Furman Paladins vs Mississippi State Bulldogs Prediction, Picks and Game Preview - 12/17/2021

Game Time: 7:00 pm ET, Friday, December 17, 2021

Venue:  Humphrey Coliseum, Starkville, MS

Where to Watch:  SEC Network

DraftKings:  Point Spread:  Furman +8.5, Mississippi State -8.5; Over/Under:  138 points

Bet365:  Point Spread:  Furman NL, Mississippi State NL; Over/Under:  NL points

BetMGM:  Point Spread:  Furman +8.5, Mississippi State -8.5; Over/Under:  138.5 points

 

Furman Paladins:  7-4 (3rd place, Southern)

Mississippi State Bulldogs:  7-3 (9th place, SEC)

 

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Furman Paladins:  3-2 last 5

Mississippi State Bulldogs:  3-2 last 5

 

 

 

Furman is coming into this game with a 7-4 record overall and they are 3-3 in their road games this season where they will be in this game. They have lost 2 of their last 3 games and are coming into this one off of a loss in their last game. Their last win was against the Appalachian State Mountaineers while their 2 losses in that span came against the Winthrop Eagles and the North Carolina Tar Heels in their last game. Alex Hunter led the team in points in that game with 21 while Jalen Slawson was next on the team with 12 points. Slawson led the team in assists in that game with 7 while he and Conley Garrison both led the team in rebounds with 6 each. They were 40% from the field, 30.3% from 3-point range, and 100% from the free throw line with their shooting in that game. Their offense is averaging 81.8 PPG and their defense is allowing their opponents to average 75.7 PPG against them. Furman has an ATS record of 2-6-2 this season and their O/U record is 7-1-2.

 

 

Mississippi State is coming into this game with a 7-3 record overall and they are 6-1 in their home games this season where they will be in this game. They have lost 2 of their last 3 games but are coming into this one off of a win in their last game which snapped a 2 game losing streak that they were on. Their 2 losses were against the Minnesota Golden Gophers and the Colorado State Rams while their win came against the Georgia State Panthers in their last game. Iverson Molinar led the team in points in that game with 18 while D.J. Jeffries was next on the team with 15 points. Derek Fountain also scored 10 points in that one as well. Molinar, Shakeel Moore, and Andersson Garcia off the bench all led the team in assists in that game with 4 each while Fountain led the team in rebounds with 9. They were 54.5% from the field, 50% from 3-point range, and 86.7% from the free throw line with their shots in that game. Their offense is averaging 73.7 PPG and their defense is allowing their opponents to average 60.8 PPG against them. Mississippi State has an ATS record of 5-5 this season and their O/U record is 4-6.

 

Mississippi State is coming into this game as an 8.5 point favorite with the current betting odds according to Draftkings Sportsbook which may change on a new date. Furman has not been playing well in their recent games and they have also struggled in their road games this season as well. Mississippi State will have the home advantage here and that is going to make it a lot harder for Furman to stay in this game. Furman can score points and are actually averaging more points per game than Mississippi State is but their defense has been awful this season and Mississippi State actually plays defense very well, allowing around 60 points per game against them. Mississippi State will be able to stunt Furman's offense with their great defense and void any min attempt at keeping this a close game. The best bet to place in this game is on Mississippi State to cover the spread here.

 

Furman Mississippi State Prediction:  Our NCAAB Pick for Friday, December 17, 2021 (7:00 pm ET start time) is Mississippi State 84 Furman 66.

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Furman Paladins: 7-1 O/U in all games. 8-2 O/U as an underdog. 8-2 O/U as a road underdog or pick. 10-4 O/U in December games. 19-7 O/U after a non-conference game. 18-6 O/U in non-conference games. 21-10 O/U after playing a road game. 19-11 O/U after a game where they failed to cover the spread.

Mississippi State Bulldogs: 23-11 O/U when the total is 130 to 139.5. 11-6 O/U in a home game where the total is 130 to 139.5. 10-5 O/U in December games. 16-8 O/U after 3 consecutive non-conference games. 6-3 O/U after game - where they allowed a shooting pct. of 33% or less. 8-4 O/U after 2 or more consecutive unders. 13-6 O/U off a home win by 10 points or more.

 

 

Furman Paladins:  None.

Mississippi State Bulldogs:  T. Smith (F) Early Jan - Foot injury.

 

 

"We're going to have to survive the inside." - Bob Richey on his team’s loss against UNC.

 

 

“The focus (coming into tonight) was just to play our hardest.…play with a chip on our shoulder, I mean just bring it tonight, you know you don’t want to lose (3) in a row…play our hardest and just get the win.” - Derek Fountain on their win against Georgia State.

 

 

 

M. Bothwell 

M. Foster 

C. Garrison 

A. Hunter 

J. Slawson

 

G. Brooks 

D. Jeffries 

C. Matthews 

I. Molinar 

S. Moore

 

 

PPG: A. Hunter (17.6)

APG: A. Hunter (4)

Reb/G: J. Slawson (9.1)

 

PPG: I. Molinar (16.7)

APG: I. Molinar (4.8)

Reb/G: T. Smith (8.3)

 

Coaches:

Furman Paladins: Bob Richey (5th season)

Mississippi State Bulldogs: Ben Howland (7th season)