Mississippi State vs. Missouri prediction and odds for Tuesday, February 21 (How to bet SEC showdown)

Mississippi State finds themselves firmly in the bubble conversation while Missouri is looking to find some consistency ahead of an NCAA Tournament run.

The Bulldogs avoided disaster over the weekend, beating Ole Miss on the road, while Missouri couldn’t get going against Texas A&M, losing at home. Now the two meet in Columbia in a game with ‘Big Dance’ implications.

Here are the odds for this Tuesday night SEC matchup:

Mississippi State vs. Missouri odds, spread and total

Mississippi State vs. Missouri prediction and pick

The Bulldogs beat the Tigers at home on February 4th, 63-52, as they were able to win the battle of contrasting styles on their home floor. Mississippi State is bottom 30 in the country in terms of pace while Missouri checks in at 56th in the same metric. The Bulldogs want to turn this game into a slugfest while the Tigers want to play in the open court, generate turnovers on defense and push the tempo.

However, Missouri couldn’t figure out this Miss. State defense on the road, shooting 37% on two-point shots and 26% from beyond the arc. I do think the change of venue can benefit the Tigers against a sloppy Bulldogs offense that has the fourth highest turnover rate in SEC play.

Missouri was able to turn over Texas A&M 21 times on Saturday, they have the highest turnover rate forced in league play, but couldn’t buy a bucket and erase a double digit deficit. The Aggies are a strong offensive team, able to withstand runs, but Miss. State struggles in that department, the worst three-point and free throw shooting team in the conference.

The Tigers are 14-3 straight up at home and should be able to cover the small spread with their elite free throw shooting (42nd ranked 75% free throw shooting). Further, the Bulldogs have typically struggled when pushing uphill, 2-5 straight up as underdogs.

Give me the up-tempo Tigers to dictate the pace and get the home win and cover the small number.

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Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.