NCAA Tournament: Mississippi State vs. Liberty fearless prediction and game preview.
Broadcast
Date: Friday, March 22
Game Time: 7:27 ET
Venue: SAP Center at San Jose, San Jose, CA
Network: truTV
All You Really Need To Know About Mississippi State (23-10)
(SEC), NCAA NET Rank: 19. East 5-seed
The Bulldogs got on a nice second half run to build up the win total, and they needed it losing three of their last five games, but two came against Tennessee in good battles. There’s excellent size and enough experience to potentially come up with a strong first weekend.
With the inside bulk and presence, they’re great at blocking shots, but they’re also terrific from the outside, leading the SEC in three-point field goal percentage. There’s a problem on the board, and they don’t defend well enough from three, but they can win in a variety of ways.
All You Really Need To Know About Liberty (28-6)
(Atlantic Sun), NCAA NET Rank: 58. East 12-seed
A solid team all season long, the Flames never lost two games in a row, blow away UCLA, rocked Georgetown and Vanderbilt, and ended up rolling to the conference tournament championship with relative ease.
The defense is terrific – especially against deep shooting teams – the offense is outstanding at moving the ball around and doesn’t make a slew of mistakes, and starting with F Scottie James, it’s a strong-shooting team.
There’s just enough size to hang on the inside, but their game is from the outside. The problem? They don’t get to the line. They make free throws when they get there, but they don’t get enough chances.
What’s Going To Happen
Mississippi State will have problems with Liberty’s outside shooting, but the biggest key will be the boards. The Bulldogs will grab every defensive rebound – there just won’t be enough second chances for the Flames. Liberty’s D will keep this from getting out of hand, but the O won’t do enough inside.
Fearless Prediction & Line
Mississippi State 77, Liberty 71
Line: Mississippi State -7, o/u: 137
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ATS Confidence: 1.5
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