Mississippi State Bulldogs vs Saint Louis Billikens Prediction, 3/20/2021 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Mississippi State Bulldogs vs Saint Louis Billikens

Date: Saturday, March 20, 2021

Location: Comerica Center in Frisco, TX

TV: ESPN

Odds/Point Spread: Mississippi State (+4.5)

Comerica Center is the venue where and the Saint Louis Billikens (14-6) will play the Mississippi State Bulldogs (15-14) on Saturday in the NIT. Saint Louis opens this matchup as 4.5-point favorites. The O/U has been set at 137.

Mississippi State enters this one with a win-loss record of 15-14 this year. They cough up possession 14.9 times per game and as a unit are committing 15.5 fouls per game. As a unit, Mississippi State is pulling down 39.3 rebounds per game and has accumulated 375 assists for the year, which has them ranked 65th in the country in terms of passing the rock. The Bulldogs are connecting on 33.5% on three-point shots (151 of 451) and 64.6% from the charity stripe. They currently have an average of 68.9 pts per game (241st in the country) while shooting 45.1% from the field. When they are on defense, the Bulldogs are able to force 11.9 turnovers every game and they draw 16.2 fouls. They are giving up 32.3% on shots from beyond the perimeter while they are 71st in college basketball in points per game from their opponents (66.6). The Bulldogs defense is allowing a field goal percentage of 40.3% (693 of 1,719) and they concede 32.1 rebounds per contest as a group. They are currently ranked 332nd in D-1 in giving up assists with 404 surrendered for the campaign.

The Mississippi State Bulldogs faced the Alabama Crimson Tide and took a loss by a final of 85-48 in their last game. Mississippi State finished having earned a 29.0% field goal percentage (18 out of 62) and knocked down 1 of 19 three-point shots. At the free throw line, the Bulldogs made 11 of 16 attempts for a percentage of 68.8%. In regard to grabbing rebounds, they compiled a total of 38 with 17 of them being offensive. They also distributed 8 dimes in this game as well as forcing 9 turnovers and earning 3 steals. When talking about defense, Mississippi State allowed the other team to shoot 48.5% from the floor on 32 of 66 shooting. Alabama dished out 20 dimes and had 11 steals in this game. Moreover, Alabama collected 32 rebounds (11 offensive, 21 defensive) and got 7 blocks. Alabama ended up going 100.0% when shooting free throws by burying 8 of their 8 attempts. They also converted 13 out of their 36 attempts from downtown.

Iverson Molinar is someone who had an impact in this matchup. He accumulated 18 points on 7 of 18 shooting. He played 33 mins and also totaled 2 rebounds. Molinar walked away from this one shooting 38.9% from the field but didn't record an assist. One more player that came through in the matchup for the Bulldogs was Tolu Smith. He grabbed 6 rebounds in 31 min on the court. He finished shooting 66.7% from the floor in this matchup by connecting on 4-of-6 (13 points). Overall, Smith had 1 assist.

Saint Louis has a mark of 14-6 so far this year. Saint Louis has scored 1,507 points so far this season (75.4 per contest) and they grab 38.7 rebounds per game. The Billikens have committed 17.1 fouls per contest while shooting 70.3% from the free throw line. As an offensive team, the Billikens are connecting on 46.4% from the field, which ranks them 70th in the country. They are assisting teammates 17.7 times per game (7th in the nation) and they are losing possession via turnover 12.1 times per game. The Billikens are ranked 47th in college hoops in points given up per game with 65.0. The Saint Louis defense gives up 33.3% on shots from beyond the perimeter (137 of 412) and their opposition makes 72.3% of their free throw attempts. They have surrendered 11.4 dimes and 29.5 rebounds per game, which is ranked 67th and 9th in D-1. They are able to force 13.4 TO's per game and allow teams to shoot 41.5% from the field (77th in D-1).

In their last game, the Saint Louis Billikens took a defeat with a final score of 71-53 when they played the St. Bonaventure Bonnies. The Billikens were able to pull down 17 defensive boards and 5 offensive boards totaling 22 for the matchup. They also turned it over 11 times, while recording 5 steals in this contest. The Bonnies had 10 fouls for this contest which got the Billikens to the free throw line for a total of 14 tries. They were able to make 10 of the free throw attempts for a rate of 71.4%. When discussing shots from beyond the arc, Saint Louis made 5 of their 17 tries (29.4%). When the final whistle blew, the Billikens shot 19 for 52 from the field which had them shooting 36.5%. The Billikens permitted the Bonnies to convert 27 out of 57 tries from the floor which had them shooting 47.4% in the matchup. They finished 23.8% from behind the 3-point line by going 5 out of 21 and ended up going 12 of 14 at the charity stripe (85.7%). With respect to how they cleaned up the glass, Saint Louis permitted St. Bonaventure to pull down 32 in all (8 offensive).

Jordan Goodwin ended up being important for the Billikens for this contest. He converted 3 of 9 in the game for a rate of 33.3%, and had 7 rebounds. Goodwin recorded 11 points in his 36 mins on the court and had 3 assists in this matchup. An additional guy that was important for Saint Louis was Javonte Perkins. He left the arena with no assists in 31 mins played, and he shot 5 of 11 from the floor. Perkins walked away from this one going 45.5% from the field while contributing 10 points and 4 boards.

So what is Tonights Parlay prediction?

Parlay's Pundit's Pick: Take Mississippi State (+4.5) and under 137 points

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