Mississippi State vs Minnesota 12/5/21 College Basketball Picks, Predictions, Odds

The Minnesota Golden Gophers and the Mississippi State Bulldogs meet Sunday in college basketball action from Humphrey Coliseum. Minnesota is rolling along at 6-0 on the year and coming off a tight win over Pittsburgh. As for the Bulldogs, they’re 6-1 so far and took out Lamar in their last outing. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place. 

Minnesota has had a couple of scares along the way, but it’s been smooth sailing at 6-0 thus far. The Gophers have taken out UMKC, Western Kentucky, Princeton, Fort Wayne, Jacksonville and Pittsburgh in succession along the way. 

In the win over Pittsburgh on Tuesday, Minnesota was down by two after just 22 first-half points, but rallied in the second toward a 54-53 win. Jamison Battle put up 16 points with seven rebounds, and Payton Willis had 15 points with four boards and three assists. 

Over on the Mississippi State side, they kicked off the year at 4-0 with wins over North Alabama, Montana, Detroit and Morehead State. After a loss to Louisville, the Bulldogs beat Richmond and Lamar in their next pair. 

In the Lamar game, the Bulldogs scored 38 points in the first half and 37 more from there for a 75-60 victory. Iverson Molinar finished on 17 points, and Tolu Smith doubled up with 14 poitns, 11 rebounds and one assist in 25 minutes of work. 

The Bulldogs are 14-6 ATS in their last 20 Sunday games and 5-13 ATS in their last 18 after a straight-up win. Mississippi State is 6-0 ATS in their last six after an ATS loss. 

Meanwhile, the Gophers are 4-11 ATS in their last 15 road games and 6-2 ATS in their last eight overall. Minnesota is 6-2 ATS in their last eight Sunday games.

PICK: I’m probably sticking with Minnesota here. We should have a good matchup on our hands regardless, though. The Gophers didn’t have their A-game in the Pittsburgh matchup, shooting 37.3 percent with a 40-33 rebounding deficit. Minnesota was able to rally in the second half however, taking care of the ball (seven turnovers) in the comeback win. 

As for Mississippi State, they posted a consistent effort against a spotty Lamar team in their last game, shooting 46.3 percent with 44 boards. I like both teams to really give each other a push here in an eventual Minnesota cover. Should be a fun one to watch.