Check out our free Mississippi State vs Arkansas pick and preview for this NCAA Basketball game in Fayetteville. See who we like to win and cover the spread in this College Basketball matchup.
Mississippi State vs Arkansas Pick & Preview: Saturday, February 11th Betting Odds
Bulldogs vs Razorbacks Matchup at a Glance
- Sport: NCAAB
- Teams: Mississippi State Bulldogs at Arkansas Razorbacks
- Where: Fayetteville at Bud Walton Arena
- Date: Saturday, February 11th
- Betting Odds: Mississippi State +6.5, MSPST +233 | ARK -294 O/U 129.5
Bulldogs Preview:
The Mississippi State will take the floor in today’s game in the middle of a 4 game win streak and have an overall record of 16-8. On the road, the Bulldogs will be playing their 6th game of the season, having gone 2-4. So far, the Bulldogs have been the underdog 6 times, going 1-5 straight up. Heading into today’s contest, they are the +6.5 underdogs on the spread.
Tolu Smith comes into today’s game as the Bulldogs’ leading scorer at 14.71 points per contest. Not only has Smith been key to the team’s scoring efforts, but he is Mississippi State’s top rebounder at 8.33 boards per contest. Behind Smith, the team has benefited from the strong play of D.J Jeffries, who is second on the team in scoring at 9.21 points per game. Overall, he has hit 33.6% of his shots and is adding 6.08 boards per game.
Offensive production has been hard to come by for Mississippi State this season, as they are currently ranked 209th in college basketball at 70.9 points per game. A major reason for low scoring totals is the fact that they have played at a below average pace, and have struggled to knock down outside shots. As a team, the Bulldogs’ 3-point shooting percentage sits at just 29.5%, placing them 479th in the NCAA.
Razorbacks Preview:
Arkansas will take the floor against the Bulldogs with an overall record of 17-7. So far this season, Arkansas has played 15 games at home, sitting with a record of 13-2. At the time of this article, the oddsmakers have the Razorbacks as the -6.5 point favorites. The Razorbacks have been favored 18 times, going 15-3 straight up.
Arkansas’ leading scorer this season is Ricky Council IV, who is averaging 17.08 points per contest. So far, IV has accounted for 22.79% of the team’s scoring. In addition, he is contributing 3.17 rebounds per game and 2.5 assists. Anthony Black is the second leading scorer for the Razorbacks, averaging 12.75 points per game. Between him and Black, they are accounting for 39.8% of the team’s scoring.
Arkansas comes into today’s matchup vs Mississippi State, looking to continue their strong offensive play, as they are averaging 76.9 points per game. Through 24 games, they have hit 44.0% of their field goal attempts. In terms of pace, the Razorbacks have preferred to slow the game down, ranking 306th in possessions per game.
Free Spread Prediction: Mississippi State Bulldogs +6.5
Our NCAA basketball betting model has identified this game as an excellent opportunity to take the Mississippi State Bulldogs to cover the spread as the +6.5 point betting underdogs. Throughout the game, look for both Mississippi State and Arkansas to focus on working the ball inside, as the team’s are ranked 450th and 605th, respectively in made 3’s per game. We see this primarily benefiting the Bulldogs, who have been a profitable school to bet on vs the spread on the road. In Mississippi State’s last 10 games on the road, they are 5-4-1 vs the spread. In this spot, we like the Bulldogs to cover.
