Check out our free Nicholls vs Mississippi State pick and preview for this NCAA Basketball game in Starkville. See who we like to win and cover the spread in this College Basketball matchup.
Nicholls vs Mississippi State Pick & Preview: Saturday, December 17th Betting Odds
Colonels vs Bulldogs Matchup at a Glance
- Sport: NCAAB
- Teams: Nicholls Colonels at Mississippi State Bulldogs
- Where: Starkville at Humphrey Coliseum
- Date: Saturday, December 17th
- Betting Odds: Nicholls +19.5, NICHLS +1500 | MSPST -2800 O/U 137.0
Colonels Preview:
Nicholls heads into this matchup having played 10 games and have an overall record sitting at 5-5. So far, the Colonels have played 5 games on the road, with a record of 1-4. For the season, Nicholls has been the underdog in 6 games, sitting with a mark of 1-5. Currently, the oddsmakers have the lines set with the Colonels being +19.5 point underdogs.
Nicholls will be counting on another strong performance from the team’s leading scorer Latrell Jones who is averaging 15.9 points per game for the Colonels. Jones is also important to the team’s ability to score on the perimeter. So far, he leads the team in 3-point shots made. Also key to the Colonels’ offensive gameplan is the play of Caleb Huffman who has hit 55.7% of his field goal attempts on his way to averaging 15.4 points per game.
Nicholls comes into today’s matchup vs Mississippi State, looking to continue their strong offensive play, as they are averaging 79.1 points per game. Through 10 games, they have hit 47.1% of their field goal attempts. In terms of pace, the Colonels’ are 87th in possessions per game.
Bulldogs Preview:
Heading into today’s matchup vs Nicholls, the Mississippi State Bulldogs will be taking the floor for the 11th time this season and have an overall record of 10-0. Currently, the Bulldogs have been the home team 9 times, sitting with a record of 9-0. The Bulldogs’ are sitting with a betting line that is -19.5 points in their favor. For the season, Mississippi State has been favored to win in 10 games, sitting with a mark of 10-0.
Tolu Smith comes into today’s game as the Bulldogs’ leading scorer at 16.3 points per contest. Not only has Smith been key to the team’s scoring efforts, but he is Mississippi State’s top rebounder at 9.0 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 10.3 points per game. Overall, he has hit 38.0% of his shots and is adding 5.3 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 that 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.
Free Spread Prediction: Mississippi State Bulldogs -19.5
In this showdown between the Nicholls Colonels and Mississippi State Bulldogs, we have two teams that will be looking to control the pace of play in different ways. On one side, Nicholls Colonels hopes to speed the game game up while Mississippi State tends to work the clock and make team’s defend deep into every possession. In this situation, our model points to the Mississippi State Bulldogs coming away with the win and covering the spread. Even with the line sitting -19.5 points in their favor, we view their advantage over Nicholls being strong enough to take them to cover. Leading up to tip-off, you can feel good about the Bulldogs cruising to an easy win.
