Missouri basketball vs Mississippi State: Scouting report, score prediction for Mizzou-MSU

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Can Mizzou get over the Hump?

No. 21/20 Missouri basketball will play No. 13/14 Mississippi State at noon Saturday in Starkville, Mississippi. MU has lost eight straight games at Humphrey Coliseum, with its last win coming in 2013.

The Tigers (16-4, 5-2 SEC) are currently third place in the SEC standings but are in the midst of one of their toughest two-week stretches of the season. Mizzou knocked off a ranked Ole Miss squad last Saturday in Columbia and now faces three straight top-15 teams, including back-to-back road games.

That run begins with Mississippi State (16-5, 4-4), which is coming off an 88-84 loss at home against Alabama on Wednesday and now has four defeats since SEC play started.

Here is what you need to know about Mississippi State before Saturday’s game:

What are Mississippi State’s strengths leading into Missouri basketball game?

This isn’t your typical coach Chris Jans squad, where defense is the cornerstone for the squad’s success.

This season, Mississippi State has an excellent offensive rating, scoring 1.17 points per possession — a mark that ranks among the 10% of all teams in the nation. The analytics site KenPom ranks MSU as the No. 18 offense in the nation in its adjusted offensive efficiency metric.

That’s because of a combination of factors.

The Bulldogs get the third-most shots off per game among SEC teams, averaging 63.7 attempts from the field per game. They are excellent at avoiding turnovers and forcing their opponents into giveaways, creating the extra possessions to get those extra shots off with a top-five ranking in both categories in the league. They’re in the 92nd percentile nationally for offensive rebounding rate, only aiding the extra possession cause.

That’s a tough combination to deal with on the road for Mizzou.

Missouri’s Tamar Bates drives past Mississippi’s Josh Hubbard during a college basketball game at Mizzou Arena on Feb. 11, 2024, in Columbia, Mo.

What are Mississippi’s weaknesses?

The Bulldogs take a ton of…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/missouri-basketball-vs-mississippi-state-090544906.html

Author : Columbia Daily Tribune

Publish date : 2025-01-31 09:05:00

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