The Mississippi State Bulldogs take on the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. Check out our college basketball odds series for our Mississippi State Georgia Tech prediction and pick. Find how to watch Mississippi State Georgia Tech.

The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets are beginning a new era this season. Damon Stoudamire, the excellent college basketball player at the University of Arizona who helped the Wildcats reach the 1994 Final Four, has fully invested himself in a coaching career. He was given the keys to the Georgia Tech job in the offseason after the Yellow Jackets parted ways with former coach Josh Pastner, who — like Stoudamire — was part of the Arizona program during the dynastic Lute Olson years. Stoudamire knows it won't be a quick fix at Georgia Tech. We have already seen the Jackets struggle in the early part of the season, losing games to UMass-Lowell and to Cincinnati. The loss to Cincinnati was alarming because it was a 35-point defeat. Cincinnati played well, but Georgia Tech should never lose by that much to a team outside the top 25 (which Cincinnati is).

This game will be a true measuring stick for where Georgia Tech stands. Will the Yellow Jackets make significant improvements? If they are going to at least come close to beating Mississippi State, they will need to be dramatically better than they have been.

MSU is 6-0 under coach Chris Jans. The impressive part of the Bulldogs' early-season surge is that star forward Tolu Smith has been out with an injury. The rest of the team has stepped up in his absence. The cautionary note about Mississippi State is that the schedule — while not terrible — does not feature an elite-level win. There are some solid wins over Power Five conference opponents — Northwestern from the Big Ten and both Washington State and Arizona State from the Pac-12 — but no top-25 wins. MSU looks like an NCAA Tournament team, but it's still too early to say how high this team's ceiling is. A strong win in a true road game in Atlanta against Georgia Tech would continue to convince people the Bulldogs are for real this season.

Here are the Mississippi State-Georgia Tech College Basketball odds, courtesy of FanDuel.

College Basketball Odds: Mississippi State-Georgia Tech Odds

Mississippi State Bulldogs: -8.5 (-114)

Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets: +8.5 (-106)

Over: 136.5 (-114)

Under: 136.5 (-106)

How To Watch Mississippi State vs Georgia Tech

Time: 7:00 pm ET / 4:00 pm PT

TV: ACC Network

Stream: fuboTV (click for a free trial)*

Why Mississippi State Could Cover the Spread

The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets simply aren't very good. Losing to UMass-Lowell is one thing, but losing by 35 to Cincinnati was shocking. Cincinnati has a decent team, but hardly a top-tier team. Getting absolutely run out of the building by the Bearcats is an ominous sign for Tech. The Yellow Jackets are starting over under a first-year coach. They are going to go through more growing pains as the season progresses.

Meanwhile, Mississippi State looks good. The Bulldogs have played strong defense and have been good at not allowing opponents to go on huge runs. If you have been watching a lot of college basketball early this season, you have seen a lot of games in which huge runs turned games around. A great example was the recent Texas A&M comeback win over Iowa State. The Aggies were down 21 but then made a massive charge to overtake the Cyclones. Mississippi State has not allowed those gigantic runs, and it's why the Bulldogs should be able to cover the spread on the road.

Why Georgia Tech Could Cover the Spread

The Yellow Jackets have not played many games this season. They have had a lot of time to practice and rest since the Cincinnati debacle. They will be highly motivated to play well and set a much higher standard than what we have seen from them to date. They're at home. They're getting 8.5 points. If they simply keep the game close, they will cover.

Final Mississippi State-Georgia Tech Prediction & Pick

Mississippi State to win outright (money line) feels solid, but the spread is another matter. Georgia Tech will be motivated at home, so take a pass on this one.

Final Mississippi State-Georgia Tech Prediction & Pick: Mississippi State -8.5