The eight-seed Mississippi State Bulldogs and nine-seed Baylor Bears are both looking to get back on track after rocky finishes to this past regular season and the conference tournaments.
Baylor dropped five of its last eight contests in the Big 12, including two to unranked foes. Led by freshman wing VJ Edgecombe and senior forward Norchad Omier, Baylor had a roller coaster ride of a regular season that featured three wins over ranked opponents but also 11 losses in road and neutral site games.
Despite strong performances from star sophomore guard Josh Hubbard down the stretch in the regular season, Mississippi State struggled in the past few weeks on the hardwood. The Bulldogs dropped five of its past seven contests in the SEC, including a convincing double-digit loss to the Mizzou Tigers in the SEC Tournament last week.
Hubbard ranked third in the SEC in scoring this past regular season, at a career-high clip of over 18 points per game.
How to watch Baylor vs Mississippi State
- Date: Friday, March 21
- Time: 12:15 p.m. ET
- Venue: Lenovo Center, Raleigh, NC
- How to Watch (TV): CBS
- Streaming: fubo TV
- Baylor record: 19-14 (10-10 Big 12)
- Mississippi State record: 21-12 (8-10 SEC)
Baylor vs Mississippi State odds, spread and total
Odds provided by FanDuel Sportsbook
Moneyline
- Baylor -102
- Mississippi State -118
Spread
- Baylor +1.5 (-118)
- Mississippi State -1.5 (-104)
Total
- 144.5 (over -110/under -110)
Baylor injury report
- Langston Love, G: Probable (ankle)
- Yanis Ndjonga, F: Questionable (knee)
Mississippi State injury report
- Kanye Clary, G: Out (leg)
Baylor and Mississippi State series history
Baylor all-time record vs. Mississippi State: 1-3 (0.250 winning percentage)
Baylor vs Mississippi State prediction
Baylor and Mississippi State are both battled tested squads that have squared off against each other's conference multiple times this past regular season.
Head coach Scott Drew and the Bears were 1-1 against the SEC in the regular season, including a ranked win over the No. 16 Arkansas Razorbacks in Dallas. Mississippi State, meanwhile, is set to face its second SEC team of this campaign after beating the Utah Utes at a neutral site back in November.
Mississippi State hasn't advanced past the first round of the NCAA Tournament in nearly two decades (since 2008). The Bulldogs have dropped four straight NCAA Tournament round one and first four games.
Drew and the Bears have made six straight NCAA Tournaments in the postseason.