The Omaha Mavericks and the Mississippi State Bulldogs meet Monday in college basketball action from Humphrey Coliseum. Omaha is 3-4 on the year. The Mavericks beat Southern U in their last game. As for Mississippi State, they’re 6-0 and fresh off a win over Utah. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.
Omaha lost their first two games of the year versus Kansas and Nebraska, but managed to beat Idaho in game three. The Mavericks would lose to Ball State and Iowa before another win over LA-Monroe.
On Saturday versus Southern U, the Mavericks managed another win. Omaha hit a 51-42 advantage in the second half during an 88-78 win. Luke Jungers led the team on 17 points, and Marquel Sutton added 15 points.
Over on the Mississippi State side, they’ve had a close call or two along the way to 6-0 but overall the team has been playing solid basketball. The wins came versus Texas A&M-CC, Akron, AR-Pine Bluff, South Dakota and Marquette in the first five games.
On Wednesday versus Utah, the Bulldogs kept it going with another victory. Mississippi State was up 25-21 by halftime and managed to hang on for the 52-49 win. Dashawn Davis managed 18 points, and Tolu Smith doubled on 16 points and 16 rebounds.
PICK: I’m going to stay with Mississippi State. The Bulldogs are coming off a sketchy outing versus Utah, shooting just 25.4 percent from the field and 9-of-16 (56.3 percent) from the line. Mississippi State’s defense pulled them through, but it was a tense matchup. This game should be much easier for the Bulldogs, so we can expect a higher points total. I don’t think Omaha will stick around on a cover pace for too long here.