Chris Jans. If anyone was expecting a rough transition, it hasn't happened. This has been a smoother ride than many people thought. The season continues for the Bulldogs against Jackson State.
Courtesy of FanDuel, here are the Jackson State-Mississippi State College Basketball odds.
College Basketball Odds: Jackson State-Mississippi State Odds
Jackson State Tigers: +21.5 (-114)
Mississippi State Bulldogs: -21.5 (-106)
Over: 130.5 (-112)
Under: 130.5 (-108)
Why Jackson State Could Cover the Spread
The Tigers do not have a good record. This has been a very difficult season for them, to be honest. However, their one win was a road win over SMU, a team which played a close game against 10-1 Arizona State. If Jackson State could win on the road at SMU, it can certainly put up a fight in this game. Whether that's enough to cover is another question, but Jackson State proved against SMU that it will compete and try hard regardless of its overall record or its surrounding circumstances.
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The other point to keep in mind for this game is that Mississippi State just did hammer Minnesota on the road. While it was a good performance, the Bulldogs put forth a lot of energy in that game and are in a natural letdown spot here against Jackson State. It's not a commentary on how good MSU is, but on the reality that not every game will involve the same amount of intensity. It's a week and a half before Christmas. Jackson State is not a sexy opponent. MSU might step off the gas pedal here.
Why Mississippi State Could Cover the Spread
The Bulldogs are a really sound team — perhaps not a great team overall, but they're not beating themselves. They're not making large numbers of mistakes. They are taking care of business and aren't getting taken deep into games by lower-tier opponents. They have generally won comfortably against the weaker teams on their schedule. The particularly close games have been against the good teams they have played (Marquette, Utah). If MSU could pound Minnesota, it should beat Jackson State by a noticeably larger margin, which would be a cover.
The other key point to make is that MSU plays strong defense. That's precisely what you're looking for in a heavy favorite covering against the spread. Mississippi State, if leading by 15 points with 10 minutes left in the game, will continue to push hard on defense and increase its margin of victory. Chris Jans was an excellent defensive coach at New Mexico State. He has carried that to Mississippi State.
Final Jackson State-Mississippi State Prediction & Pick
The Mississippi State defense will enable the Bulldogs to cover.
Final Jackson State-Mississippi State Prediction & Pick: Mississippi State -21.5
