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Sometimes you want to make a quick pit stop, empty the bladder, grab a bag of salty snacks and limber up the limbs before hitting the open road again. For the fast-minded who enjoy simple $2 scratchers hoping to uncover the jackpot-winning image, here are quick thoughts and the lean on Ole Miss vs. Mississippi State.
No. 21 Ole Miss (15-2, 4-0) at No. 15 Mississippi State (14-3, 2-2)
Date: Saturday, January 18
Time: 6 p.m. ET
TV: ESPN2
Mississippi may not be the most desirable place to live in the country, but its negative reputation is overly harsh. After all, the Magnolia State is the birthplace of the blues, serves up a mean catfish and is the home of Red from “The Shawshank Redemption.”
Heck, if Mississippi is good enough for the great Morgan Freeman, it’s good enough for just about anyone. Andy Dufresne most definitely agrees.
Every Thanksgiving, the Egg Bowl is the sports rivalry locals care about most, but its basketball equivalent will prove to be more riveting. The state’s signature programs are nationally ranked and are on pace to earn single-digit NCAA Tournament seeds come March.
Most enthralling is the expected down-to-the-wire contest inside The Hump on Saturday.
The pick — Ole Miss +6.5 (-110, BetMGM)
Currently 14-2 overall and 3-1 in true road matchups, Ole Miss is an unintimidated team that has steadily improved in several key areas.
Over the last seven games, the Rebels are No. 11 in overall efficiency, according to BartTorvik, slotting No. 40 in effective field-goal percentage defense. They also stiffly challenge shots whether at the rim (46.6 2PT% defense over the last seven contests) or along the perimeter (26.2 3PT% D), so scoring against them is no simple process.
Malik Dia, Jaemyn Brakefield and Dre Davis have stood tall in the post, but overall, Ole Miss’ offense has been subpar at best. The Rebels have been terribly bland, checking in at No. 8 in eFG offense in SEC play. However, the 3-point marksmanship of Sean Pedulla (39.6 3PT%) and Jaelyn Murray (41.9 3PT%) suggest they’re capable of overachieving any given afternoon. This season, over 41% of their shots and 33.6% of their points have come from beyond the arc.
Coming off back-to-back losses to Kentucky (95-90) and at Auburn (88-66), Mississippi State hopes to reverse its recent slide. Standing at 7-1 in home games, Chris Jans’ club has done an excellent job putting smiles on fans’ faces.
The Bulldogs have contested ferociously, ranking No. 11 in eFG defense since mid-December. During that stretch, they’ve allowed 50.0% on 2s and 32.0% on 3s. Also excellent in near-proximity execution, they rank top-40 in offensive and defensive efficiency for myriad reasons.
Hail State’s size gives it a clear rebounding edge. If MSU doesn’t box out effectively, Cameron Matthews and KeShawn Murphy are sure to eat. However, Mississippi State’s lackluster perimeter execution and Mississippi’s defensive stalwartness project an ultra-tight affair.
Chris Beard is one of the best in-game tacticians in college basketball. Look for his Rebels squad to staunchly compete from buzzer to buzzer.
As Red told us, “Some birds are not meant to be caged.” That classic line applies to the Red and Blue.
Season record: 15-11, +3.87 units