Mississippi State Bulldogs vs Virginia Cavaliers Prediction, 3/15/2022 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Mississippi State Bulldogs vs Virginia Cavaliers

Date: Tuesday, March 15, 2022

Location: John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville, VA

TV: ESPN2

Odds/Point Spread: Mississippi State (+2)

The Mississippi State Bulldogs (18-15) are en route to John Paul Jones Arena on Tuesday where they will try to defeat the Virginia Cavaliers (19-13). Virginia is 2-point favorites. The over/under comes in at 124.

The Mississippi State Bulldogs faced off with Tennessee and went home with a loss by a final score of 72-59 in their last game. Mississippi State ended the game with a 39.6% FG percentage (19 out of 48) and made 6 of 17 shots from distance. At the charity stripe, the Bulldogs converted 15 of their 19 tries for a rate of 78.9%. In terms of hauling in rebounds, they compiled 32 with 8 of them being offensive. They also recorded 12 assists in the matchup while forcing 6 turnovers and getting 3 steals. In relation to defending, Mississippi State allowed their opponent to shoot 50.0% from the field on 29 out of 58 shooting. Tennessee distributed 21 assists and had 8 steals for this game. Moreover, Tennessee collected 25 rebounds (6 offensive, 19 defensive), but wrapped up the game with no rejections. Tennessee ended up shooting 60.0% at the free throw line by converting 6 of their 10 attempts. They made 8 out of their 19 shots from 3-point land. In regard to personal fouls, the Bulldogs ended up with 15 and Tennessee finished the game with 16 personal fouls.

Shakeel Moore is a guy who was a factor in this contest. He walked away with 15 points on 4 out of 11 shooting. He saw the court for 33 minutes and totaled 6 rebounds. He finished shooting 36.4% from the field and also recorded 3 assists.

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Mississippi State will enter this game with a record of 18-15 for the year. They have an average of 70.9 pts per game (179th in D-1) while going 45.4% from the floor. The Bulldogs are hitting 29.5% on 3-point shots (153 of 519) and 72.2% from the charity stripe. As a unit, Mississippi State is collecting 36.6 rebounds per game and has 443 assists on the year, which is 108th in the country in terms of passing the ball. They turn it over 13.1 times per contest and as a group are committing 15.7 fouls per game.

On the defensive end of the court, the Bulldogs are forcing 13.2 turnovers every game and they draw 17.0 fouls. They are surrendering 32.1% on 3-pointers and they are 100th in college basketball in points per game from their opponents (66.4). The Bulldogs defensively are giving up a field goal percentage of 42.8% (785 of 1,834) and they relinquish 30.7 boards per contest as a group. They are 308th in college basketball in giving up assists with 451 conceded for the campaign.

When they last stepped on the hardwood, the Virginia Cavaliers took a loss by a score of 63-43 against North Carolina. The Cavaliers corralled 29 defensive boards and 2 offensive boards for a total of 31 for this contest. They also turned the ball over 11 times, while recording 5 steals for the game. North Carolina had 8 personal fouls for the contest which got the Cavaliers to the charity stripe for 9 shots. They were able to make 4 of the free throw attempts for a clip of 44.4%. When discussing shooting from beyond the arc, Virginia buried 3 of 11 tries (27.3%). In all, the Cavaliers went 18 out of 52 from the floor which had them shooting 34.6%. The Cavaliers allowed North Carolina to knock down 25 out of 65 attempts from the field which left them with a shooting percentage of 38.5% in this game. They wrapped up this game 26.1% from downtown by connecting on 6 of 23 and ended up going 7 of 9 at the free throw line (77.8%). When discussing rebounds, Virginia permitted North Carolina to collect 41 in total (9 on the offensive glass).

Jayden Gardner was important for the Cavaliers in the matchup. He made 8 of 16 for this game giving him a rate of 50.0%, and totaled 2 rebounds. He totaled 17 points in his 29 mins on the hardwood and had 1 assist in the matchup.

Virginia has a record of 19-13 for the year. The Cavaliers have committed 13.8 personal fouls per game and they shoot 73.9% from the free throw line. They are getting an assist 14.0 times per game (106th in Division 1) and they lose possession via turnover 9.8 times per contest. Virginia has tallied 2,002 pts so far this season (62.6 per contest) and they average 31.5 rebounds per contest. When it comes to offensive execution, the Cavaliers are connecting on 44.9% from the field, which is ranked 126th in the country.

The Cavaliers defensively are ranked 8th in college basketball in points allowed per contest with 60.2. They are forcing their opponents into 11.0 TO's per game and allow teams to shoot 42.4% from the field (137th in college basketball). The Virginia defense gives up 33.9% on shots from beyond the perimeter (217 of 641) and opponents are connecting on 70.5% of their free throw attempts. They allow 11.6 dimes and 31.4 total boards per game, which ranks them 103rd and 39th in college basketball.

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Virginia (-2)

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