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The LSU Tigers take on the Mississippi State Bulldogs. Our college basketball odds series has our LSU Mississippi State prediction and pick. Find out how to watch LSU Mississippi State.
The SEC basketball season has been a disaster for LSU and new coach Matt McMahon. The SEC season actually started well with a win over Arkansas in late December, but the Tigers then lost their next nine games. LSU has a hollowed-out roster after the scandal-plagued end to the Will Wade era in Baton Rouge. Wade was not an ethical coach, but he knew his Xs and Os and the art of roster construction. He made LSU a formidable program, consistently in contention for Sweet 16 appearances. Now LSU is starting over under McMahon, who previously coached at Murray State and knew the first year of his tenure would be a rough ride. He probably wasn't expecting the journey to be this difficult, but here we are.
Here are the LSU-Mississippi State college basketball odds, courtesy of FanDuel:
College Basketball Odds: LSU-Mississippi State Odds
LSU Tigers: +9.5 (-102)
Mississippi State Bulldogs: -9.5 (-120)
Over: 125.5 (-110)
Under: 125.5 (-110)
How To Watch LSU vs. Mississippi State
TV: SEC Network
Stream: ESPN+
Time: 9:00 p.m. ET, 6:00 p.m. PT
*Watch LSU-Mississippi State LIVE with fuboTV (Click for free trial)*
Why LSU Could Cover The Spread
The Mississippi State Bulldogs are 3-7 in the SEC, and two of their three SEC wins are against Ole Miss and South Carolina, which are both bad teams in the lower tier of the conference. Mississippi State has just one SEC win of note, and that's a recent win over a Missouri team which is fantastic at home but is awful on the road. Mississippi State doesn't have a single eye-popping win in which it really did achieve anything more than what was expected. Given that relatively low bar of achievement, and given how mediocre MSU has been through 10 SEC games this season, it's very realistic to think that LSU — which did play Alabama competitively in a recent game and managed to cover the spread against the Crimson Tide, a possible No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament — can cover the spread against the Bulldogs. MSU giving almost 10 points against any opponent is a lot of points. Even LSU can cover against that 9.5 number.
Why Mississippi State Could Cover The Spread
If the Bulldogs can beat Missouri and TCU in recent weeks, as they have done, they can certainly beat LSU by a large margin. A 10-game losing streak speaks for itself in terms of illustrating the depths of LSU's problems. The Tigers have dropped nine straight games in the SEC plus a home-court loss to Texas Tech, the worst team in the Big 12. LSU did fight well against Alabama in its most recent game, and that could be used as an argument for the Tigers covering the spread. However, it can also be true that LSU emptied the fuel tank against Bama and will have very little left against Mississippi State in a road game where the Tigers' morale figures to be fairly low. This setup is favorable for MSU, not LSU.
The fact that Mississippi State has played better in recent weeks should also be taken into consideration. MSU has had its own rough ride, but unlike LSU, the Bulldogs have been able to rebound and show more resilience. That matters in a consideration of this game.
Final LSU-Mississippi State Prediction & Pick
Mississippi State is a clearly better team, playing at home, and riding a small wave of momentum. Take the Bulldogs here.
Final LSU-Mississippi State Prediction & Pick: Mississippi State -9.5
