Arizona State vs Mississippi State Prediction - College Basketball Picks 11/8/23
The Arizona State Sun Devils and Mississippi State Bulldogs face off on Wednesday in a college basketball showdown in the Barstool Invitational at Wintrust Arena.
Arizona State Looks a Lot Different
Arizona State finished last season with a 23-13 record overall, but they still lost nine players from last year's team. It seems the NIL has hit Arizona State hard, and it’s caused a lot of players to leave Tempe. Coach Bobby Hurley is talking up this team like they might be better than last season, but I don’t think that is going to be the case. They have brought in guys like Malachi Davis who they hope can come in right away and give the offense a big boost. Freshman Brycen Long is young, but he should get a chance to prove that he deserves minutes on the team early.
High Expectations for Mississippi State
Coach Chris Jans is in his second season in charge of Mississippi State, and there are high expectations for this team. Last season, they were an elite defensive team, but the one place they really struggled was with the shooting from deep. They shot only 26.6 percent from behind the three point line. D.J. Jeffries averaged 8.8 points and 6.4 rebounds per game, but he needs to improve his three point shooting. He is a mismatch against most teams and if he can improve his three point shooting, Mississippi State could be even better than most people expect they are going to be.
Shane’s Free Pick
This total is too high. Mississippi State’s defense is going to step up here, and I am still not sold on their three point shooting. The Bulldogs defense and this Arizona State team is going to really struggle to score here. I don’t see Mississippi State running up the score, and that is going to be the difference here, as this game is going to be lower scoring. Back the under to cash here.
AUTHOR: Shane Mickle
