Tournament Hopefuls Clash as Mississippi St. Travels to College Station

It’s officially March, which means that right around the corner madness will ensue. But first, teams have to secure their spot in the dance. Both Mississippi State and Texas A&M need the win tonight to keep their NCAA Tournament dreams a reality.

𝗚𝗮𝗺𝗲𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝗶𝗻 𝗕𝗿𝘆𝗮𝗻-𝗖𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗴𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻!

🆚 Texas A&M
🕗 8 PM CT #HailState🐶 pic.twitter.com/vL6X87WZws

— Mississippi State Men's Basketball (@HailStateMBK) March 6, 2024

Tournament Lock?

The Bulldogs are currently projected to be the ninth seed in the Midwest, per ESPN. Mississippi State is also 32nd in the Ken Pom rankings with an adjusted efficiency margin of +17.64. The No. 7 team in the SEC looks to be a sure thing, in terms of making the tournament, the only question is where will they seed.

State is a 9-seed in ESPN/Lunardi’s latest bracketology. That’s where Andy Katz has them, too.

Big week ahead. A split should lock you into the tournament. Win both games and you’re playing for seeding.

From ESPN and The Athletic: pic.twitter.com/wX64x6gKR0

— Tru Maroon Nation (@TruMaroonNation) March 5, 2024

Pre-Senior-Night Setbacks

The Aggies have struggled recently, dropping four of their last five by an average of 17.25 points. With that said, three of the losses came to Top-25 teams (No. 15 Alabama, No. 5 Tennessee and No. 18 South Carolina). A&M currently sits as a bubble team and will need to win out and make a run in the SEC Tournament to have a shot at participating in the Madness. The Aggies currently rank 10th in the SEC. A&M will need to continue to turn the corner if they want to send their seniors off with a win.

https://twitter.com/aggiembk/status/1765393584033841247

Guard Matchup

Tonight’s game will most likely be decided by the play of both teams’ star guards. Texas A&M’s Wade Taylor is averaging 18.2 points per game, which is good for the fourth most in the SEC. Mississippi St. has firepower of its own with freshman standout Josh Hubbard putting up 17.6 points per game in road battles this season.

Josh Hubbard hitting 3 threes in 40 seconds was insane though. pic.twitter.com/ftYxTyHeRe

— Rare Rookies #BBN (@rarerookies) February 28, 2024

Game Outlook

Texas A&M is currently favored to win, with the spread at -2.5 and the moneyline leaning to the home team at -145. ESPN also like the Aggies to defend home court, giving A&M a 59.8% chance of winning, per its matchup predictor.

Up Next

Both teams close out the regular season on Saturday with Mississippi St. taking on No. 17 South Carolina. Texas A&M will travel to Oxford to play a floundering Ole Miss team.

Both teams will also travel Nashville March 13 to compete in the SEC Tournament.