The No. 16 Auburn Tigers (+5,000 to win the national title) and the No. 22 Mississippi State Bulldogs (+6,000) are set to lock horns in an intriguing conference play matchup this coming Saturday in Starkville. The Tigers are looking to prevent a three-game skid, while the Bulldogs are eyeing to score their first win against a ranked team this season.
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Betting Preview for the Auburn Tigers vs. Mississippi State Bulldogs College Basketball Game on January 26, 2019
Where: Humphrey Coliseum, Starkville
When: Saturday, January 26, 2019, 8:30 PM ET
Line: Auburn Tigers (odds) vs. Mississippi State Bulldogs (odds) – view all NCAA Basketball lines
TV Broadcast: ESPN
Betting on the Auburn Tigers (13-5 Overall / 2-3 Conference)
Bruce Pearl’s boys seems to have lost their confidence a bit. Moreover, they are also missing big man Austin Wiley, their best rebounder and most imposing rim protector. Wiley is reportedly out for two weeks due to a lower leg injury. Without Wiley, the Tigers will look for Chuma Okeke for stability in the middle. In their 80-77 road loss to the South Carolina Gamecocks on Tuesday, Okeke put up 13 points and grabbed seven rebounds with two steals and a block. Meanwhile, Bryce Brown will have a heavier load on offense, though, he has repeatedly proven he can do just that. Against the Gamecocks, Brown had 17 points on 4-for-11 shooting from the field. In the loss to the Kentucky Wildcats 82-80 at home last Saturday, he had 28 points. He’s been lights out from distance, especially of late, having gone 24-for-49 shots from deep over his last five games. As a team, the Tigers are 14th in the nation with 82.7 points per game.
The Tigers are 2-1 ATS in their last three games.
Betting on the Mississippi State Bulldogs (14-4 Overall / 2-3 Conference)
The Bulldogs have been up and down in conference play so far. After back-to-back losses to the South Carolina Gamecocks and the Ole Miss Rebels, Mississippi State stitched together two wins over the Florida Gators and the Vanderbilt Commodores. Then the Bulldogs went on to get preyed on by the Kentucky Wildcats in a 76-55 road loss in Lexington. Mississippi State’s offense simply fizzled out in the Kentucky game, as the Bulldogs shot just 31.1 percent from the field. It didn’t help them that they kept on committing errors, finishing the game with 15 turnovers. The Bulldogs can shoot better than that. After all, they are 44th in the nation with a 54.5 effective field goal percentage. Defensively, the Bulldogs will have to be wary of Auburn’s outside shooting, but they are seemingly capable of shutting the Tigers’ offense inside the arc. Mississippi State is 16th in Division I basketball with 5.2 blocks per game.
The over is 3-0 in the Bulldogs’ last three home games.
Writer’s Prediction
Auburn wins, 78-69.
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