Missouri Tigers vs Mississippi State Bulldogs Picks and Predictions March 13th 2025

No. 21 Missouri, Mississippi State Aim to Make Case in SEC Tournament

Missouri and Mississippi State came to the Southeastern Conference tournament in Nashville seeking to improve their standing with the NCAA Tournament selection committee.

Tigers and Bulldogs Face Off in Pivotal SEC Matchup

That process will continue when the seventh-seeded Tigers (21-10) face the 10th-seeded Bulldogs (21-11) in the second round of the SEC tournament on Thursday night.

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The No. 21-ranked Tigers were bidding for a top-four seed in the SEC tourney and a top-four seed in the NCAA field earlier this season. Then they closed their league schedule by losing four of five games.

“We still left a lot on the table, where I thought we could have turned the corner and finished in a double bye, even competed for a (conference) championship.” – Missouri coach Dennis Gates

Missouri enjoyed success earlier this season, forcing live-ball turnovers by applying man-to-man defensive pressure and mixing in match-up zones extending past the 3-point line.

But during their past four losses, the Tigers allowed an average of 94 points.

“We know what we can do. We know the type of team we have, and we’re going to keep working.” – Missouri forward Mark Mitchell

Bulldogs Seeking Revenge

Missouri won the earlier meeting with the Bulldogs 88-61 in Starkville, Miss., on Feb. 1, with Caleb Grill scoring 20 points off the bench and Tamar Bates adding 14. Grill averages 14.2 points per game this season and Bates averages 12.9.

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Josh Hubbard scored 24 points for Mississippi State in that loss to Missouri, and KeShawn Murphy scored 16 points off the bench.

“We were on a winning streak, and we just underestimated them. It was an early game, and we didn’t play our best basketball — we didn’t play Bulldog basketball.” – Mississippi State guard Josh Hubbard

Mississippi State Looks to Keep Momentum

Mississippi State coach Chris Jans came to Nashville with a simple goal.

“Win games, win games. That’s the mantra, that’s the goal. Win as many games as we can. Does that mean we’re playing (in the title game) Sunday? I hope so.” – Mississippi State coach Chris Jans

While the Tigers had a bye Wednesday, the Bulldogs rolled over LSU 91-62 behind Hubbard’s 26 points.

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Mississippi State held LSU to 39.3 percent shooting from the field, including 19.2 percent (5-for-26) from 3-point range.

“When we reconvened on Monday to get ready for the SEC tournament, (defense) was the message. If we’re going to go down there, we’re going to play our brand of basketball. We just haven’t been as good at it this year.” – Mississippi State coach Chris Jans