Mississippi Rebels at No. 18 Mississippi State Bulldogs
Thursday, 2/9/12, 7:00 PM EST, TV: ESPN2
Opening Point Spread: Mississippi St -7.5
Current Betting Line: Mississippi St -8
Opening Total: 134
Current Total: 135.5
Odds Courtesy of Bookmaker
Mississippi needs six wins to reach 20 for the fifth time in the last six seasons and will be looking to sweep Mississippi State in a season series for the first time since 1998. “We’re a handful of possessions away from sitting here at 7-1 in conference play,” stated Rebels head coach Andy Kennedy. The Rebels lead all conference teams in rebounding and rebounding margin. The program is 3-5 in true road games this year, including a 1-3 mark versus SEC teams. Mississippi State is 5-3 ATS versus conference opponents this year.
The Rebels are 106-138 all-time in this series, which includes a dismal 24-90 mark in games played in Starkville. Mississippi has won four of 11 meetings against Mississippi State during the Kennedy era. Thursday night’s game will be the program’s fourth against a ranked opponent, going 1-2 in those contests. The program is 6-17 versus top-25 teams under his direction.
Mississippi State has won three of its last four games and comes off a 91-88 victory over the Auburn Tigers as 11.5-point home favorites. The Bulldogs have gone “over” the total in four of their last five games. Junior forward Arnett Moultrie is definitely a player to watch, averaging 17.0 points and 11.0 rebounds per game. He leads the SEC in rebounding and double-doubles. The program is currently enjoying a 12-game home winning streak, which is the eighth best in school history. Mississippi State is 0-3 ATS as a home favorite of 6.5 to 9 points this year.
The Bulldogs have compiled a mediocre 91-86 mark in the month of February since the start of the 1987-88 campaign, which is definitely something to watch due to the amount of minutes starters are playing. Moultrie and two other players lead the SEC in playing 34 or more minutes per game. Mississippi State had its five-game win streak in the series snapped in dropping a 75-68 contest as two-point road favorites on Jan. 18, while going “over” the posted total of 130.5.
Bettors will likely back the Bulldogs due to their 4-1-1 ATS mark on Thursdays, while the road team is 4-9 ATS in the last 13 meetings in this series.
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