Mississippi State Bulldogs vs Richmond Spiders Prediction, 3/25/2021 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Mississippi State Bulldogs vs Richmond Spiders

Date: Thursday, March 25, 2021

Location: UNT Coliseum in Denton, TX

TV: ESPN2

Odds/Point Spread: Mississippi State (+1)

The Mississippi State Bulldogs (16-14) are headed to UNT Coliseum on Thursday where they'll take on the Richmond Spiders (14-8) in the NIT Quarterfinals. Richmond opens this matchup as 1-point favorites. The over/under is set at 143.

Mississippi State will enter this contest with a record of 16-14 for the campaign. The Bulldogs are connecting on 33.8% on 3-point shots (157 of 464) and 65.1% from the charity stripe. They are averaging 69.0 points per outing (238th in Division 1) while hitting 45.2% from the field. They lose possession by turning the ball over 15.0 times per game and as a group they are committing 15.3 personal fouls every game. As a unit, Mississippi State is snagging 39.1 boards per game and is sitting with 389 assists so far this season, which has them ranked 54th in the nation in terms of passing. Defensively, the Bulldogs have forced 12.0 turnovers on a nightly basis while drawing 16.2 fouls. They give up 32.1% on 3-point shots while they are 73rd in the nation in PPG allowed (66.7). The Bulldogs defensively are giving up an opponent shooting percentage of 40.4% (720 of 1,783) and they concede 32.1 rebounds per game as a squad. They rank 338th in college basketball in giving up assists to the opposition with 420 surrendered this season.

The Mississippi State Bulldogs stepped onto the hardwood against the Saint Louis Billikens and took home the win by a score of 74-68 in their last game. Mississippi State finished having earned a 50.0% FG percentage (25 of 50) and made 6 out of their 13 shots from downtown. At the free throw line, the Bulldogs knocked down 18 of 23 shots for a percentage of 78.3%. When talking about grabbing rebounds, they collected 32 with 6 of them being on the offensive end. They also recorded 14 dimes in this contest while forcing the other team into 14 turnovers and earning 9 steals. Regarding defending, Mississippi State let their opponent shoot 42.2% from the floor on 27 of 64 shooting. Saint Louis doled out 16 dimes and had 14 steals for the matchup. Furthurmore, Saint Louis grabbed 29 rebounds (8 offensive, 21 defensive) and earned 6 blocks. Saint Louis ended up shooting 72.7% from the charity stripe by knocking down 8 of their 11 attempts. They made 6 of 22 tries from distance.

D.J. Stewart is a player who was a major factor in the game. He ended up scoring 20 points on 5 out of 12 shooting. He was on the court for 34 mins and also totaled 4 rebounds. Stewart finished 41.7% from the floor and totaled 6 assists. Another guy that was a determining factor in this game for the Bulldogs was Iverson Molinar. He collected 3 rebounds in his 37 minutes on the hardwood. He went 42.9% from the field in the matchup by going 6-of-14 (19 points). Overall, Molinar earned 2 assists.

Richmond has a win-loss mark of 14-8 so far this season. Richmond has scored 1,650 pts on the campaign (75.0 per contest) and they pull in 30.4 boards per game. The Spiders commit 15.4 fouls per contest while shooting 73.4% from the charity stripe. In terms of offensive execution, the Spiders are connecting on 47.5% from the field, which is ranked 44th in college hoops. Their rate of assisting teammates is at 14.2 times per contest (98th in college hoops) and they are giving up possession 10.6 times per contest. The Spiders on the defensive side of the court are 139th in the nation in points per game surrendered with 69.0. They have forced 15.2 turnovers on a nightly basis and have let teams shoot 46.0% from the field (289th in college basketball). The Richmond defense gives up 31.5% on three-point shots (142 of 451) and opponents are knocking down 68.7% of their free throw shots. They give up 11.9 assists and 34.9 boards on a nightly basis, which ranks 93rd and 170th in D-1.

When they last stepped on the hardwood, the Richmond Spiders took home the win by a final score of 76-66 when they played the Toledo Rockets. The Spiders snagged 23 defensive rebounds and 10 offensive boards totaling 33 in the game. They gave up possession of the ball 11 times, while getting 7 steals for this contest. The Rockets committed 14 personal fouls for this contest which got the Spiders to the charity stripe for a total of 17 shots. They were able to bury 14 of the free throw attempts for a clip of 82.4%. When discussing three-point shots, Richmond converted 8 of 20 tries (40.0%). Overall, the Spiders shot 27 for 55 from the floor which had them shooting 49.1%. The Spiders permitted the Rockets to make 23 of 58 attempts from the floor which had them at 39.7% in this game. They finished shooting 23.1% from three-point range by going 6 of 26 and finished the game at 14 of 17 at the charity stripe (82.4%). In the matter of rebounds, Richmond allowed Toledo to get 27 in total (10 on the offensive glass).

Jacob Gilyard was important for the Spiders in this contest. He converted 6 of 13 for the game giving him a field goal percentage of 46.2%, and had 3 rebounds. Gilyard earned 18 points in his 40 minutes on the hardwood and had 5 dimes for the game. One more player that ended up playing a role for Richmond was Tyler Burton. He ended up finishing with no assists in his 37 mins on the court, and he put in 6 out of 15 from the floor. Burton ended up shooting 40.0% from the floor and also totaling 18 points and 10 rebounds.

Who will win tonight's college basketball game against the spread?

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Mississippi State (+1)

Get $60 worth of FREE premium member picks. No Obligation. No Salesman. No Credit Card. Fast Sign up with Instant Access Click Here