Mississippi State Bulldogs vs Auburn Tigers Prediction, 3/2/2024 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Mississippi State Bulldogs vs Auburn Tigers

Date: Saturday, March 2, 2024

Location: Neville Arena in Auburn, AL

TV: ESPN

The Auburn Tigers (21-7) will play the Mississippi State Bulldogs (19-9) at Neville Arena on Saturday.

The Mississippi State Bulldogs faced off with Kentucky and went home with a loss by a final score of 91-89 in their last game. When talking about personal fouls, the Bulldogs ended up finishing with 17 while Kentucky finished the game with 18 personal fouls. They also knocked down 10 of their 30 shots from downtown. Kentucky ended up shooting 88.2% from the free throw line by burying 15 of 17 tries. Moreover, Kentucky snagged 24 rebounds (5 offensive, 19 defensive), but didn't notch a rejection. Kentucky recorded 15 dimes and had 9 steals in this matchup. When talking about defense, Mississippi State allowed the other team to go 55.0% from the field on 33 out of 60 shooting. They also distributed 16 assists for the matchup in addition to forcing 10 turnovers and earning 6 steals. In reference to pulling down rebounds, they collected a total of 31 with 11 of them being offensive. When they shot from the free throw line, the Bulldogs knocked down 12 of their 17 shots for a rate of 70.6%. Mississippi State walked away from the game having earned a 51.6% field goal percentage (33 of 64) and buried 11 of their 25 shots from beyond the perimeter.

Josh Hubbard is someone who was a factor in the matchup. He scored 34 points on 11 of 24 shooting. He was on the court for 35 mins played and also totaled 3 rebounds. He shot 45.8% from the field and also recorded 1 assist.

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Mississippi State enters this contest with a win-loss mark of 19-9 this year. They turn it over 12.9 times per game and as a basketball team they are committing 16.6 personal fouls every game. As a team, Mississippi State is pulling down 39.1 rebounds per game and has accounted for 411 assists this season, which ranks 101st in D-1 in terms of passing the rock. The Bulldogs are shooting 32.7% on 3-pointers (208 of 636) and 67.1% from the charity stripe. They average 75.4 points per contest (130th in Division 1) while shooting 45.4% from the floor.

On the defensive end, the Bulldogs are forcing 12.6 turnovers per game while drawing 18.3 fouls. They currently rank 38th in college basketball in giving up assists to the opposition with 311 relinquished on the season. The Bulldogs defensively are allowing an opponent FG percentage of 41.2% (668 of 1,623) and they surrender 32.6 rebounds per contest as a basketball team. They are relinquishing 28.5% on shots from beyond the perimeter while they are 82nd in D-1 in opponents points per game (68.3).

When they last stepped on the hardwood, the Auburn Tigers took a loss by a final score of 92-84 when they played Tennessee. In relation to attacking the glass, Auburn permitted Tennessee to collect 34 in all (9 on the offensive side). They went 52.9% from 3-point land by connecting on 9 out of 17 and ended up going 27 of 35 at the charity stripe (77.1%). The Tigers permitted Tennessee to make 28 out of 55 attempts from the floor which had them shooting 50.9% for the game. At the conclusion of this game, the Tigers walked away from this one shooting 27 for 59 from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 45.8%. With regard to three-point attempts, Auburn converted 9 of 22 tries (40.9%). They were able to convert 21 of the free throw tries for a percentage of 75.0%. Tennessee had 21 fouls in the matchup which got the Tigers to the free throw line for a total of 28 attempts. They also coughed up the ball 15 times, while recording 11 steals in the matchup. The Tigers were able to corral 20 defensive rebounds and 7 offensive boards for a total of 27 in this contest.

Johni Broome ended up having an impact for the Tigers for the game. He converted 9 out of 16 for the game for a field goal percentage of 56.3%, and had 9 rebounds. He had 23 points in his 33 mins on the hardwood and had 5 assists for the contest.

Auburn has a record of 21-7 on the year. On the offensive side of the ball, the Tigers are hitting on 46.9% from the field, which has them ranked 58th in college basketball. Auburn has earned 2,317 points on the season (82.8 per contest) and they average 38.3 boards per game. They are earning an assist 17.7 times per contest (10th in Division 1) and they lose possession via turnover 10.6 times per contest. The Tigers have committed 18.8 fouls every game and they go 75.5% from the charity stripe.

The Tigers on defense are ranked 81st in college hoops in PPG given up with 68.2. They are forcing 13.1 turnovers on a nightly basis and have allowed teams to shoot 38.8% from the field (6th in college hoops). The Auburn defense gives up 30.3% from downtown (170 of 561) and their opponents are knocking down 74.6% of their free throw attempts. They have given up 9.8 assists and 34.2 boards per contest, which is 8th and 147th in college hoops.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Mississippi State

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