College Basketball Odds, Pick for Ole Miss vs Mississippi State

The basketball version of the Egg Bowl takes place on Wednesday night at Humphrey Coliseum in Starkville as the Ole Miss Rebels visit the Mississippi State Bulldogs.

Both teams own identical 6-6 records right in the middle of the SEC standings as these rivals are currently going in different directions.

The Bulldogs seek their fourth consecutive win while the Rebels have lost three of their past four games with the lone victory coming over 0-12 Missouri last Saturday.

Here's college basketball odds and a pick for Ole Miss vs. Mississippi State.

There was plenty of promise in Oxford this season under former Texas head coach Chris Beard, who guided the Rebels to a 13-0 record in non-conference play.

However, only one of the six teams that Ole Miss has beaten in SEC action currently owns a winning record in conference play (Florida). The Rebels put together a respectable 5-3 record through eight games, capped off by a four-point home win over Mississippi State.

But a 1-3 record the last four games has muddled Mississippi’s eventual seeding in the SEC tournament. The Rebels will likely avoid the dreaded first night of tourney play as a bottom-four seed, but there will be tough home games ahead against Alabama and South Carolina.

Mississippi’s issues have been on the defensive end, where the Rebels rank 11th in defending the 3-point shot in conference play (36%) and 10th in 2-point defense (52.3%). 

The Rebels are 1-5 on the road in SEC play with the only win coming at Texas A&M, 71-68. Ole Miss owns a 2-4 against the spread record in those contests as the Rebels barely covered as 3.5-point underdogs in a three-point loss at South Carolina.

Leading scorer Matthew Murrell (17.1 PPG) has seen his numbers dip away from Oxford in SEC play. Murrell is putting up 21.5 PPG at home, but that average falls to 13 on the road. 

Second-leading scorer Allen Flanigan (15.5 PPG) has posted three games of 20 or more points in conference action. However, the Rebels lost all three of those contests, including to Auburn — Flanigan’s old team — in a 14-point loss earlier this month.

In the first matchup with Mississippi State on Jan. 30 in Oxford, the Rebels held on for an 86-82 victory, avenging a pair of losses to the Rebels from last season. The Bulldogs led by seven points late in the first half before the Rebels tied things up at halftime.

Both teams shot the ball well as Mississippi hit 60.6% on 2-pointers and drilled 12-of-30 3-point attempts. Mississippi State connected on nearly 58% of its 2-point tries, but the eight 3-pointers weren’t enough, while leading scorer Tolu Smith was limited to nine points.

The must-have app for college basketball bettors

The best NCAAB betting scoreboard

Free picks from proven pros

Live win probabilities for your bets

DOWNLOAD NOW

One of the most interesting nuggets when breaking down this matchup is in spite of identical conference records and Ole Miss owning more wins overall, Mississippi State sits 33 spots higher in the KenPom rankings.

The Bulldogs are currently 35th (which is sixth among SEC teams), while the Rebels are 68th. Mississippi State closed last season at 53rd in KenPom, when the Bulldogs were knocked out in the First Four of the NCAA Tournament by Pittsburgh.

The two signature wins for Chris Jans’ team both came at home against Tennessee and Auburn, who own two of the three best records in the SEC. 

On this current three-game winning streak, the Bulldogs are taking care of business against teams that are not threatening for the league title (Georgia, Missouri and Arkansas).

Mississippi State needed those victories considering the final five games are against teams that possess .500 records or better in conference action.

The Rebels have struggled to win on the road in SEC play, while the Bulldogs have thrived at home. Mississippi State is 5-1 at Humphrey Coliseum in league action with the lone loss to Alabama, which was on the heels of upsetting Tennessee.

Smith needs to step up in this spot for the Bulldogs to grab a fourth straight win. The Mississippi State big man has scored 21 combined points in the last two games, while being held to single-digit scoring in two of the past three home contests.

The betting tools used by the pros

Best bets & signals for every game

Projections from proven pros

Profitable betting system picks

TRY FOR FREE

Mississippi State is riding a three-game under streak and has not allowed more than 67 points in any of the past three wins.

The Bulldogs would like to put together a better defensive performance after getting torched in Oxford earlier this season.

The total for this game is nearly four points higher than the first matchup, which closed at 139 as the under was never threatened.

This time around, look for a lower-scoring affair between these rivals and the under to cash.

Pick: Under 142 at DraftKings (Play to 141)