The Mississippi State Bulldogs and the South Carolina Gamecocks meet in college basketball action from the Amalie Arena on Thursday.
The Mississippi State Bulldogs come into the conference tournament as the #10 seed, sitting at 8-10 in conference play as part of their 17-14 overall record this season. Iverson Molinar leads the Bulldogs in scoring and assists with 17.8 PPG and 3.6 APG while Garrison Brooks has 10.5 PPG with a team-high 6.7 RPG to lead the Bulldogs on the glass and to cap off the pair of double-digit scorers for Mississippi State so far this season. D.J. Jeffries has 9.4 PPG and 4.4 RPG and Shakeel Moore has 8.6 PPG as well this season. As a team, Mississippi State is averaging 71.2 PPG on 45.7% shooting from the field, 29.3% from three and 71.9% from the foul line while allowing 66.7 PPG on 43.1% shooting from the field and 32.1% from three this season.
The South Carolina Gamecocks come into the conference tourney as the #7 seed, finishing the year at 18-12 overall including a 9-9 mark in SEC play. Jermaine Couisnard has a team-high 12.2 PPG and 3.1 APG while Erik Stevenson has 11.4 PPG with 4.7 RPG and James Reese V has 10.8 PPG to cap off the trio of double-digit scorers for the Gamecocks this season. Devin Carter has 9 PPG and Keyshawn Bryant has 8.8 PPG while Wilden Leveque has 4.7 RPG as well this season. As a team, South Carolina is averaging 71.6 PPG on 42.8% shooting from the field, 31.8% from three and 67.4% from the foul line while allowing 70.2 PPG on 41.3% shooting from the field and 32.1% from three this season.
Mississippi State is 0-5 ATS in their last 5 games overall and 0-4 ATS in their last 4 games against a team with a winning record while the over is 13-4 in their last 17 Thursday games. South Carolina is 6-2 ATS in their last 8 games overall and 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games against a team with a winning record while the over is 10-1 in their last 11 games overall.
I get the case to be made either way here, but I’m leaning towards South Carolina and the points. South Carolina was playing extremely well down the stretch which is more than what can be said for Mississippi State. The Bulldogs are a talented bunch, but I think that this is a one possession win for Mississippi State if the Gamecocks don’t win it outright. Give me the Gamecocks and the points in this one.