Bethune-Cookman Wildcats vs Mississippi State Bulldogs Prediction, 12/31/2023 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Bethune-Cookman Wildcats vs Mississippi State Bulldogs

Date: Sunday, December 31, 2023

Location: Humphrey Coliseum in Starkville, MS

TV: ESPN+

Humphrey Coliseum is the location where the Mississippi State Bulldogs (10-2) will attempt to defeat the Bethune-Cookman Wildcats (5-6) on Sunday.

The Bethune-Cookman Wildcats faced off with Chicago State and went home with a loss by a final score of 55-54 in their last game. Bethune-Cookman walked away from the game with a 41.2% field goal percentage (21 of 51) and buried 3 of their 14 3-point attempts. At the charity stripe, the Wildcats knocked down 9 of 11 tries for a rate of 81.8%. In terms of grabbing rebounds, they compiled 26 with 8 of them being on the offensive end. They also distributed 8 assists for the contest as well as creating 19 turnovers and getting 11 steals. Pertaining to defending, Bethune-Cookman allowed their opponent to shoot 36.0% from the floor on 18 of 50 shooting. Chicago State recorded 8 assists and had 11 steals in this game. Additionally, Chicago State had 31 boards (15 offensive, 16 defensive), but wasn't able to record a rejection. Chicago State ended up shooting 68.4% from the free throw line by knocking down 13 of their 19 shots. They made 6 out of their 19 shots from 3-point range. In regard to fouls, the Wildcats left the arena with 20 and Chicago State had 16 fouls.

Jakobi Heady is someone who played a role for the contest. He was able to score 17 points on 8 of 15 shooting. He played for 30 mins and also grabbed 6 rebounds. He finished the game shooting 53.3% from the field but didn't record a dime.

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Bethune-Cookman heads into this matchup with a win-loss mark of 5-6 for the year. They turn it over 14.7 times per contest and as a team are committing 21.7 fouls on a nightly basis. As a team, Bethune-Cookman is grabbing 36.7 boards per game and is sitting with 136 assists on the campaign, which has them ranked 307th in Division 1 in terms of passing the rock. The Wildcats are shooting 28.5% on 3-point shots (67 of 235) and 71.4% from the charity stripe. They average 75.1 pts per game (181st in D-1) on 42.8% from the field.

On the defensive end, the Wildcats are forcing their opponents into 19.9 turnovers per game while drawing 18.6 fouls. They are 55th in college hoops in giving up assists to their opponents with 130 conceded this year. The Wildcats are allowing a field goal percentage of 41.3% (250 of 605) and they surrender 37.4 boards per contest as a squad. They surrender 34.3% on shots from downtown while they are 182nd in D-1 in opponents points per game (70.9).

The last time they took the hardwood, the Mississippi State Bulldogs walked away with a victory by a final of 70-60 when they faced Rutgers. In regard to how they cleaned up the glass, Mississippi State permitted Rutgers to grab 23 in all (6 on the offensive glass). They finished shooting 17.6% from three-point range by going 3 of 17 and ended up going 11 out of 14 at the free throw line (78.6%). The Bulldogs permitted Rutgers to bury 23 of 62 tries from the field which had them sitting at 37.1% for this game. At the conclusion of this game, the Bulldogs shot 22 for 53 from the floor which gave them a percentage of 41.5%. Pertaining to three-point attempts, Mississippi State buried 4 of their 16 attempts (25.0%). They were able to knock down 22 of the free throw attempts for a rate of 84.6%. Rutgers was called for 19 personal fouls in the matchup which got the Bulldogs to the charity stripe for 26 tries. They gave up possession of the ball 12 times, while earning 6 steals in the game. The Bulldogs collected 33 defensive rebounds and 11 offensive rebounds totaling 44 in this contest.

Cameron Matthews was important for the Bulldogs for this contest. He scored 18 points in his 38 mins on the court and accounted for 1 assist for the contest. He buried 6 out of 7 in this matchup giving him a field goal percentage of 85.7%, and had 11 rebounds.

Mississippi State has a record of 10-2 this season. When it comes to offense, the Bulldogs are shooting 44.3% from the field, which is 212th in the nation. Mississippi State has 906 pts for the campaign (75.5 per contest) and they grab 40.9 rebounds per contest. They are dishing out assists 15.6 times per game (79th in college basketball) and they lose possession via turnover 12.6 times per game. The Bulldogs have committed 16.3 fouls per contest and they shoot 72.3% from the free throw line.

The Bulldogs are ranked 23rd in college basketball in PPG allowed with 62.8. They have forced 12.8 TO's per game and have let teams shoot 38.4% from the field (24th in the country). The Mississippi State defense concedes 26.4% from downtown (70 of 265) and their opponents are making 70.7% of their shots from the charity stripe. They allow 10.0 dimes and 31.8 rebounds per game, ranking them 29th and 47th in the country.

So what is Tonights Parlay prediction?

Parlay's Pundit's Pick: Take Mississippi State and under the total points

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