Sport: College HoopsPick Selection: Mississippi vs. Mississippi State: Mississippi State
I'm laying the points with MISSISSIPPI STATE. The Rebels have the higher ranking and also have the better offense. However, there's a reason that they're listed as underdogs! Ole Miss padded its stats early with a relatively soft non-conference schedule. Things have gotten significnatly tougher lately though and the Rebels lost outright at Auburn last time out. That dropped them to 0-3 ATS their last three games and 0-2 SU on the road in 2008. It also brought them to 3-7 SU/ATS their last 10 road games overall. Meanwhile, the Bulldogs are playing at home, have the better defense AND have won eight straight games. Most recently, the Bulldogs traveled to Alabama and held the Crimson Tide to a mere 56 points, en route to a 10-point win. That was their seventh double-digit victory in the current 8-game win streak and marked the fourth time in the last five games that they held an opponent to 56 points or less. The lone team to score more than that was Kentucky and the Wildcats still only managed 64 points. During that stretch, they also held Georgia to only 49 points and LSU to just 39! Not surprisingly, the Bulldogs are 5-1 ATS their last six lined games and rank second in the entire nation in field goal percentage defense, holding opponents to 35.9 percent shooting. The Bulldogs have been especially good at striking early, getting the opponent down and using the home crowd to keep the opponent out of the game. Humphrey Coliseumm, one of the toughest venues in the country, is dark, foreboding and disconcertingly loud for visitors. Especially these visitors! Indeed, the Bulldogs have won 10 straight games against their instate rivals here in Starkville, including double-digit victories in each of the past two seasons. Look for the Bulldogs to control the tempo and continue their homecourt domination this afternoon. *Rivalry GOY
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