Earlier this week, the South Carolina Gamecocks blew a big chance. South Carolina had the opportunity to move ahead of Kentucky and Florida in the SEC race, but blew it by losing to Alabama. Now the three schools are tied at the top with identical 9-2 conference records and the Gamecocks have no breathing room if they want to win the SEC regular season title. They will have a very winnable game on Saturday when they face the Mississippi State Bulldogs.
This war on the floor will go down on Saturday, February 11, 2017 at 8 p.m. ET at Humphrey Coliseum. The game will be broadcast on ESPN2. We will have NCAA basketball odds at BookMaker.eu available for this and every game on the college basketball Saturday schedule.
College Basketball Odds at BookMaker.eu
South Carolina has looked a little vulnerable in recent weeks. The Gamecocks not only lost at home to Alabama on Tuesday night, they almost lost to Georgia last weekend as well, besting the Bulldogs by a measly two points. Defensive woes are to blame for this as one of the nation’s top defenses has now given up 75 and 90 points in its last two outings.
Mississippi State has seen a once promising bubble resume evaporate in recent weeks with terrible toad performances. The Bulldogs have lost four straight road games in conference and none came against conference heavyweights. Fortunately, they have been much better at home with four straight covers, three of those being outright wins against a favored opponent.
Key Stat
The Gamecocks have relied on their defense throughout the season. South Carolina hounds opponents under Frank Martin’s system and has foiled hot shooters all year. This defense allows opponents to hit just 26.6 percent of their three-point attempts and 38.1 percent of their field goals, both marks that put them among the elite ranks in the country. While it’s true the better teams on the schedule have made them pay, the mid-level opponents have been stymied by their defense.
Mississippi State hasn’t been extremely efficient in any of the major offensive categories, ranking outside of the Top 100 in each one. The Bulldogs don’t have any player that they can count on for a guaranteed bucket when they go down the floor, but instead have a lot of guys that are decent shooters. Quinndary Weatherspoon leads all scorers and is the best three-point shooter they have so stopping him will be at the center of South Carolina’s gameplan.
Player to Watch
When South Carolina needs points, it turns to Sindarius Thornwell. Thornwell is the leading scorer on this team and is having his most efficient season yet, hitting over 40 percent of his field goals for the first time in his career and knocking down 40 percent of his treys. He has also been fantastic at getting to the line this year and went to the charity stripe a whopping 33 times against Alabama.
However, Thornwell might not have some of the same athleticism that we have seen when this game rolls around. He has played an insane 95 minutes of game time over the past two games thanks to the 56 minutes he was on the floor in a quadruple overtime game against Alabama.
Free College Basketball ATS Picks
South Carolina is going to be the favorite, but may not be as big of one as would be expected. Playing a 60-minute game is sure to wear any team down and the Gamecocks’ guards are going to be gassed. All three backcourt starters were on the court for at least 54 minutes and the Gamecocks will have to rely on an unproven bench as a result. The Bulldogs won’t be large underdogs, so take a bit of a risk and grab them on the moneyline to increase your potential winnings.
College Basketball Odds: Mississippi State 75, South Carolina 69
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