Arizona State vs. Mississippi State College Basketball Betting Odds & Game Preview

The top matchup around the country in college basketball on Wednesday features Pac-12 school Arizona State facing SEC club Mississippi State in Chicago as part of the Barstool Sports Invitational. Both schools reached the 2023 NCAA Tournament. 2023 NCAA Basketball Betting & Expert Analysis Arizona State vs. Mississippi State | MyBookie Sportsbook College Basketball Regular Season: November 6, 2023 – March 17, 2024 | Week 1 NCAAB

How to Bet Arizona State vs. Mississippi State NCAA Basketball Odds & TV Info

When: Wednesday, 9:30 PM ET
Where: Wintrust Arena, Chicago
TV: None national
Stream: https://barstool.tv/live
Radio: Tunein.com
Opening NCAAB Lines: MSU -4 (total 136)

Series History

This will be only the third meeting all-time between the two programs, all of which have taken place at neutral sites. Most recently, the Sun Devils took down No. 15 Mississippi State, 72-67, in 2018 at the MGM Main Event Semifinals in Las Vegas. Arizona State is 2-0 all-time against the Bulldogs, also earning a 70-69 victory at a tournament in Honolulu back in 1987.

Why Bet on Arizona State Sun Devils?

Last year, Arizona State finished 23-13, beating No. 11 seed Nevada in the NCAA Tournament’s First Four and then losing to No. 6 TCU 72-70 in Round 1 on a last-second shot. A desperation heave by Arizona State guard Frankie Collins at the buzzer missed everything and left coach Bobby Hurley wondering if he should have used a timeout to set up a play. “It’s certainly something I’ll think about,” Hurley said.

ASU won 23 tilts for the first time since 2009 (25 wins led by James Harden) and for just the second time in the past 28 seasons. Those 23 victories included 13 wins from home, seven true road wins and a 6-2 mark on neutral floors. The 2023 season marked the fourth 20-win season for ASU in the past six years, after having 20 wins just nine times in the previous 35 seasons.

ASU held its opponents to just .399 shooting from the field, the third-best mark in the league and 15th in the nation. It was also tied for the second-best mark in school history, one year after posting what is now the fourth-best. The Sun Devils continued their good play in close games, going 11-5 in games decided by six points or less, as it is now 35-18 (.660) in close games in the past four seasons.

Arizona State is 7-1 in season openers against non-conference opponents in the Hurley era, having won seven in a row. In five of those games, the Sun Devils have scored 88+ points. ASU is averaging 86.6 points/game over the last seven season-opening games against non-conference foes. Overall since 2000, the Maroon & Gold are 20-5 in season openers dating back to the 1998-99 season.

Coach Hurley has made a point to get on the road early in the season, as he has scheduled 15 out of conference road games during his time at ASU, and the Sun Devils are 10-5 after going 8-22 the previous 30. That .667 mark is tied for fifth-best in the nation, while the 10 wins are best in the Pac-12.

The 2023-24 Sun Devils feature a total of 11 new players on their roster, joining returners Frankie Collins, Jamiya Neal, Alonzo Gaffney, Bobby Hurley (coach’s son), and Jordan Williams.

Brycen Long transferred in from Houston Christian University, where he emerged as one of the most dangerous three-point threats in the nation. He averaged 14.8 points, 2.4 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game while shooting 41.6 percent from 3-point range, 47.5 percent from the field and 86.6 percent from the free throw line in 2022-23. Long finished second in his conference in 3-point percentage and third in average number of 3-pointers made per game last year.

Also new is guard Jose Perez, who spent last season at West Virginia, sitting out due to NCAA eligibility ruling. He started 29 of 30 games in 2021-22 at Manhattan, where he averaged 18.9 points, 3.2 rebounds and 4.5 assists.

Why Bet on Mississippi State Bulldogs?

The Bulldogs finished 21-13 last year, losing to fellow No. 11 seed Pittsburgh in the NCAA Tournament’s First Four in a game that featured 21 lead changes. Jamarius Burton made a go-ahead jumper with 10 seconds left for the Panthers. Mississippi State had a great chance to win at the end, but Shakeel Moore missed a wide-open 3-pointer from the corner with two seconds remaining off an inbounds play. D.J. Jeffries’ tip-in attempt was off target just before the buzzer.

The Maroon and White are among the nation’s leaders returning 80.9 percent of its points, 72.4 percent of its rebounds, 83.8 percent of its assists, 83.6 percent of its steals and 75.2 percent of its blocks from last season.

Tolu Smith (15.7 PPG, 8.5 RPG, 1.7 APG), Moore (9.8 PPG, 3.0 RPG, 2.3 APG, 1.7 SPG), D.J. Jeffries (8.8 PPG, 6.4 RPG, 1.8 APG, 1.1 SPG), Dashawn Davis (8.7 PPG, 3.5 APG, 1.7 SPG) and Cameron Matthews (6.9 PPG, 5.6 RPG, 2.3 APG, 1.5 SPG) combined for 85.3 percent of the team’s starts (145-of-170) from last season.

After being chosen for the Karl Malone Watch List which is awarded to the nation’s top power forward in late-October, Smith found himself on the Naismith Trophy Watch List on Monday. He is one of seven SEC players on the list which features Trevin Brazile (Arkansas), Johni Broome (Auburn), Justin Edwards (Kentucky), Grant Nelson (Alabama), Wade Taylor IV (Texas A&M) and Santiago Vescovi (Tennessee).

However, Smith is out until SEC action because of a foot injury – the Aggies begin their conference schedule by playing at South Carolina on Jan. 6 next year. Smith’s injury is crushing as MSU has relied on him and his improved ability across each of their last three seasons.

The Bulldogs have brought in a strong group of newcomers which include Jimmy Bell Jr. (West Virginia), Trey Fort (Howard College), Jaquan Scott (Salt Lake Community College) and Andrew Taylor (Marshall) from the transfer portal and junior college ranks. Bell Jr. started all 34 games for West Virginia’s 2022-23 NCAA Tournament squad. He notched two of his top three scoring performances against top 15 competition in TCU and Auburn. His 15.8 offensive rebounding percentage was third among Power 5 players a season ago.

As a team, the Bulldogs were projected to finish among the SEC’s top 5 and were listed among the receiving votes category just outside the nation’s top 25. Chris Jans garnered SEC Preseason Coach of the Year status, while Smith collected another preseason All-SEC First-Team nod.

Jans, a three-time WAC Coach of the Year during his tenure at New Mexico State, owns a .742 winning percentage (164-57) entering his eighth season as a NCAA Division I head coach. He is fifth among NCAA active coaches with a .742 winning percentage behind only Mark Few (Gonzaga), Bill Self (Kansas), Brian Dutcher (San Diego State) and John Calipari (Kentucky).

College Basketball Expert Prediction

Mississippi State 68, Arizona State 66

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